Maidenhead United and Slough Town kick-off pre-season with comfortable wins

Tristan Abrahams netted twice in Saturday’s friendly win over Holyport

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Holyport 0, Maidenhead United 6

Maidenhead United kicked off a busy schedule of pre-season football with a comfortable 6-0 victory over fifth tier Holyport at Summerleaze Park on Saturday lunchtime.

The Magpies ticked off the first of eight warm-up matches ahead of the new season with a convincing win; however, five of their six unanswered goals came after the half-time interval.

Manager Alan Devonshire was able to play two entirely different teams in the first and second halves, enabling most of the Magpies' squad to get minutes in the tank. While all five of their summer’s signings got 45 minutes, with Zac Bell, Ruben Carvalho and Joseph Ajose playing the first half and Nathan Ferguson and Tyrece Dyce coming on for the second.

United were also able to take a look at a couple of triallists at Summerleaze.

The Magpies began well with Reece Smith teeing up Tobi Sho-Silva for a tap in after only four minutes.

However, they were able to build on that lead until after the interval when Christian Johnson shrugged off a defender to slot home their second in the 52nd minute. A third goal quickly followed for Tristan Abrahams in the 62nd minute while Ferguson netted a glorious strike on his debut in the 70th minute.

Jayden Mitchell-Lawson slotted into an empty net after the Holyport keeper was caught out of position in the 80th minute and Abrahams thumped home his second of the game from range in the 81st minute to wrap up a comfortable friendly win.

First half: Craig Ross, Trialist A, Kevin Lokko, Will De Havilland, Zac Bell, Kane Ferdinand, Jadyn Dundas, Ruben Carvalho, Reece Smith, Tobi Sho-Silva, Joseph Ajose

Second half: Trialist B, Tyrese Dyce, Josh McMenemy, Alan Massey, Remy Clerima, Nathan Ferguson, Casey Pettit, Jayden Mitchell-Lawson, Jamie Davies, Tristan Abrahams, Christian Johnson

The victory put the seal on a thoroughly satisfactory day for the club following the announcement of Max Kilman's £40m move from Wolves to West Ham United.

Having had a sell-on fee for the player, the Magpies are set to earn a potentially game-changing £4m from the move.

The Magpies are back in action tomorrow evening (Tuesday, 7.30pm) when they visit newly promoted Southern League Central Division side Flackwell Heath.

The Heathens have already played a couple of friendly matches against Windsor FC (July 2) and Dorking Wanderers' B team (July 6).

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Slough Town 4, Virginia Water 0

New signings John Ufuah and John Gilbert were both on target as Slough Town put four goals past Virginia Water at Arbour Park on Friday evening to get their pre-season campaign up and running.

There was a good tempo to the game from the outset and the tier five side were able to hold the Rebels at bay until the 39th minute when Gilbert smashed a shot into the roof of the net to make it 1-0.

The visitors held out for a further 15 minutes in the second half before Ufuah doubled the hosts' advantage and Garry Abisogun - who's first season at the club was blighted by injury - lobbed home an excellent third in the 72nd minute. Ollie Spicer rounded off the scoring with a low drive from the edge of the box in the 74th minute to make the final score 4-0.

John Gilbert spoke to the club after registering on his debut: “It felt good and I'm buzzing to get my first goal for the team. The boys have been superb since I got here. It's a nice club, a great environment. I like playing with the boys and our ambitions for the season are fantastic.

“We want to play on the front foot and every time we win the ball, we want to make sure our counter attacks are sharp. I'm really looking forward to the season.

“The rain didn't stop. Tuesday and Thursday have been a bit drier, but it was a bit wet and slippery tonight. But we were still nice and sharp, the boys moved the ball from side to side and it helped our game.

“We've had some tough training sessions, and we need to get our fitness up as high as we can get it.

“We just want to be as sharp and ready as we can when the season starts.”

Next up, Slough Town travel to Amersham Town for another pre-season fixture on Tuesday evening.