25th April 2007 4.30pm

And so the championship is going down to the final day of the season and in case you need clarification on where we stand then we explain the permutations for Saturday.

Quite simply, a win on Saturday will see the Stones crowned champions at the first time of asking, which would be a remarkable feat for the club in it's first season in the Ryman League. Any other result will mean us relying on the other two contenders failing to win thier games, Tooting & MitchamUtd and Dover Athletic.

Our biggest challenge is from Tooting & Mitcham and any slip up from the Stones will hand them the title should they beat Ashford Town. However they face Ashford Town away from home, and on last night's showing they will certainly present a difficult challenge.

Dover brought themselves back into the title hunt last night with a 5-0 victory over Corinthian-Casuals which brings their goal difference level with ours. Whilst we remain 3 points ahead, defeat for us combined with a Dover victory at home to Horsham YMCA would see them move ahead on goal difference. However, if we were to draw, Dover would not be able to claim the title, but we would be then depending on Tooting not winning their game as well.

So quite simply a win will see the Stones crowned champions and we hope that you will be there in your hundreds on Saturday as there is no doubt your support can make a difference. Walton Casuals have made special provisions for the anticipated bumper crowd on Saturday and details can be found in our AWAY TRAVEL pages.

Finally with the title run in building to this exciting finale, the Stones website has been achieving record levels of hits in recent weeks, and yesterday we registered over 4000 hits on our front page, so there are a great deal of people keeping an eye on the Stones at the moment and that record could well fall again as we approach Saturday. Once again, the Stones Official Website will be keeping you up to date with live text commentary from Saturday's game as well as bringing any goalflash updates from the games at Dover and Ashford.

24th April 2007 1.30pm

There will be a couple of changes to tonight's squad who visit Ashford with Jason Barton unavailable due to work commitments, Kane Rice away and Simon Austin still unable to play after losing the nail from his big toe.

Coming in to the squad as substitutes will be Lee Sperring and Jason Batt, whilst Lloyd Hume will not be involved as a player having picked up a calf injury.

Speaking about today's game, Alan Walker remained in buoyant mood in what is a crucial game for the Stones this evening; "Whilst Ashford have been given a new lease of life recently with new players and some good results, I believe that we still have the greater motivation to win the game knowing that it would make winning the title 99% certain. Yes they will want to beat the leaders as well as the usual motivation about the match being a derby, but I've said it before and I'll say again, if everybody puts in their best performance we are the better team and if they do what they are asked to do by Lloyd and myself and defend in the right areas and create chances in the right areas then we can win this game."

"Saturday's result also proved what a bonus great support can be at a game and you will have seen the reaction from both the players and the bench to that support at the final whistle. We were also pleased with the football we played as we went back to the style we know can win games despite such a poor playing surface. Hopefully Ashford's pitch is still in good condition which we certainly help us and particularly Nick Hegley who really suffered playing on a hard surface."

Finally Walker had this to say after the announcement of the Supporters Player of the Year; "No-one is more pleased than me about the award Nathan received on Saturday, we think the world of him at the club as well as appreciating his wicked sense of humour! In fact the boys who we signed from Beckenham have made a huge impact on the squad with their team spirit. I have to say I had Lynden down as my favourite to win it up until Christmas, then we saw great performances from Sam and Ryan, but you have to agree with the supporters in their decision particularly after what was such a traumatic summer for the lad. He has played well all season with the exception of maybe the last 5 or 6 games, but he was back to his old self on Saturday and that was a huge bonus for us."

As ever your support can once again play a huge part in the Stones winning tonight and we hope you can all be there tonight to once again. If you can't make it then we'll be bringing you goalflash updates throughout the game.

And finally there was good news again for reserve player Sam Morrisson who has just received confirmation that he has been included in the squad for the England Schoolboys v Wales fixture at Molineux on 4th May k.o 7.00pm. So once again many congratulations to him and good luck!

22nd April 2007. 11am

It was an action-packed day at Bourne Park yesterday. 603 saw the Stones beat Kingstonian 2-1 to remain top of the Ryman League Division One South. Three supporters (Adrian Sharpe, Huw Egginton and Matthew Wright) cycled 120 miles from Oxford to Sittingbourne over two days, a fourth (John Gooch) retired after 50 miles but they raised more than £1,000 for the ground fund.

Nathan Paul was crowned Supporters' Player of the Year and our main sponsors Britelite ran a free competition and gave away a 15" LCD TV.

Photos from Steve Terrell.

Fans' favourite Nathan Paul

Adrian Sharpe, Paul Bowden Brown, Huw Egginton and Matthew Wright

Britelite prize draw presentation

20th April 2007. 11am

It's a crucial day for the Stones in their push for promotion tomorrow and the club are hoping for a bumper crowd to urge the players on to victory after their recent downturn in form. Thankfully other results have left the Stones still top of the league on goal difference knowing that 7 points from their remaining 3 games will see them gain promotion to the Premier Division at their first attempt.

Speaking in his regular column this week, Alan Walker urged fans to turn out for tomorrow's game re-inforcing the fact that there was no greater incentive for the players than having the support of the Maidstone fans behind them. So please make every effort to be there tomorrow and be that 'twelfth man'

The good news is that there is once again a full squad available to joint-managers Alan Walker and Lloyd Hume with Ryan Royston now back from a family break.

Tomorrow also sees our brave cyclists hopefully arrive in time for the game after completing their arduous 120mile cycle ride from Oxford to Sittingbourne in aid of the Ground Fund so please give them your support it's not too late to sponsor them, either donating online or at tomorrow's game. Don't forget you can follow their progress live through the website (see link on front page)

Finally if you can't make tomorrow's game, we'll be bringing you live updates from the match and hopefully also keeping tabs on other results from around the league.

2nd April 2007. 8am

Maidstone United chairman Paul Bowden-Brown is calling on the town to support his club's chase for a second successive promotion.

The Stones lead Ryman 1 South with just a few weeks of the season left and Bowden-Brown said: "We never expected to be in a position to go for promotion this season.

“The management and players have defied our expectations and I hope people will turn out to our temporary home in Sittingbourne and give the team every encouragement."

The club were promoted to Ryman 1 South after winning the Kent League last season and have put together an excellent run of form. An 11-match unbeaten run included eight victories and a memorable 4-2 win at Kent rivals Dover in front of more than 1,500 fans.

Home crowds are up 22% on last year and the away support has given the majority of other clubs in the league their highest gate of the season.

The remaining home fixtures are Easter Monday, 9 April vs. Sittingbourne (11am kick-off) and Saturday, 21 April vs. Kingstonian (3pm kick-off).

1st April 2007. 6pm

The Vets team will play their Ryman League Veterans' Cup Semi Final away to Whteleafe Veterans on this coming Wednesday 4th April 2007.

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