Robinson: 'The aim is to get promoted from this division, whatever the means are'

Promotion through whatever means necessary remains the aim for Maidenhead United this season according to Saturday’s match-winner at Horsham Matt Robinson.

United moved to within a handful of points of the play-off places at the weekend after Robinson hit a wonderful stoppage-time volley to earn the Magpies a 2-1 win.

An improved result and performance were both needed after the club’s surprise 3-1 home defeat to local rivals Slough Town on Boxing Day.

That result left Robinson and his teammates questioning themselves, however, they responded in the right manner at the Fusion Aviation Community Stadium on Saturday, delivering a dominant second half display and a deserved victory.

The manner of the victory couldn’t have been more thrilling, with Robinson firing home a goal of the season contender in the final minutes, and it helped restore a bit of confidence and belief as the team chases its ultimate goal this season – promotion.

Speaking this week, Robinson said he didn’t mind how Maidenhead earned promotion – whether automatically or through the play-offs – but there’s clearly a belief in the squad and management team that it can be achieved.

United sit 10th in the table, five points off the top seven, heading into their next game at home to Enfield Town on Saturday week (January 17).

“The derby game on Boxing Day was obviously a low point for us in terms of how we’ve been performing recently,” said Robinson.

“We were unbeaten in five before that and felt like we were turning our form around. But after the loss, we were keen to make sure it was just a blip and for it not to become a pattern like it has before in the season.

“Our challenge was to go away to Horsham, who have been doing very well recently, and come away with a positive result.

“We did eventually, but I thought we were well worth the win before my goal. There was only one team trying to win the game and thankfully it was us.

“The Slough game wasn’t too dissimilar to Horsham in the fact that it was 1-1 for quite a lot of the second half.

“One team was trying to win, but Slough managed to score two goals on the break with 10 men.

“That’s obviously not ideal and you question yourself after things like that happen. But in football, those things can happen for you or against you. That’s why we like football, because the underdog can win, and the team that looks like it’s not even trying to win the game can win the game. But we had to make sure that didn’t happen against Horsham.”

Having won five of their last seven matches under interim duo Ryan Peters and Aaron O’Brien, the Magpies have put themselves back in promotion contention. Having played consistently well for several weeks now, Robinson believes their current form is built on concrete foundations and can be sustained through to the end of the season.

“I think from day one there was the confidence in the group that we’d be one of the teams chasing promotion, whether automatic or through the play-offs,” he said.

“In the course of half a season, we seem to have fallen short, primarily due to a long spell of bad performances, losing six in a row. And even in some of them I don’t think we played that badly. We just didn’t win the games we were supposed to win.

“Since then, we’ve tried to find that consistency in a winning formula. If you ask anyone in the building if they’re confident we can make the play-offs they’ll say yes.

“The aim is very much to get promoted from this division, whatever the means are. Chasing down the teams above us and cementing our place in there, all the lads are committed to doing that. That’s the main aim.”