Hythe Town 3-4 Maidstone United - Maidstone wanted it more than us, admits Scott Porter

HYTHE TOWN  3-4  MAIDSTONE UNITED
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 5^th January 2013
Stephen McCartney reports from Reachfields Stadium

MAIDSTONE UNITED manager Jay Saunders says he wants striker Shaun Welford to stay after scoring a brace against the side that have submitted a seven-day approach for his services.

Welford opened the scoring on exactly 60 seconds and then again 23 seconds into the second half as title-chasing Maidstone United won a pulsating seven-goal thriller over third-placed Hythe Town, who have now lost two games on the bounce.

The Stones, who went into this Kent derby sitting in second-place, two points behind Dulwich Hamlet, but with a couple of games in hand, with 40 points from 19 games, moved six points clear of Hythe Town with their exciting 4-3 victory.

After Welford’s early header, on-loan winger Warren Whitely curled home a second to hand Saunders’ side a two-goal advantage inside the opening seventeen minutes.

But after losing right-back Greg Smith and left-winger Taser Hassan to injury, Hythe Town replicated what they did in their last game at Faversham on New Years’ Day by clawing themselves back into the game, this time courtesy of two goals from right-winger Jake Hobbs.

But Welford punished Hythe early in the second half with his eleventh goal of the season, before central midfielder Michael Phillips tucked home a fourth, before former Beckenham Town winger Hobbs scored his hat-trick to complete the scoring.

The vast number of Maidstone United supporters were celebrating when Welford headed home following a well-worked free-kick routine.

Welford looked favourite to take the set-piece 30-yards from goal but ran over the ball before sprinting into the penalty area and Phillips clipped the ball into the box with his right foot and Welford was left unmarked to loop his header over keeper Dean Ruddy and over the line from ten-yards.

Saunders said afterwards that Welford is still wanted at the club.

“I’ve just said I hope someone puts in a seven-dayer for him every week because he’s started scoring!

“People question whether I should leave him out but I know Shaun. I’ve known him long enough. I’m confident he’ll stay here.  I can’t see why he’ll want to leave and I thought his performance showed his attitude and the sort of fella he is.  I thought he was immense today.”

Hythe Town boss Scott Porter says he has funds available, freed up after releasing former Maidstone United defender Nick Reeves.  Since Reeves’ departure from Reachfields, Porter’s men defeated local rivals Folkestone Invicta on Boxing Day, before losing to Faversham Town and the Stones.

Porter said: “I think it needs freshening up a little bit.  I’ve got the funds there so it’s not a problem.  I got rid of Nick Reeves so it’s been standing there.”

Reflecting on the goal, Saunders was pleased with the start and said: “Great goal.  I’ve been harping on to the boys about how important it is to have good starts and yes we did start well and that’s important. It set us up.”

Porter complained about his players’ desire and said: “You could see from a mile off what he was going to do and he’s run, the goalkeeper’s come off, no-one’s gone with him and it’s just a poor goal.

“We’re not organised enough. We don’t want it enough to stay with our man and taking responsibility and getting hurt.  I’ve said that I want blood out of my players when they cross that line and today we didn’t do that.”

Hythe Town’s attempt to replicate Stones’ opening goal, however, failed when Ronnie Dolan whipped in a free-kick for Craig Cloke – who was playing with an injured groin – sent his powerful header wide.

Hythe Town went closer with eleven minutes on the clock when midfielder Nick Barnes clipped the ball over to the left where Hassan was given time and space by Stones’ right-back Tommy Osborne to flash a low right-footed drive agonisingly wide of the foot of the far post from 25-yards.

The home side went direct following Ruddy’s kick, which was flicked on by Dave Cook and James Everitt swept the loose ball out to Hassan, who called for the ball from the former Folkestone Invicta stalwart, but his low right-footed shot went through Osborne’s legs and brought a comfortable low save from keeper Deren Ibrahim at his near post.

But Ibrahim made a flying save to his left to thwart Hythe Town skipper Cook in the fourteenth minute.

