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The last time The Stones played at Homelands their abject performance left many wondering if they would be able to escape relegation at the end of the season. However, after a battling display against in-form Harrow Borough it is clear that the side being assembled by Andy Ford at least has plenty of spirit.
The visitors arrived in Ashford having won four of their last five matches including a 6-1 thrashing of Canvey Island the previous week but despite Maidstone being reduced to nine men following some questionable refereeing decisions, The Stones did enough to get their fourth point from two games.
Harrow had the best chances of the first half and on 14 minutes they created their first opportunity when Dewayne Clark went past Adrian Stone and cut inside before firing the ball towards goal but Andy Walker made a smart block.
Eighteen minutes later, Rocky Baptiste’s effort from distance deflected just wide before Clarke’s cross on 34 minutes caused a goalmouth scramble which Maidstone managed to survive.
The closest The Stones came in the first half was on 36 minutes when a decent move ended with the returning Jay Saunders lifting the ball over the bar from the edge of the Harrow box.
For the first ten minutes after the interval, Maidstone put the visitors under pressure as they searched for the opening goal but they were fortunate not to fall behind on 55 minutes when Harrow finally broke away quickly and Clarke found to Troy Hewitt who had an open goal but he blazed the ball over the bar.
Then five minutes later, The Stones were to experience their first setback of the afternoon when Saunders surprisingly saw red for what the referee, Mr O’Keefe, deemed to be a second bookable offence.
Maidstone did not let this disappointment hamper them though and on 66 minutes Alex Flisher found Tommy Whitnell who had his back to goal but his shot on the turn went straight into the arms of Nick Jupp in the Harrow goal.
One minute later, Flisher saw an effort from distance whistle wide before he was unfortunately injured by tackle from substitute Quincy Rowe on 71 minutes. Flisher was left with stud marks on both legs as well as suspected knee ligament damage so it was surprising that Mr O’Keefe thought that Rowe’s challenge was only worthy of a yellow card.
Matters got worse for Maidstone on 81 minutes when substitute Laurence Harvey was sent off for when jumping for a ball in the Harrow area but despite being down to nine men, The Stones hung on to record a point.
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