| Maidstone’s
9th and final pre-season fixture was played at Mill
Road, Aveley in blustery conditions on a pitch that
was parched and bumpy due to the baking hot conditions
of the summer.
 The
Stones included two new signings in their line-up. Nick
Barnes decided, after weighing up his pre-season options,
to sign for Maidstone rather then Ramsgate or his previous
club Tonbridge Angels. This is Barnes’s second
spell with the club. The other signing was Slovakian
goalkeeper Michal Czanner. He had previously played
for Otford United, Tonbridge Angels and latterly Tunbridge
Wells. Czanner will give current goalkeeper Pat Mullin
some serious competition for the number 1 jersey if
his first game for the club is anything to go by.
In a forgettable first half, Czanner foiled the home
side after 22 minutes when he raced from his line to
make a good save from the advancing striker. However,
he had no chance to stop Aveley’s 36th minute
opener. A long ball towards The Stones’ area cleared
the diminutive Kane Rice. As the defender waited for
the ball to drop from its high bounce, Rice was pressurised
by Aveley’s centre- forward. Czanner advanced
from his line and blocked the resultant shot but as
the ball ran loose, Sam Tydeman pushed an opponent off
the ball for a clear penalty. Czanner was sent the wrong
way as the home side went into the half-time break 1-0
up.
The second half produced a performance from Maidstone
that was far more acceptable and Mo Takaloo equalised
after 52 minutes following the home side’s failure
to clear a Tydeman corner. 15 minutes later, Lynden
Rowland scored a deserved goal when Barnes played a
through ball for the striker to run onto and slot home
from 12 yards.
Alan Walker was reasonably satisfied with the performance.
“I thought that Nick Barnes was superb for us
when he came on and I think that he’s going to
be a really strong player for us this season.”
Talking about our new keeper he said “I thought
that Michal looked very strong and solid. He made a
very good save in the first half and to be honest he’s
going to give Pat a good run for the start on Saturday
at Hastings.”
“We’ve got two more training sessions left
before we start in the league and I fully expect us
to come away from Hastings with three points. If our
fans turn out in the numbers that they normally do and
get behind us, then we can have a good start to the
season.”
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