Match Report

Beckenham 20 v Maidstone 38 

        by Trevor Langley

London 2 South

Away at Beckenham, Saturday 31 January, 2009, Kick Off –2.30pm

Maidstone carried on where they left off last week, securing this emphatic 38-20 win over local rivals, Beckenham, scoring five tries in the process. With only one change, Sam Bailey coming in for the injured John O’Brien at prop, the team had the opportunity to draw on the confidence of their first league win and this was put to good effect from the start.

All the hard work and endeavour that has been invested by the coaching team is now beginning to bear fruit as young guns, like Matt Iles, start to fulfil their potential on the field. But it was an older head, that of Mark Thurgood, that made the biggest impact, coming on after 30 mins to replace Luke Debnam at prop, transforming the Stone’s tight play and giving them a platform of good possession as a consequence.

Maidstone started the game playing into the chilling wind but with a spring in their step. The fly half, inside centre combination that proved so effective last week, was soon pressing the Beckenham line: a penalty, conceded by Beckenham in their own 22 after 2 minutes, allowed Craig Whitehead to put the Stone’s in front.

But a yellow card to blind-side flanker, Iles, for a late tackle after 10 minutes, conceded the initiative and, in the penalty period, Maidstone conceded two tries, both scored by winger Hulls. It was also clear that Debnam was struggling with a back injury and his replacement by Thurgood on the half hour, helped restore Maidstone’s early drive, particularly in the scrum, where Beckenham started to go backwards.

And this was the source of Maidstone’s next score. From a Beckenham scrum on the half way line, scrum half McPherson snaffled the loose ball and chipped into the Beckenham 22. Failure to deal quickly with the bouncing ball allowed Tommy King, following up, to dribble over the line and score. With Whitehead’s routine conversion, Maidstone was back in the game.

In the last ten minutes of the half, Maidstone built on this turn of fortune, firstly with a converted try by Iles, after Martin Arnold had intercepted a Beckenham move, and finally when Gareth Hill finished off a flowing move by touching down in the left corner.

With this formidable platform, there were hopes for further early Maidstone scores when the game restarted. But this was to underestimate the grit and determination in the Beckenham side, and for fifteen minutes Maidstone’s first time tackling slipped from its recent high standards. Winger Hulls proved a continual handful, and after a last ditch tackle by Iles, he slipped a pass to prop Cleverly, for him to score by the posts.

A penalty shortly thereafter saw Beckenham get back to within two points of Maidstone but this was the watershed as, slowly but surely, Maidstone began to regain the initiative with King and Graves making good use of the increasing flow of possession. The last ten minutes was all Maidstone as they began to create chaos in the Beckenham back line, as firstly King and then Graves added tries.

Late replacement Tom Searles, gilded the lilly with a penalty, deep in injury time, but Beckenham were a well beaten side by this time and Maidstone confirmed they are on the way back!

Team

Sam Bailey; Sam Rogers; Luke Debnam (Mark Thurgood 30 mins): Andy Bacon; Steve Matthews: Matt Iles; Nick Sargent (Fin Davis 64 mins); Ben Court: Sam McPherson; Tommy King; Neil Graves; Martin Arnold: James Sullivan: Craig Whitehead (Tom Searles 80 mins)