Maidenhead United perform well in friendly with Championship side Ipswich Town

Photo: Maidenhead United FC

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Ipswich Town 2, Maidenhead United 1

Maidenhead United kicked off their pre-season friendly matches with a narrow defeat to Championship side Ipswich Town at Needham Market's Bloomfields ground.

In warm evening sunshine on Friday, the Magpies very nearly bridged the gap between the National League and the Championship as they pushed Kieran McKenna's Town side all the way to the final whistle.

United's starting XI also featured three triallists and it will be interesting to see if those players are given more game time in the coming weeks as manager Alan Devonshire looks to piece together his squad for the upcoming National League campaign.

All the goals came in the second half, with Marcus Harness firing Ipswich ahead with a sweeping finish 10 minutes after the restart before Shawn McCoulsky showed his predatory instincts to lift home an equaliser just a minute later. United weren't quite able to hold out for an encouraging result however, with one of Town's stars of last season, Freddie Ladapo, scoring with a near post finish in the 77th minute.

Ipswich fielded a different side in both halves, with one of their new signings, Jack Taylor, getting his first minutes under the belt after the interval.

As expected, Maidenhead were forced to soak up plenty of pressure, with Kayden Jackson going close in the opening five minutes, his shot well saved by United's new goalkeeper Craig Ross. They were then almost caught out by an audacious attempt from Conor Chaplin, who rattled the woodwork with an effort from just inside the opposition's half.

Chaplin then saw an effort from outside the area deflected wide by defender Will De Havilland before the resulting corner was headed wide at the near post by Wes Burns.

They finally broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when Harness drove past his marker and drove the ball beyond Ross. But Maidenhead caught the Tractors Boys out a minute later when McCoulsky was played in and lifted home the equaliser.

The visitors then went close to a second when Christian Walton was forced into a good save and Town took advantage when Ladapo swept home at the near post from Janoi Donacien’s cross to complete the scoring in the 77th minute.

United are back in pre-season action tomorrow evening (Tuesday) when they travel to Wilks Park for their second warm-up game against Flackwell Heath (7.45pm kick-off).