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Lee Sperring doubled his goals
tally for the season with a hat-trick against Deal Town
and in the process gave Lloyd Hume and Alan Walker a
selection dilemma ahead of their first league match
for three weeks against Sevenoaks Town.
Despite this game having no bearing on the final positions
of the teams in Group C of the league cup, Maidstone
United did not take the game lightly and have now scored
thirteen times against Deal Town this season, conceding
only three goals in the process.
“I’m delighted for Lee Sperring to get a
hat-trick, it will do his confidence a world of good”
Alan Walker said afterwards, “It does cause us
a selection problem but it’s a nice one to have.
It wasn’t a pointless game as it let us have a
look at a couple of things and its given a bit more
match practise for people like Lee Sperring and Simon
Austin.”
It took Mo Takaloo just three minutes to register his
twenty-eighth goal of the season. A mix-up in the Deal
defence gave Takaloo the chance to volley goalwards.
Although Robert Lindley parried his first effort no
Deal defender got close to Takaloo so from the rebound,
Takaloo picked his spot and fired the ball inside the
right hand post.
Further poor Deal defending with 24 minutes played
put Takaloo in but he shot straight at Lindley and then
Lee Sperring sent a low ball skidding across the 6 yard
box and Lindley did well to block Nick Hegley’s
resultant shot.
Deal came more into the game as the half progressed
and Pat Mullin had to be alert to tip a long range effort
from Marc Pollard round the post but Lindley was the
busier of the keepers and he was called upon again with
31 minutes played, blocking Craig Roser’s effort
at the near post.
Then with half time seconds away, The Stones increased
their lead with a cracking goal. Jason Barton volleyed
the ball up the line and Lynden Rowland turned intelligently
into space and ran to the touchline before pulling the
ball back to the edge of the penalty area where Sperring
latched onto it, took a touch that deceived the defender,
and hit a thunderous shot past Lindley.
Sperring’s pace was causing Deal’s defence
problems and with 56 minutes gone, Josh Davidson placed
a poor header into Sperring’s path. Sperring raced
into the box but just as he was about to shoot he was
bundled over by Davidson. The referee, Mr Ions, waved
play on but within 60 seconds Sperring was rewarded
with a second goal when Simon Austin, a replacement
for Takaloo, rounded Lindley and unselfishly squared
the ball to Sperring who only had to tap the ball over
the line.
Then 5 minutes later, Sperring completed his hat-trick
in emphatic style. Austin sent a neat flick into the
path of Nick Hegley who placed the ball over the top
to Sperring and with Lindley off his line, the Stones
striker hit a confident finish past the Deal keeper.
With The Stones pushing forward at every opportunity,
another goal looked a certainty and it arrived with
just under 20 minutes remaining. A cross from Austin
was headed goalwards by Ryan Royston, a substitute for
Craig Roser, and Lindley did well to push the ball wide.
But from the corner, Royston had time to bring the ball
down before side footing in his fifth goal of the season.
There was time for Deal to grab a consolation goal
following a lapse in concentration in the Stones defence
which David Bathgate took full advantage of and at the
other end, Andy Hart, who had come on for Rowland, came
close to opening his scoring account for the first team
but Lindley did well to block his shot on the line.
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