In a game where they could have been out of sight by the interval, Maidstone United were pegged back in the second half, and either side could have walked away with the three points. 

Alex Flisher opened the scoring thanks to a perfectly timed run on 14, but Guiseley levelled on 65 through Reece Webb-Foster.

At the final whistle though, Guiseley had earned their third point of the season (all since player-manager Adam Lockwood was appointed) and the Stones have now failed to win any of their last four home games.

Maidstone’s manager, Jay Saunders, is renowned for backing his players, but on this occasion said “I’m not happy; disappointed.  I thought we should have been out of sight, and I said at half-time that they (Guiseley) would get chances if we didn’t work hard up front and out wide, and we switched off for about 10 minutes and let them back into the game.  You’ve got to take your chances, and when you don’t you give away a crap goal.”

“It’s alright saying that we are creating chances, but you’ve got to take them.  Our decision making in the final third after half-time at times was embarrassing.   When we go to one-all we got nervy and stopped playing, we started going direct.  There were too many people missing at that point, and we’ve got to address that.  I’ve been giving people chances and they are not producing.  We need better quality and better decision making.  Guiseley got the ball forward quick and we went missing.  No excuses, the second half performance wasn’t good enough.”

As though they were trying to belie their league position (bottom before today’s game), Guiseley almost caught Maidstone cold after just 42 seconds.  Javan Vidal’s run forward and ball into the box released Michael Rankine, who skipped past Jamie Coyle to the byline.  Rankine’s ball into the middle was eventually scrambled clear by a combination of Lee Worgan and Tom Mills.

Guiseley continued to press on the back of their good start, with Adam Boyes scuffing a shot at Worgan from the edge of the box. Boyes then turned creator, setting up a chance for strike partner Michael Rankine, whose drive was parried away by Worgan to his left side.

It took 12 minutes before Maidstone fashioned a couple of half-chances. First Jack Paxman’s cross-shot from the left wing was parried away by Jonathan Maxted.  Bobby-Joe Taylor retrieved the ball and laid a pass into the path of Jack Evans’, whose shot was well held by the Guiseley keeper.

On 14, Maidstone hit the front through Alex Flisher’s 4th goal of the season.  Tom Mills found Taylor in the middle of the Guiseley half, and
clipped a pass into the path of Flisher, whose shot came off the hip of Maxted, but still found the corner of the net.

Five minutes later, the Stones’ fans thought they were celebrating a second when Taylor’s near post freekick was powered into the roof of the net by Liam Enver-Marum’s diving header, but the forward was flagged offside.

Despite trailing, Guiseley were still threatening when they ventured into the Maidstone half, with the two forwards, Boyes and Rankine a real handful for the Maidstone defence.  Rankine hit a 25-yard shot straight at Worgan, before beating the keeper with a snapshot from the edge of the box that shaved the right hand post.

Flisher had the chance to double the tally on 26, latching onto a ball over the top of the Guiseley defence, but this time Maxted was out quickly to smother the forward’s shot for a corner.  An almost identical chance fell to Enver-Marum moments later, but this time Vidal came to the rescue of his team as Enver-Marum shaped to shoot, sliding in to deny the chance at some cost to himself; the defender being stretchered off with a knee injury, while the Stones’ faithful were screaming for a penalty.  Although there didn’t seem to be any contact on the ball from Vidal, there didn’t seem to be enough there for Mr Quelch to point for a spot kick either.

Taylor came close on 40, with his freekick curling round the left edge of the wall, off the left hand upright and off the back of Maxted for a corner.  Guiseley failed to clear the set piece, and the ball was worked back to Taylor on the left wing.  His early cross found Flisher with a towering header, but it was directed straight at Maxted.  Anywhere else, and it would have been the second goal.

The final chance of the extended half fell to the visitors, with substitute Jordan Preston firing a shot to Worgan’s right, that the keeper did well to hold as the ball skipped off the surface.

Flisher continued to get on the end of chances early in the second half, with two efforts from Taylor crosses being skied over the bar, while Guiseley were being equally profligate in front of goal; failing to test Worgan despite good approach play from Nicky Clee and Jordan Preston.

The visitors, at the end of 5 minutes of almost constant pressure that saw Preston and substitute Reece Webb-Foster (twice each) waste chances, found an equaliser through Webb-Foster.  The Bradford loanee found space on the top left corner of the Maidstone penalty area.  Although his first shot was charged down by Anthony Acheampong, the ball rebounded to his feet and he curled a sublime shot beyond Worgan’s dive into the right corner.

There was a scare for the Stones with ten minutes remaining as Simon Walton’s pass was played into the run of Preston by Webb-Foster.

Preston held off Acheampong’s challenge as he drove into the area, and as Worgan slid out to shepherd the ball behind, the Guiseley forward went to ground, but once again, Mr Quelch was unmoved.

New signing Yemi Odubade almost made an immediate impact off the bench. Jack Paxman, who had been quiet, suddenly played an inch-perfect through ball that split the Guiseley defence, and once Odubade got the ball out from under his feet, his shot was parried away by Maxted.

Dan Sweeney had a shot tipped round, leading to a series of Maidstone corners.  From the second set piece, Jamie Coyle got above his marker, but his header glanced off the top of the bar. Odubade also then created a chance for Ben Greenhalgh, but the Maidstone replacement was under pressure from Robert Atkinson’s challenge and could only screw his shot wide.

Guiseley very nearly stole the three points in stoppage time, but the chance came from a quickly taken Maidstone freekick.  Sweeney’s pass to Paxman put the midfielder under pressure and Webb-Foster emerged with the ball.  He passed forward to Preston, whose first shot was blocked by Worgan’s body, then he stabbed his second effort under Worgan, but into the side netting from an acute angle.

Saunders, speaking at the end of the match, thought it was a spot kick and admitted “you’ve got to question the refereeing decisions.  I thought we had a blatant penalty.  Liam could have taken the chance earlier, but it’s a blatant penalty and even their bench has said so.”

However, he did rue the other chances, adding “I don’t know about Liam’s offside goal, but Flish has got to score his header, and we’ve hit the post as well.”

MAIDSTONE UNITED: 1- Lee Worgan; 12- Jack Evans, 15- Anthony Acheampong, 4- Jamie Coyle, 3- Tom Mills; 25- Nathan Mavila (14- Tom Murphy 62), 8- Dan Sweeney, 10- Jack Paxman, 15- Bobby-Joe Taylor (23- Yemi Odubade 73); 11- Alex Flisher, 24- Liam Enver-Marum (17- Ben Greenhalgh 78).

Subs not used: 6- James Rogers, 9- Jay May.

Goal: Alex Flisher 14

Caution: Tom Mills 72

GUISELEY: 26- Jonathan Maxted; 4- Javan Vidal (15- Ashley Palmer 32), 6- Jake Lawlor, 25- Robert Atkinson, 3- Danny Lowe; 10-Oli Johnson (19- Jordan Preston 23), 22- Alex Purver, 24- Simon Walton, 18- Nicky Clee;
9- Adam Boyes, 11- Michael Rankine (27- Reece Webb-Foster 46).

Subs not used:  16- Will Wells, 17- Daniel Atkinson.

Goal: Reece Webb-Foster 65

Cautions: Robert Atkinson 36, Reece Webb-Foster 72

Attendance: 2,106

Referee: Mr Adrian Quelch
Assistants: Mr Dean Skipper and Mr Scott Williams
Fourth Official: Mr Nick Dunn