Van Stappershoef and resilient Magpies stand tall before Popoola delivers knock out blow

Josh Popoola celebrates his 92nd minute winner. Photo: Darren Woolley

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Josh Popoola’s improvised, injury-time winner for Maidenhead United against Chelmsford City on Saturday was worthy of winning any game of football, however, assistant boss Ryan Peters admitted the Magpies had to ride their luck at times to collect all three points at York Road.

The Magpies came into the game full of confidence off the back of a stunning 4-0 success at Bath City - their third win on the spin in the National League South, however, they were always going to struggle to reach the same levels they showed at Twerton Park against a Clarets side expected to challenge them - and many others - for promotion this season.

This result was more about the character they showed in the tougher moments, and the sweat dripping off every one of those in black and white showed what efforts they had to go to extract three points from the match.

“We scored against the run of play because we weren’t very good in the first half,” said Peters.

“This is a good Chelmsford side though and they’ve been tipped to potentially win the league. So we knew it wasn’t going to be easy, especially off the back of Tuesday’s performance.

“We managed to get ourselves ahead and I thought we managed to do a little bit more in the second half. But we still gave them far too many opportunities to have a shot at our goal. When our defenders weren’t there, there was Jordi to keep us at bay. When you’ve got a few minutes to go and you’re 1-0 up, you want to see that out, and we would have been a bit frustrated to draw.

“When you look at how things are going now compared to the first three games of the season, we’re definitely doing something right and we’ve just got to keep it going.”

United scored somewhat against the run of play towards the end of the first half, Liam Dulson lashing home a volley past an unsighted Chris Haigh moments after Owen Cochrane had hit the bar in the build-up. The hosts then looked to have weathered everything Chelmsford could throw at them, with Dutch keeper Jordi Van Stappershoef pulling off a series of very decent saves.

But in the final minute, Corbett’s free kick beat him to his right, bounced off the inside of the post and fell kindly for Jack Barham to sweep home his first goal for the club.

It felt like a cruel blow for the Magpies, who’d missed chances of their own to make the game safe, however, a draw wouldn’t have been unfair on either side on the balance of play.

Yet, Maidenhead had one more magical moment up their sleeve, with Popoola scoring his third goal in two games deep into stoppage time. Having attempted an acrobatic volley from Corie Andrews’ header, he somehow managed to get back to his feet, hold off his marker and sweep home a low left footed shot to win the match for the Magpies. There are strikers further up the leagues who’ve been sold for millions this summer who wouldn’t be able to pull off such a feat.

Our last minute winner, courtesy of Josh Popoola pic.twitter.com/3gJJjfnkjt

— Maidenhead United (@MUFCYorkRoad) September 6, 2025

“Believe it or not, I didn’t actually see the goal,” said Peters.

“When we attack, I’m more often focused on how we’re set up defensively. I heard it was a brilliant goal. He’s got tremendous ability. We’ve shifted him from one position to another, but wherever you put him he puts in a shift. Hard work on the ball, hard work off it. He has the ability to score goals that others can’t.

“When the big games come along, you’re looking for players to come out and be counted. And then we needed players with the X-factor and today that was JP.”

Peters also hailed the part their Dutch keeper Van Stappershoef played in earning the Magpies all three points. Without his saves, the result would surely have been very different.

“A good goalkeeper will give you an extra five points and he’s just given us some (points) today,” said Peters.

“He was fantastic and in fairness both keepers were because we had a lot of efforts at their goal as well. We rode our luck at times, but we’ll take that luck because there will be spells when the luck doesn’t go our way.”