The game was goalless at half time but strikes from Nathan Faulkes, Josh James and Connor Haffernan secured all three points for Jim Bodle’s side.

The Ressies boss awarded the Man of the Match prize to Fannis Samaras.

The Reserves are back in action on Monday (5 March) away to Erith & Belvedere Reserves. This match, which kicks off at 19:45, will be played at Thamesmead Town’s ground.

Erith probably controlled the game at Cobdown, so the management and players alike where determined to dictate the game from the off with possession and pace. The young Stones did just that and probably more, with young Sam Blackman and Steve Elliot getting in support of the front three, which allowed Josh James to shield the back four.

After 25 minutes, the persistence paid off when Jack Simon was fouled inside the penalty area to which goal machine Nathan Faulkes calmly made the most of. It got even better for the reserves as academy graduate Rhys Fox kept up his fine form and met a corner kick with a towering header to make up for his miss the week before. (He’ll enjoy being reminded of that!)

Maidstone seemed to be cruising when a mistake from experienced left back Sinclair Adamson allowed the Erith winger, Denzel Gayle, in to nick the ball before Stones goalkeeper Pete Gill. With no option, Gill took down the Erith player for a penalty shortly before seeing a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

However, there seemed to be at least 2 Stones defenders behind Gill as Gayle was taken down. Sam Blackman was replaced by fellow debutant Mark Worlsfold whose first touch was to get a palm on to Nad Nwitua’s penalty, however it had too much on it for the young keeper to keep out.

Despite the disappointment of conceding before half time, the management where happy with the performance and even with 10 men, the Stones felt they could still score more and take home all three points.

With Maidstone looking fairly comfortable, other than Worlsfold keeping them in the game with a great save from a header from a corner, Mark Swift dived in to nick the ball just after the Erith Town striker to which he went down for Erith’s second penalty of the game. Nwitua won the mind games again to draw the game level.

This seemed to revitalise Maidstone as another debutant, and ex-Erith Town player, Brett Fairman managed to strike the post with almost the kick of the game shortly after Fannis Samara struck the bar with a fierce 25-yard strike which left the goalkeeper stranded. As the final whistle went, you couldn’t tell if you felt disappointed or happy with a point.

Reserve team coach Nathan White said after the game: “A lot of teams would have crumbled after going 2-0 up, loosing your goalkeeper and being down to men to then be drawing 2-2 with 10 minutes to go. It just shows the character we have in the squad at the moment. We’ve still got Sam Hasler, Ash Greenwood, Matt Garner, Rio and Connor Heffernan missing today and, again, we’ve brought the youth of Sam Blackman who’s done really well before he had to come off for Mark. Then on the flip side Mark Worlsfold has come in and kept us in the game. I need to mention Rhys Fox who’s been chewing poor Jim’s ear off about playing centre half, we’ve put him in there and couldn’t fault him in two games. This result can only help as we prepare for our semi final before playing our good friends from Chatham next week at Cobdown.”

Team: Gill, Mills, Fox, Swift, Adamson, James, Blackman (Worlsford 40), Elliot (Fairman 60), Faulkes (Samaram 70), Simon. Subs not used: M. James, Smith.

Man of the Match: Josh James.

With the absence of Tom Cackett through injury, Sam Hasler and Marc Powell, who were with the first team after impressing Tuesday night against East Thurrock, Mark Swift and regular captain Matt Garner; Pete Gill was to captain a team made up of three emergency signings and two under-18 players.

The young Stones got into the swing of things very early on with Connor Heffernan, new signing Josh James and Steve Elliot controlling the game in midfield and young defenders Rhys Fox and Matt Mills especially keeping new skipper Pete Gill bored. The deadlock was broken when, another new signing, Miles Cornwall unleashed a fierce shot to which the Folkestone goalkeeper could only parry into his own net.

Man of the Match Rhys Fox could have opened the scoring minutes earlier as his free header at the far post managed to evade the Folkestone goal, however his blushes where saved when Nathan Faulkes kept up his fine scoring form with another goal and Miles Cornwall snatched another with a calm finish past the onrushing goalkeeper.

The game seemed to die throughout the second half as Folkestone became more and more direct which didn’t allow Maidstone to be as fluid as they were in the first half. However, the Stones’ patience paid off as Nathan Faulkes bagged another and the impressive Rhys Fox scored a towering header, at the second time of asking, to wrap up a great afternoon for the reserves. There was also a great performance for Matt Mills on his first Reserve team start.

