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Maidstone 32 Thanet Wanderers 23 |
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Maidstone took 30 minutes to settle into this match and in doing so got a third current or former London 1 side scalp. During this time Thanet hit 2 Redmond penalties and a catch and drive try for Harris while Maidstone were down to 14 with Rob Jeffries in the sin bin. This was now the signal for Maidstone to press the start button with a virtuoso performance by their new half back combination of Craig Whitehead and rejuvenated fly half Dave Charlton with the former getting a penalty, try and conversion just before half time to get back on terms. Charlton had already shown his class with several telling breaks and probing kicks. Also by now the Maidstone Pack were increasing their dominance over the Thanet eight giving the backs even more chances.
Half Time Maidstone 10 Thanet 11
Maidstone carried on where they left of first with a perfectly placed cross kick to the corner for wing Damien Houliham to pick up and score. Thanet hit back soon afterwards when they used their speedster wing at last Yan N’Dong to score in the corner. The sin bin by now was being kept warm by regular visits from both sides as the mark was over stepped! During one of these Maidstone got a push over try for Ben Court whose pack was making life ever increasingly difficult for the wanderers. Confidence was raising all the time and when Neil Graves was held up short of the line Craig Whitehead was at his shoulder to score under the posts. A further catch and drive saw skipper Jon Sargent get the points. With little time left Thanet tried everything they could to break this stubborn Maidstone side. A late Vermaak try was the best they could achieve.
This was a very timely home victory ,coming back from 11 points down, this has gone a very long way to restoring their confidence and rewarding the long hours in training. They can now look forward to the coming matches knowing they have the ability to get the points.
Tries: Craig Whitehead (2),Damien Houlihan, Ben Court, Jon Sargent Conversion: Craig Whitehead (2) Penalty: Craig Whitehead Team Maidstone Glen Aukett, Mark Ryan, Martin Arnold, Neil Graves, Damien Houlihan Dave Charlton, Craig Whitehead Rob Jeffrey, Jon Sargent(C), Matt Plowman (Hollister), Steve Matthews, Sam Johnson, Nick Sargent, John O’Brien, Ben Court. |