Maidstone United 0-0 Croydon Athletic

Scorers

Stones:

Croydon:

Line-ups

Stones: Pat Mullin, Nathan Paul, Craig Roser, Errison Ahwan, Mario McNish, Ryan Royston (Jason Barton 21), Sam Tydeman, Aaron Lacy, Mo Takaloo, Lynden Rowland, Nick Hegley. Subs not used: Alex Tiesse, Simon Austin, Michal Czanner

For the first time in nine matches, Maidstone United dropped points as they failed to score for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Dover Athletic at the November.

This was disappointing performance from The Stones but the result perhaps would have been different had Nick Hegley not missed a great chance with just three minutes played when he found himself with just Danny Firkins to beat but he planted his shot the wrong side of the post.

The Stones continued to create chances however and Lynden Rowland then headed wide on sixteen minutes before the same player worked himself into a good position seven minutes later only to neither cross nor shoot effectively.

This pretty much summed up Maidstone's first half performance but Mo Takaloo came close to lifting The Stones when he twice hit the bar in the remaining minutes before the interval. With thirty three minutes on the clock, Hegley battled well to win the ball and Takaloo latched onto the loose ball and curled his shot against the angle of the post and bar. Then, with the half time whistle imminent, Takaloo's persistence saw him win the ball close to the edge of the box but Firkins was equal to his excellent shot as the Croydon keeper tipped Takaloo's effort onto the bar.

Despite enjoying the majority of possession in the second half, Maidstone rarely tested Firkins. Rowland saw a diving header go wide and Jason Barton, on for Ryan Royston, forced Firkins to stop his long range drive. Perhaps the closest The Stones came to breaking the deadlock was on seventy nine minutes when substitute Alex Tiesse showed a great burst of pace to take him into the box but Firkins palmed his shot over the bar.

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