Reserve team coach Nathan White said: “We’re over the moon with the result and performance. We had the likes of Charlie Smith, Matt Mills and Sam Small from the under-18s team, who didn’t look out of place in the team. Jim and I get more out of seeing those young players involved with the Reserves, as well as the likes of, to name just a few, Sam Hasler, Sean Johnson and Marc Powell to be involved with a great result at Dulwich with the first team. It shows the club has a system and a policy to produce young players which can only be good for everyone in the long run.”

In other news, ex-coach to the reserves, Matt Fry has signed a contract with League 2 ‘sleeping giants’ Bradford City until the end of the season. Matt was with the reserves during his recovery period after injury back at the end of last year. We all at Maidstone United would like to wish Matty all the best and thank him for his time to help develop the players.

Team: Gill (c) Mills, Fox, Nicholls, Adamson, Greenwood, Elliot (Smith 75), Haffernan(Small 75), Josh James, Faulkes, Cornwall (Simon 58),

The game was goalless at half time and the decisive moment came when Conner Haffernan scored a looping header from a Sam Hasler cross after 55 minutes.

Five minutes later Stones defender Mark Swift was sent off but the Ressies held on for three points.

Manager Jim Bodle awarded the Man of the Match accolade to goalkeeper Marc Powell.

Match report to follow.

The Reserves are the only team to take points off Herne bay this session; taking four points from six against a strong Herne Bay side.

Steve Elliott put in an excellent shift up front. After 20 minutes Elliott managed to round three defenders but his touch showed too much to the Herne Bay goalkeeper, who got down well at Elliot’s feet.

Just minutes later Man of the Match Pete Gill was called into action and made an excellent save palming away to his left hand side. Despite skipper Matt Garner and the impressive Conner Haffernan playing some very attractive football, the possession didn’t pay off.

Herne Bay took the lead after 35 minutes when the number 10 found himself clear. Despite Gill getting down well to his left it was not enough to keep the ball from hitting the back of the net.

Sam Hasler made an instant impact after 58 minutes. With his first touch he managed to take it past two defenders before setting up Steve Elliott to smash the ball home from 12 yards. Hasler continued to impress and linked up well on the left hand side. Matt Mills replaced the injured Synclare Adamson at right back with 25 minutes to play. The youngster broke down Herne Bay attacks with experience and composure on a number of occasions.

In the 70th minute, Nathan Faulkes beat the offside trap from a Tom Cackett through ball; and with his trade mark of rounding the keeper put The Stones 2-1 up. With plenty to play for, Pete Gill pulled off another match winning save from a powerful shot just six yards out. Nathan Faulkes was also denied twice from two good efforts from 12 yards.

The Reserves are in action again on 19 December, away at Erith and Belvedere.

Maidstone United Reserves: Pete Gill, Rhys Fox, Mark Swift, Jim Withers, Synclare Adamson (Matt Mills 66), Tom Cackett, Conner Haffernan, Matt Garner ©, Ash Greenwood (Sam Hasler 58), Steve Elliott, Nathan Faulkes (Junior Sampson 78). Subs not used: Mark James

Jim Bodle’s side put last weekend’s league cup defeat behind them to secure their third win over The Chats this month.

The Stones scorers were Nathan Faulkes (2), Conner Haffernan, Steve Elliott, Narada Pascal and Tom Cackett.

Match report to follow.

• Matchday photos by Steve Terrell

After a slow and cagy start by The Stones they soon found their momentum with Ben Palmer striking in the 10th minute. However two minutes later the Chats were gifted an equaliser by Maidstone keeper Mark Powell as he failed to deal with a long through ball.

Junior Sampson thought he had put the home side ahead on 14 minutes, after good work from Nathan Faulkes, as he rounded the keeper and squared the ball along an empty goal line for a simple tap in. Unfortunately the goal was disallowed as Sampson was in an offside position.

The Stones continued to press with chances for Faulkes and Greenwood. However, Chatham were to go in at half time with the upper hand as they converted a penalty in the 45th minute when Matt Garner was adjudged to handle the ball in his own area.

Despite going in a goal down The Stones had dominated the game after a slow start and were guilty of ball watching in the defensive third. It was clear to see that If they kept using Ash Greenwood as an outlet on the right hand side and retained possession through midfield then chances would soon follow.

The Stones replied quickly after the interval with Ben Palmer as he latched on to a long through ball from Jim Withers. Palmer, from 30 yards out, saw the keeper off his line and opted for an outrageous volley leaving the keeper in no man’s land. The home side continued to create chances and got their just rewards when Nathan Faulkes capitalised on some indecisive defending from Chatham Town. A collision, assisted by Faulkes, between the goalkeeper and defender gifted the striker with an easy finish. Maidstone had yet another goal disallowed when Faulkes was flagged in an offside position to deny the striker a second goal of the afternoon.

