Johnson Hippolyte dismissed from pitch as Maidenhead United beat Staines Town

Staines Town (1) 1, Maidenhead United (1) 2

Ryan Upward's second-half header secured the points for Maidenhead United in a match that will be remembered for the first half dismissals of Magpies boss Johnson Hippolyte and Staines defender Sanchez Ming.

Louie Theophanous gave the home side a third minute lead, poking the ball past Elvijs Putnins following a miskick from United skipper Mark Nisbet.

But the Magpies equalised within five minutes when Adrian Clifton's deflected strike fizzed into the bottom corner on seven minutes.

Hippolyte and Ming received their marching orders for a confrontation in which both appeared to raise their hands in a scuffle after the ball went out for a throw-in on 20 minutes.

The Magpies should have held a half-time lead, but the lively Reece Tison-Lascaris missed a hat-trick of chances.

The first saw him race onto an excellent through ball from Clifton before poking wide, and the United wide man fired wide from the penalty spot minutes later, having been found in acres of space, before thrashing a fierce shot just wide of the target.

The visitors learned their lesson from last weekend's frustrating stalemate against Eastbourne Borough at York Road, when they failed to break down their stubborn opponents, and moved the ball with real tempo in the second half.

Staines could have had few complaints if they'd scored five or six.

United had two plausible penalty appeals waved away early in the second half, Stefan Brown scooped wide after Clifton's shot was pushed out on 55 minutes and Danny Green failed to force the ball home from Tison-Lascaris' clever wing play as United pressed for a second.

But they got the reward their endeavours deserved when Green's teasing free-kick was headed home by Upward at the far post in the 77th minute, his first competitive goal in the black and white of Maidenhead.

Substitute Tashan Adeyinka stung the palms of Jack Turner with a fierce effort and brilliant interplay from Green and Longden set up the another substitute Lanre Azeez, but he couldn't  supply the finish.

Upward capped an impressive 35 minute cameo with curling shot that drifted over, following Green's dummy, in the 80th minute and the visitors' defence was barely troubled as they comfortably saw out time for their third win of the Conference South campaign.

Maidenhead United: Putnins, Longden, Solomon, Nicholls, Nisbet (capt), Downer, Green, Clifton, Brown (Adeyinka 59), Hutchinson (Upward 62), Tison-Lascaris (Azeez 71) Sent from my iPad