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After the optimism that followed last week's victory
over Wealdstone, the expectations of staff, players
and supporters were adjusted significantly after this
disappointing 2-0 defeat against Hendon in a fixture
played at Earlsmead the home ground of Harrow Borough.
With The Greens embroiled in the relegation scrap at
the bottom of the table, The Stones knew that this was
never going to be an easy game. However, the first 25
minutes of the game saw the visitors dominate proceedings
to an embarrassing degree, with the home side barely
able to get out of their own half.
A strong penalty appeal was turned down in the 14th
minute when Jay Saunders' header appeared to be blocked
by a raised green clad arm, as the ball broke free it
arrived at the feet of Roland Edge but his 20 yard drive
whistled narrowly wide of William Viner's post.
Eight minutes later a strong run from Nathan Paul resulted
in a sharp, low cross entering the Hendon penalty area.
Lloyd Blackman made contact at the near post but his
initial effort was thwarted, however he somehow managed
to fashion a shot from the floor but sadly the effort
was just off target.
Within a minute James Pinnock drove in a similar type
of cross which allowed Meshach Nugent to create a shooting
opportunity for himself. Whereas last week his shot
from an acute angle against Wealdstone found the net,
this effort flashed across the face of the goal narrowly
missing the target.
Sam Collins gave The Stones a swift reminder that the
opposition were also chasing the game when he broke
down the left flank beyond James Peacock and Nathan
Paul. Andy Walker averted any trouble by coming out
from his goal and swiping the ball from Collins' feet
before he could shoot. Within a minute the play had
swung to the other end and Blackman saw his header from
Pinnock's floated free-kick strike the top of the crossbar.
The game was turned on its' head in the 28th minute
when referee Dave Margetts awarded a spot kick against
Peacock for holding Brian Haule in the penalty area.
Jamie Busby stepped up and fired low to the left sending
Walker the wrong way to make it 1-0.
From this point on the game took on an almost completely
different persona as the quality of play evident in
the opening half hour drained away from both sides and
the game became a niggly and petulant contest. Four
minutes before the break Edge was cautioned for a high
challenge on Busby and as a result the proverbial handbags
came out giving the referee plenty to consider.
Eventually Edge was the only player to see his name
taken although Peacock and Bent were fortunate to avoid
sanction.
As half time approached Peacock was adjudged to have
elbowed Haule in an aerial challenge and was cautioned
for his trouble.
Almost immediately the half time whistle sounded and
as the teams trooped off for their half time cuppa,
the two managers Gary McCann and Lloyd Hume became involved
in a heated exchange which culminated in the Hendon
manager grabbing Hume around the throat and lining up
a haymaker of a punch before he was swiftly dragged
away by his coaching staff.
Both men were banished to the stands for the second
half although it was difficult to know exactly why The
Stones manager was sent off.
Hendon were far more assertive in the second half and
an early header by Mark Kirby looped over Walker only
to be cleared by the alertness of Peacock.
A major incident of dissension occurred in the 52nd
minute when Hendon's James Burgess made a crude and
dangerous over the top tackle on Pinnock. It was instantly
clear that the Maidstone man was in pain from the challenge
and Burgess immediately held up his hands to committing
the foul. For once the players reacted with concern
for the injured party rather than engaged in a bout
of pushing and shoving.
Mr Margetts took Burgess to one side and most present
inside the ground I am sure were expecting to see the
Hendon man sent off, however, he was only cautioned
much to the dismay of all with an amber and black hue.
For his troubles Pinnock was replaced by Keelan Mooney
as his knee had already started to swell. When Mr Margetts
sees the photographic evidence of this challenge he
will no doubt realise that he got this decision very
wrong indeed.
The Stones continued to collect cautions with relative
ease as both Saunders and Hawkins committed challenges
deemed worthy of punishment. The Stones looking to gain
something from the game to keep their promotion push
on track went with four forwards up front as Ryan Royston
supplemented the tiring efforts of Nugent, Blackman
and Mooney but it was all to no avail apart from an
82nd minute effort from Hawkins that was well saved
by Viner.
As is so often the case when committing so many players
forward the opposition get more space when they attack
and it was a run from Collins into the area that saw
him felled by Paul and a second penalty was awarded
to Hendon. With 88 minutes on the clock Busby again
stepped up and swapped his corner again sending Walker
the wrong way to make it Hendon 2 Maidstone United 0.
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Hendon: Busby
28, 88
Maidstone United:
-
Hendon: Viner, Burgess, Vargas, Kirby, Parker,
Busby, MacLaren, Garner, Haule, Bent, Collins. Subs:
Hunt, Dean, Leach, Dyer, Guentchev.
Maidstone United: Walker, Paul, Elliott, Peacock,
Hawkins, Royston, Nugent, Saunders, Pinnock (Mooney
53), Blackman, Edge. Subs not used: Parkinson,
Pascal, Hume, Northwood.
 Alan
Walker
Man of the Match
Photos from Steve Terrell
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