The race for the Ryman League One championship will go to final game of the season with Maidstone United, Tooting and Mitcham United and Dover Athletic all in contention for the title.
It is The Stones though who are in the driving seat as they know that a win at Walton Casuals will guarantee them back to back titles.
On current form, this is by no means guaranteed but over the last two games, Maidstone have begun to look more like the side that went lost just twice in twenty three games in the middle of the season.
Certainly Alan Walker believes his side will clinch the necessary win at Walton Casuals saying: “ I am very confident that we will win the title on Saturday as we are getting back to what we were like when we went on that amazing run of form. The fact that we know we have to go and win at Walton Casuals makes it easier for us and I have no doubts that we will be successful on Saturday.”
The penultimate game of the season proved to be a frustrating one for Maidstone United as despite an excellent high tempo performance, they could not force the win which would have seen them place one hand on the Ryman League One trophy.
There was little goalmouth action in the first half to amuse the bumper crowd of eight hundred and eleven but it was The Stones who enjoyed the best of the opportunities.
With six minutes gone, a deep Sam Tydeman corner was headed just wide by Ryan Royston before some neat play between Lynden Rowland and Alex Tiesse released Nick Hegley down the left but his shot did not trouble Jake Whincup in the Ashford goal.
On twenty two minutes there was a lengthy delay as Gary Clarke received a head injury, which initially disrupted the flow of the game.
However, on thirty nine minutes an excellent forty yard run from Hegley saw The Stones break out of defence and Lynden Rowland's shot was deflected over. Then from the subsequent corner, Errison Ahwan headed Aaron Lacy's cross just wide of the post.
But with sixty two minutes played, Maidstone edged in front. The Stones were awarded a throw on the right hand side and with Royston and Ahwan surging forward, Lacy picked out Ahwan’s forehead and the ball sailed into the net.
United then put Ashford under pressure as they looked to secure the win but as the half wore on, Ashford's influential Nick Wright began to cause United's defence problems. And it was Wright who was involved in the equaliser as he swung in a corner on seventy five minutes which George Fenwick headed in at the far post.
This was a huge blow for The Stones and it was in fact Ashford who finished the game the stronger of the two sides as United pushed Ryan Royston up front and left three defenders at the back. On eighty one minutes, Mario McNish could not get the ball clear and Wright released substitute Anthony Allman who shot wide when well placed. Then with ninety minutes on the clock, the pressure of a succession of balls into the box from the home side nearly paid off as Craig Roser came close to repeating McNish’s unfortunate own goal on Saturday when his sliding clearance from a cross only just went wide.
So once again The Stones are involved in another nerve-wracking end to the season and they will need to be at their best to beat an Walton side who have taken points off five of the top seven sides in the league this season.
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