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One of the most exciting Kent
League games for years ended in dramatic fashion as
Maidstone United came from 2-1 down to equalise in stoppage
time and then grab a winner with five minutes of additional
time played.
It was no more than The Stones deserved after creating
a multitude of chances against a strong Beckenham side.
And Maidstone’s manager Lloyd Hume certainly felt
his players deserved their win. He said: I think anything
but a victory today would have been an injustice to
our team. They’ve scored two goals but I think
they were sloppy goals to give away and they were defensive
mistakes. We probably created seven or eight good chances,
not through defensive mistakes but through good football
and I think the players were superb.”
Both sides had chances to take an early lead. Nathan
Paul, returning to the The Stones line up after injury,
sent a good ball into the box that Mo Takaloo controlled
with his chest but his shot went across the face of
the goal.
At the other end, Paul Vines had a good opportunity
for Beckenham when he latched onto the ball as it bounced
around in the penalty area but he put his shot wide.
The Stones enjoyed the majority of possession in the
first half and they kept carving out opportunities.
Takaloo was a whisker away from connecting with a Sam
Tydeman free-kick at the far post and Jimmy Strouts
saw his looping header from the edge of the box just
clear the bar. A Nick Hegley curling effort nearly tested
Rob Tolfrey before a lapse in concentration in defence
gifted Beckenham the first goal.
Mario Celaire failed to cut out a goal kick from Tolfrey
and the ball fell to Ryan Martin who confidently put
his shot past Pat Mullin.
Takaloo was having a frustrating afternoon up front
for the vistors and he should have equalised two minutes
before half time. Sam Tydeman, who was outstanding in
midfield, brilliantly won the ball and played it into
Takaloo. The Stones striker did the hard part by twisting
into space, but from a central position he lifted his
shot clear of the bar.
The second half continued in a similar manner as The
Stones pushed forward in search of a goal and Takaloo
perhaps had the best of the chances. He first had a
shot held and then he managed to get a flick on the
end of a good low cross from Aaron Lacy but the ball
looped up and Rob Tolfrey saved his effort.
Vines then reminded The Stones that they couldn’t
afford to relax at the back for a minute when he drove
a fierce shot goal wards from the edge of the area but
Mullin superbly tipped his drive over.
But with just 13 minutes remaining, The Stones faithful
were treated to what surely will be one of the goals
of the season when Tydeman won the ball, deftly beat
a Beckenham defender and hit a thunderous shot that
cannoned in off the underside of the bar.
The Stones fan’s delight was short lived though,
as just five minutes later, Ryan Royston didn’t
have the pace to get to the ball after Mullin had blocked
a shot and Martin expertly curled a nice finish into
the unguarded net.
So it seemed that despite a tremendous performance,
United would leave Eden Park Avenue pointless and with
their unbeaten record in shreds. But there was a remarkable
twist still to come.
With the game entering stoppage time, and with The
Stones throwing everything at the Beckenham defence,
the break through finally came. Mullin sent a long kick
into to the box which was headed across goal by Mario
Celaire and Lynden Rowland emerged through a cluster
of players to guide his shot into the back of the net.
Eden Park Avenue erupted as The Stones supporters made
up the large part of the 490 crowd. And at this point,
most people probably wanted the referee to blow his
whistle to end the game. However, there was still time
for one last goal.
United won a corner and Nick Hegley drove the ball
the ball into the box. There to meet it was the hardworking
Lynden Rowland, who was rewarded for his tireless performance
when his header flew goal bound. Despite the efforts
of a Beckenham defender to clear the ball, it was deemed
to have already crossed the line and the linesman signalled
immediately that The Stones had scored a crucial goal.
For the second time in only a few minutes, The Stones
faithful went berserk. It had been a rollercoaster of
a game with a tremendous finish that will be talked
about for a long time to come. The league title isn’t
won on the back of one excellent result, nor is it ever
settled this early in the season, but The Stones have
now put themselves in a good position to be contending
for the title in April. And on the back of such a brilliant
result and performance, few would argue against the
fact that they are a good bet for the championship.
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