Everitt’s clipped pass found Cook and he cracked a right-footed drive towards goal but Ibrahim dived to his left to make a fine block.

That saved proved to be vital as Maidstone United doubled their lead in the seventeenth minute.

The Stones ended Hassan’s progress and a long ball was played forward and Welford shanked shot from 30-yards bounced across the penalty area and full marks to Whitely, presently on loan from Blue Square Bet South side Chelmsford City, who retrieved the lost ball, cut inside and curled a beautiful right-footed shot across Ruddy to find the far corner.

Porter said: “It was a good finish!  It should never had got there. Shaun’s hit a shank, which has gone to their player. That has summed it up today as well. I thought we could have closed him down a bit quicker. He was always going to come on his right. It’s a decent finish, but I think it could have been stopped.”

Saunders added: “Shaun’s saying he meant it but I don’t care at the end of the day!  It’s gone down as an assist and a great finish by Warren.  I thought Warren had a really good game today. He’s had a bit of a cold but I thought his attitude and work rate, defensively as well. I thought he caused them problems when he got on the ball. I was very pleased with him.”

The celebratory travelling contingent chanted “can we play you every week?” to their hosts and they twice went close to add to their lead just before the half-hour mark.

Whitely, now on the right, stroked a left-footed drive just wide of the far post from 20-yards, before Welford threated the ball through to right-winger Alex Brown, who took a touch before sweeping a shot wide of the far post from just a couple of yards outside the box.

But Hythe Town will never surrender the points without a fight and they grasped a lifeline ten minutes before the break.

Camberley-based referee Jim Paterson adjudged Phillips’ sliding tackle from behind on Cook to be illegal so awarded the home side a free-kick, dead central, inside the D and just a yard from the penalty area.

Hobbs, who opened his goalscoring account with a sublime free-kick at Faversham Town on New Years’ Day, faced six amber shirted players in the wall, and stroked his right-footed free-kick around the wall (again) and Ibrahim got his left hand to the shot but couldn’t prevent it finding the right-hand corner of the net.

“He’s got that in his locker,” Porter said.  “He’s scored one of them on Tuesday and then he’s got one today.  He’s scored three great goals today and hopefully he’ll start coming good because he’s been frustrating at times.

“You can see the frustration. He’s got that in his locker and then last minute he knocks a cross out, which could have got us something from the game and it goes out for a goal-kick. That’s just the difference.”

Saunders added: “The turning point was actually the free-kick that Jake Hobbs’ has scored. It was never a free-kick in a million years!  Michael Phillips has won the ball cleanly, the ref’s saying it was from behind but he’s won the ball before he’s gone anywhere near the player.  What the hell he’s been there and they’ve scored a free-kick and all off a sudden they’re on the front foot.”

That strike lifted Hythe Town out of their slumber and a chipped pass from Everitt was missed by Cook and the ball fell to Hobbs, but his right-footed drive was blocked by Ibrahim at the near post.

Both managers felt Cloke was lucky to have only been booked for bringing down Welford on the very edge of the penalty box, inside the D, but referee Mr Paterson pulled out a yellow card from his pocket.

Saunders said: “It’s a sending off!  I’ve been speaking to Ports and he’s agreed with me.  He (the referee) was terrible all game. He should have been sent off there and the one on Warren Whitely, who has not got a penalty at the end in the box was an even clearer penalty but it’s not been given and we have to get on with it.”

Porter, in his first game back following a touch-line ban, said: “I was looking to make a substitution and try to re-organise it because I thought the referee was going to send him off!

“I ain’t going to sit here and talk about referees.  I’m sick and tired of talking about referee’s, but at the end of the day my team performance wasn’t good enough today.”

Hobbs, who scored 29 goals for Kent League side Beckenham Town last season, turned down a move to Maidstone United, where his close friend Ibrahim plays, to sign for Hythe Town in the summer.

Hythe Town turned the game on its head after they equalised two minutes into injury time, courtesy of a clinical counter-attack.

