Maidstone 4ths v Gillingham Anchorians 3rds   Mid Kent B    

Maidstone won 0-8

The  rain had gone but not the wind . The two sides dutifully trudged out
into the mild january afternoon for a proper set-to of a game with the outcome always uncertain. However, this game should have been Maidstone's all the
way given the skills within the team but the perennial problem of never
having the same team two weeks running, makes it difficult for those skills to flourish. That said, everyone seemed to have a great time,(in Jon Brown's case the last rugby he'll play for Maidstone for a while as he's moving to Dubai next week).

So to the game: Anchorians kicked off with the wind at their backs and for
most of the first half, the 4's were under the cosh, but they stood strong,
thanks in no small part to the likes of the youthful Luke Debnam, Sam Bailey
& the not so young Ben Jones. Playing with the wind, Anchorians appeared to be camped in the Maidstone half but resolute tackling, particularly amongst the three-quarters, kept them at bay. Anch’s number 2 line-out jumper was too good for either Richard Ewence or Mike Blacker and secured loads of possession for the Anchs half-backs, who fortunately for Maidstone, did little with it.

After weathering the initial onslaught, the game went up the pitch ,then
back down and generally to'd & fro'd until about 2/3rds into the first
half, when just inside Anchorians 22 with the 4's pressing, the defenders were
awarded the put in to a scrum .At this point the senior players proved their
worth as the dashing winger, Captain Dave Jackson, swept around the static scrum- half to charge down the clearance kick which was kicked & chased over the line by the blind-side flanker Will Arnold for 5 points. Ben Blacker was shortly afterward injured, giving late-comer Lee Woodger a chance to join the fray. The game resumed it's mid-field tussle until the ref blew for half time with the score at 5 – 0 to Maidstone.

Second half saw both sides failing to break through the opposition defence, despite the fact that Maidstone now had the wind at their backs and could more easily relieve the pressure. Maidstone seemed to have the best of things and after about 15
minutes were awarded a penalty within range of the posts. Young Gus Parker stepped up and capped a very good performance by adding the three points that gave Maidstone an 8 point lead,(although it took a re-bound off the posts to go through). Then back to the grind,but from there on
it started to be a one sided affair with Gus missing a further long range kick at
goal in the dying seconds ,but all in all a hard game won.

Ben Jones was Maidstone’s outstanding player, often doing the work that the pack should have been doing, but there were many very good performances from old and young alike.

M.Emery, J.Scott, L.Debnam,R.Ewence, M.Blacker ,W.Arnold,S.Bailey,J.Brown,B.Jones,A.Parker,D.Jackson,P.Sharpe,A.Donoghue,B.Blacker,G.Coomber