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Three more league points were gained
by The Stones in this evenly matched Kentish Observer
League game against newly relegated Erith & Belvedere.
The Deres have had a slow start to their league programme,
having only played one game (vs Sporting Bengal) prior
to this game due to FA Cup commitments. That fixture
was drawn 1-1 and with this in mind, it was difficult
to accurately assess quite what shape the visitors to
Bourne Park would be in.
The first 20 minutes of the game showed that The Deres
were in very good shape indeed, with the extremely effective
front pairing of Chris Dickson and Darren Adams causing
plenty of concern for the Maidstone defence. Adams combined
with Tommy Martin in the 14th minute and the latter
saw his shot from just inside the area tipped over the
crossbar by the left hand of Pat Mullin.
Two minutes later the deadlock was broken when Dickson
sprinted past Ryan Royston on the right hand side of
the Stones defensive third. Dickson unleashed an early
and powerful right footed shot across Mullin and into
the far corner of the net for a superbly taken goal.
Royston had earlier hit the post himself with a shot
from a Garry Kimble cross but he was made to look absolutely
pedestrian by the pace and strength of Dickson on this
occasion.
Maidstone settled down from this point on, as the defensive
trio of Lloyd Hume, Mario Celaire and Ryan Royston started
to come to terms with The Deres strike force. This allowed
Nick Hegley to see more of the ball in the Maidstone
midfield and in the 23rd minute he found himself one
on one with keeper Ricky Hall but the keeper was able
to block his shot.
The home side restored parity just one minute later
though. Mo Takaloo had forced a corner with a near post
effort that Hall tipped around the post and from the
following corner, the ball was headed clear of the penalty
area but only onto the chest of Takaloo. He cushioned
the ball and then struck a left footed volley high into
the left hand side of the net for a stunning equaliser,
a goal that the striker celebrated with great relief.
The Stones now had their tails up and a great jinking
run by Nathan Paul which had full back Tom Maycock twisted
in knots ended up with a free kick outside the area
for Maidstone. Takaloo stepped up and caused Hall to
tip his 20 yard effort over the bar.
With the game very evenly balanced both sides were
committed to looking for a second goal. Ten minutes
into the second half, Dickson was dispossessed by Celaire
after a typically dangerous run with a superb tackle.
The crowd favourite then made a superb 35 yard pass
to Takaloo but after rounding keeper Hall, a slight
mis-control from The Stones’ marksman allowed the
keeper to recover the ball from the toes of the Maidstone
goalscorer when it appeared that he was about to double
his tally for the afternoon.
Maidstone eventually took the lead just before the
hour mark through Lyndon Rowland. Hegley crossed to
the far post and Rowland continued his excellent goalscoring
form with a powerful far post header which left Hall
with no chance in The Deres goal.
Takaloo then uncharacteristically failed with two further
one on one chances. The first effort lobbed over keeper
Hall but also narrowly cleared the crossbar, the second
chance saw him narrowly fail to get a vital touch to
the ball as Hall advanced from his line. However, the
failure to capitalise in one on one situations was not
restricted to the home side, as on 68 minutes Adams,
the former Cardiff City and Dover striker (amongst others)
saw his opportunity foiled by a rapid advance and block
by Mullin.
Adams remained a threat throughout and with the visitors
pushing for an equaliser, the burly striker saw a free
kick tipped over by Mullin. With 15 minutes remaining,
Deres manager Mick Acland surprisingly took Dickson
off and replaced him with former Wimbledon player Anton
Innocent. Dickson was clearly agitated with the decision
as he took his shirt off with a clear sense of frustration
as he returned to the bench.
With six minutes of stoppage time added by Mr Rogers,
the visitors had one final effort of note when Adams
forced Celaire to miskick just two yards from his own
goal line. However, Mullin was equal to the threat and
was able to dive low and scoop up the ball right on
his line, thus avoiding an embarrassing and potentially
heartbreaking own goal.
This result means that Maidstone keep up the pressure
on league leaders Beckenham Town and that they remain
unbeaten to date this season. The Deres for their part
will play a lot worse than this and win this season
and should prove to be in or around the promotion positions
come the end of the season.
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