Dolan, Pat Kingwell sent shockwaves through the Maidstone defence and Cook played the ball inside for Hobbs to smash his right-footed drive into the roof of the net from 16-yards.

Porter hailed it as “a great goal!  Goal of the game!  Goal of the game!  We countered attacked them and threated it through the whole of the pitch and there were four or five going for it.  It was a great goal, that’s the thing, we’ve scored three great goals and we’ve conceded, I’d say, three sloppy goals.”

Saunders added: “Shaun’s a bit eager to take a long throw and I’ve said to him you’ve got to think about things like that. There’s a minute left and we could have just kept the ball in the corner from our throw and we’ve just launched one in to the box and they’ve broke well and scored a good goal, but again that’s something that we could have avoided.”

Both managers were asked what was said inside their changing rooms at the interval.

Porter said: “I shouldn’t have said anything to be fair!  We got in there at half-time and say certain stuff to better what’s happened in the first half like every manager does and pick points out of what they’ve done and pick points how we can be better and pick points how we can stop them.

“But like I’ve said to the lads’ it’s nothing to do what I’ve done, it’s all in their minds. It’s in their own mindset. They cross that line it’s down to them.  I think some people don’t concentrate, they just switch off.  The mindset ain’t right.  It’s proved big today that people, both individual and as a team, their mindset has cost us the game.”

Saunders added: “The game could have gone one way or another. We could crumble or we could get our heads up and really have a go at them and we’ve got off to the best possible start.”

But Maidstone United regained the lead after only 23 seconds, which clearly angered Porter.

Brown penetrated the Hythe defence down the right before sweeping the ball inside to Welford, who sent the former Gillingham midfielder on his way and Brown reached the by-line before cutting the ball back, which trickled past Cloke at the near post and Welford was given time and space just eight-yards out to pick his spot with a right-footed shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

Porter bemoaned: “You can tell people everything in the changing room. They take it on board so be it. If they don’t that’s how you get punished. That’s football and I’ve just told them that in there. I pick out things at the end to make us better for the next game and if people’s minds ain’t right when I’m doing the team talk when they cross the line, that’s the proven fact and that’s what’s happened.”

Saunders added: “Great finish!  Shaun has done well in the build-up. He’s held it up, played it out to Brownie and got into the box.   Shaun was a handful for them all day. I thought he caused their two centre halves problems. A great run by Brownie and Shaun deserved his goal.”

Welford’s left-footed shot on the turn lacked the desired power it needed to trouble American keeper Ruddy, before Hythe Town almost snatched the equaliser in the 55^th minute when Dolan unleashed a speculative right-footed free-kick into the box from 45-yards, which bounced off the soft pitch and looped up and Ibrahim was forced to back-peddle to tip the ball over his crossbar at the final moment.

Welford had an even better chance to net his hat-trick in the 58^th minute when he met Phillips’ corner with a bullet header at the far post, which screamed narrowly wide of the near post from six-yards.

But Ruddy was at fault for Maidstone United’s final goal of the game five minutes later.

Brown was released down the right and whipped in a teasing cross, which evaded Welford at the near post but Phillips made a late run into the box and had space to steer his left-footed shot under Ruddy at his near post to score from six-yards.

Saunders revealed afterwards that it could be Brown’s final appearance for the club, following his release from League Two side Gillingham.

“I don’t know how Shaun missed it to be honest,” jibed Saunders, who added, “I’m pleased with Mick. I think Micky Phillips was superb in there today, along with Brownie. The whole midfield were very good today, really pleased with them. He got the goal he deserved because he’s been playing really well lately and I just thought that the game was it. Game over.”

Saunders admitted he faces a battle to keep Brown at the club.

“We had a loan deal agreed (with Gillingham) to keep him for another month or two.  They’ve dropped a bombshell on us that he was free to leave the club. He’s a good player and other teams are interested in him so I’ve had a chat with Hessie (Gillingham director of football Andy Hessenthaler) last night again and he’s sort of said they still might be able to do another loan or whatever but we just have to see.  He’s a good player and I’m sure they’ll be plenty of interest in him and we just have to hope that we’ll be able to do something.”