Another good win and performance from Rhe Reserves both individually and collectively. It gave Jim Bodle and new coaches Nathan White and West Ham United’s Matt Fry, who is helping out as he studies towards his UEFA B license, food for thought as they have tricky selection choices for Saturday’s game away at Chatham Town.

A man of the match performance from Sinclair Adamson helped ensure that the home side were victorious as he showed good defensive attributes as well as assisting the forward players.

Maidstone United Reserves: Powell, Fox, Swift, Adamson, Garner, Cackett, Sampson, Greenwood, Palmer, Faulkes. Sub: Abrahams, Heffernan, James, Simons

The first came after eight minutes when the in-form Ash Greenwood finished from 18 yards with a left foot half volley. The second came just five minutes later when Junior Sampson was brought down inside the box; Nathan Faulkes dispatched the resulting penalty. The third goal came on the half hour mark from a driven free kick by Greenwood in to the bottom right corner.

Faulkes made it 4-0 just one minute into the second half with an excellent turn to finish around the keeper. Ash Greenwood gained a much deserved hatrick in the 55 minute. Faulkes also got his hatrick 10 minutes later courtesy of Mark James’ excellent first touch splitting the defenders with a pinpoint through ball.

Synclare Adamson found himself in an unusual position on the left hand side inside the box on 75minutes; his finish managed to squeeze in at the near post. Faulkes and James linked up well again just one minute later, James step over found Faulkes to finish. Mark James made it three goals in four minutes with a well taken header into the top right from a Synclare Adamson cross from the left.

The final goal came in the last minute of the game when Faulkes rounded two defenders before kindly passing to Mark James rather than finishing himself.

Maidstone United Reserves: Charlie Mann, Synclare Adamson, Jim Withers (Ben Palmer 50), Rhys Fox, Mark Swift, Tom Cackett, Matt Garner, Junior Sampson (Mark James 60), Gary Rose, Ash Greenwood, Nathan Faulkes.

The Reserves next four fixtures are in the Division 1/2 Group B:

5/11/11: Chatham Town Reserves (h) at 14:00
12/11/11: Chatham Town Reserves (a) at 15:00
15/11/11: Holmesdale Reserves (a) at 19:45
19/11/11: VCD Athletic Reserves (h) at 14:00

Brett Ince (pictured) scored for The Stones after ten minutes against an opposition which featured several first team players. The Ressies could have taken all three points but had a penalty appeal turned down right at the end of the match.

Reserves manager Jim Bodle awarded the Man of the Match prize to Ash Greenwood.

Match report to follow.

Margate took the lead on 15 minutes after an excellent strike from 20 yardsinto the top right corner, Ross Chapman the scorer. It only took four minutes for Maidstone to draw level when Man of the Match Nathan Faulkes whipped in a low cross from the left which was turned into the back of the net by a Margate defender.

The second came after 38 minutes with the goal of the game; Sean Johnson’s deep delivery was coolly taken down by Faulkes before rounding the keeper and slotting into the back of the net. One minute later 17 year old Tom Cackett rounded the right back and calmly placed his shot into the bottom right corner; sending Maidstone into the interval 3-1 up.

Five minutes into the second half the impressive Sam Hasler whipped the ball in from the left hand side, which again was turned in by a Margate defender. The fifth came after 70 minutes when Sam Hasler managed to head back across goal for Faulkes to head home for his second. Faulkes got his hat trick just two minutes later when Tom Cackett was through on goal, only for his effort to be saved; and the rebound kindly into Faulkes’ path.

Ash Greenwood also came close with well taken shot from 20 yards which rebounded of the cross bar. Brett Ince was introduced in the 75 minute and came back from injury in style. Ince came close when he lobbed the oncoming keeper, however just missed the target; however minutes later Ince scored from 18 yards into the bottom left corner.

The Stones conceded a penalty with five minutes to go, however it was the second week in a row that keeper Marc Powell  managed to pull off an excellent penalty save from a well stuck penalty. The action was not over there; Ince managed to grab a second in the last minutes of the game by bundling the ball home from an Ash Greenwood cross.

Jim Bodle said: “This was a much needed result in the league, but more importantly a better performance from the lads. We have Herne bay away Wednesday night which I’m sure is going to be a touch one.”

Maidstone United Reserves: Marc Powell, Rhys Fox, James Abrahams (Gary Rose 45), Mark Swift, Sam Hasler, Sean Johnson, Matt Garner, Junior Sampson (Ash Greenwood 60), Tom Cackett, Nathan Faulkes (Brett Ince 75) Jack Simon.  Subs not used- Mark James