Watching Maidstone United at the moment cannot be good for the blood pressure as Stuart King’s stoppage time winner maintains the County Town team’s challenge for the Ryman One South title.
Ramsgate, making their own late charge towards the playoff places, had pushed their hosts hard and forced an equaliser, to Alex Flisher’s opener, with just nine minutes of normal time remaining.
Flisher had pounced in the 64th minute, on the only defensive error that Dean Hill and Curtis Robinson committed all afternoon, to calmly curl the ball round former Maidstone and Gillingham keeper Darren Hawkes. Ramsgate substitute, and a long-time nemesis of the Stones, Warren Schulz’s mishit shot forced Steve Watt into a desperate header which was deflected past the Stones’ stopper, Deren Ibrahim, for the equaliser. But Hawkes’ game was to end on a painful note, as he collided with King, who scooped the ball into the net at the same time for the winner; the keeper suffering what is suspected to be a broken jaw in the process.
With plenty on the line for both sides, and with the array of attacking talent on display – Maidstone with five players in double figures this season in addition to Ramsgate’s prolific Ian Pulman, with nine goals in his last six games, including a Good Friday hatrick against Herne Bay – both sides defences had to be on top of their game. Maidstone appeared to alter their normal formation through injuries, and it was only after the loss of Jerrome Sobers to injury ten minutes into the second half, which forced a reshuffle, that the hosts found any sustained fluency.
Early on, Tom Mills scuffed his shot when 12 yards out after good work from Flisher down the left wing, and from a Flisher long throw, Ade Olorunda’s overhead kick was blocked away by Robinson to King, whose effort flew high over the bar. In response, Ramsgate had chances of their own, with Ben Laslett’s effort from the edge of the area being cleared off the line by Dan Stubbs, and the impressive Macauley Murray’s 25-yard dipping volley just cleared the bar.
Hawkes, despite taunts concerning his weight from the home supporters, showed remarkable agility to tip over a rasping drive from Mills, after Olorunda and John Harley had seen shots blocked in a penalty area scramble. Then King found space on the edge of the Ramsgate area, but dragged his effort wide of Hawkes’ left hand post.
After Olorunda climbed above Hill to head wide, the visitors finished the half the stronger as Tom Chapman, who had an outstanding game on the Ramsgate right, drew an outstanding full-length save from Ibrahim down to his right. Ibrahim had to be quickly off his line to deny Chapman again in the closing seconds, as the winger weaved past challenges from Mills and Steve Watt, but a combination of a tight angle, and the keeper denied the chance.
Ramsgate felt aggrieved with Mr Wallace, the second replacement to the referee originally appointed to this fixture, ten minutes into the second half as Pulman and Sobers chased down a long ball over the top. The ball broke to Steve O’Brien, who appeared to be impeded by Dan Stubbs, but as the Rams winger recovered and broke into the area, the official denied Ramsgate the advantage, and awarded a freekick which came to nothing. This incident led to Sobers being helped from the field with a damaged hamstring, and the reshuffle that definitely benefited the hosts.
A Flisher long throw, flicked on by Watt, led to a half-chance for King, but the Ramsgate defence crowded him out. But from the resulting corner, Ian Draycott headed goalwards, Olorunda got a touch to defeat Hawkes from close range, but Chapman was well positioned to clear off the line.
Maidstone continued to throw bodies forward at every turn, and on the hour put together by far the best move of the match. Flisher released the overlapping Harley, who drove to the by-line. The new Stones signing dinked a cross to the back post, where King nodded down for Draycott to head goalwards, only to be denied by another athletic tip over by Hawkes.
Pulman, who was being well shackled by Watt, had a chance fall his way, after Schulz’s first touch let him down, but the Rams striker could only bobble a shot on the turn from well inside the box. This was a chance that Pulman would normally take with impunity, but Ibrahim held it well down to his left.
That could have proved crucial as from their next attack, Maidstone hit the front. Stubbs launched a high ball to the edge of the area from his own half, and whereas Hill and Robinson had dealt with everything comfortably, for some reason their communication broke down, and Flisher was left free inside the box to control, turn and curl a left foot shot past Hawkes for his fifteenth goal of the season.
Ramsgate tried to hit back from an O’Brien corner that curled over Ibrahim, but off the face of the bar, and following a poor Schulz freekick, Murray fired a 30-yard volley wide of the post.
The visitor’s pressure told though with nine minutes remaining. A quick freekick on the right fell to Schulz on the edge of the area. The substitute shifted the ball to his left, but as he went to strike, slipped and the ball looped up into the air goalwards, and in the heat of the moment, skidded off Watt’s head, wrong-footing Ibrahim, and into the net.
For their efforts, this was the least that Ramsgate’s performance deserved, but as the game went into stoppage time, Maidstone snatched a vital winner. From Flisher’s long-throw near the dugouts, the ball took deflections off a number of heads and dropped into the 6-yard box. As Hawkes dived forward, King, reacting quickest, slid in and toe-poked the ball into the corner of the net.
Unfortunately, with two such fully committed players, there was always going to be a collision, and Hawkes definitely came off worse; requiring at least three minutes of treatment, that led to nine minutes of stoppage time.
So Maidstone remain top of the Ryman One South table, ahead of Dulwich Hamlet on goal difference, although Dulwich do have a game in hand. While Ramsgate’s playoff hopes remain well and truly alive, as results elsewhere appear to have gone their way. As Ramsgate manager, Tim Dixon, said post-match “everyone has 6 cup finals left”. How true!
MAIDSTONE UNITED: Deren Ibrahim, Dan Stubbs, Tom Mills, Steve Watt, Jerrome Sobers (Ian Draycott 55), Danny Lye, John Harley, Michael Phillips, Ade Olorunda (Paul Booth 64), Stuart King (Shaun Welford 90), Alex Flisher.
Subs: Kaiyne Woolery, Tony Kessell.
Goals: Alex Flisher 64, Stuart King 90.
Booking: Stuart King 90.
RAMSGATE: Darren Hawkes, Tom Parkinson (Josh Maughan 78), Sam Gore, Curtis Robinson, Dean Hill (James Sherman 90), Ben Laslett, Tom Chapman, Jon Eguileor (Warren Schulz 46), Ian Pulman, Macauley Murray, Steve O’Brien.
Subs: Kane Roland, Shannon Harris.
Goal: Steve Watt (o.g.) 81.
Attendance: 1,790
Referee: Mr N Wallace
Assistants: Mr J Down and Mr K May