Reflecting on Maidstone’s fourth goal, Porter complained about the mistakes. 

“Unmarked again – from a mistake in the middle of the park.  Lee Winfield lost it, John Walker’s put it across the goal and far post the keeper got beaten at his near post.  They’ve charged forward on our mistakes, it keeps happening.”

The Maidstone United defence swallowed up any Hythe Town threat and Saunders was delighted that his side won the midfield battle.

He said: “I was tempted to go with three in there to be honest but we didn’t, we stuck with the four, kept Brownie out wide and I think it worked. I thought Tim Olorunda and Michael Phillips dealt well with Ronnie Dolan and Cookie and Barnsey well. They’re good players and they’re the heartbeat of Hythe’s team I think.

“Tommy Osborne’s done well at the start with Taser there and then they put another lad there and he done well again.

“We won that battle and that’s pleasing.  In this league if you win the midfield battle nine times out of ten you will win games because I think we’ve got that bit of quality in front of goal.”

Porter is concerned that his players’ are losing their strength.

He said: “They wanted it more than us and we didn’t come out of the traps first half. We certainly didn’t come out of the traps second half.

“They played very narrow but on a boggy pitch they dealt with it.  We’re just making too many mistakes and we’re getting punished for it.

“It’s more disappointing that we didn’t compete with them. We got a little bit bullied. We didn’t win the battle in midfield, which is disappointing.  Too many of my big players didn’t turn up today and too many mistakes again has cost us games and you can’t afford to start games 2-0 down every week and we’ve got to get to the bottom of it.

“I will work hard as I can to do that. We’re not too far off. You can see that and to be still in the game for a long, long period of time shows that we’re good enough to complete with them. Cut the mistakes out and we’re not far off.”

Hythe Town did create a chance that they failed to take when Cook played a fine diagonal pass to release Hobbs sprinting down the right and his low cross had Dolan struggling to retain the ball with Ibrahim ready to pounce but he cut the ball back to substitute George Savage, the left-back hitting a first time shot from 25-yards, which sailed over the crossbar.

Brown was denied a farewell goal when he latched onto Welford’s clever pass, cut in and stroked a low shot which was blocked by the Hythe keeper at his near post.

Hobbs, however, completed a fine hat-trick with only fourteen minutes left.

Hobbs played the ball to Dolan, who cut the ball back to Hobbs, who was given time and space out on the left to look up and crack a stunning right-footed curler from 35-yards, which screamed over Ibrahim and went in off the top of the far post.

Porter admitted Hobbs, Hobbs, who played for Conference South side Welling United before dropping down to Beckenham Town, frustrates him.

He said: “I just wished he could do it a little bit more, be more consistent, which he knows that!  He gets frustrated with himself with certain performances but what quality he’s got. I told him to come to the table today and he’s done that but on certain crosses it doesn’t happen!  That’s the frustrating part of his game. He can do it but when he doesn’t do it, we know he can do it, and that’s how we get frustrated.”

Saunders said: “They didn’t really have a chance that much second half. I don’t think Deren’s really had a save to make. He’s gone to punch one and he’s hit one at far stick and it’s gone in off the post.  I don’t know if he meant it. If he did it’s a good finish, but it’s frustrating because at that point I thought we were comfortable at that point. The game was over but it just shows you how wrong I was!”

Hythe Town were thwarted in their bid to snatch a point.

An eighth-corner was swung in from the right by Hobbs, but Cloke’s header sailed wide of the far post; Cloke then launched a long throw into the box, which was headed clear and Hobbs lashed a first time shot over the crossbar from outside of the penalty area.

Sandwiched by those chances, Welford swept the ball to substitute Alex Flisher, who had time and space to unleash an angled left-footed drive, which flashed narrowly wide of the far post.

The crowd of 709 were thoroughly entertained – it’s just an embarrassment that BBC Radio Kent have forgotten that there is more to Kent football than the Conference and teams at this level also deserve coverage.

Saunders said: “It was a hell of a game!  I said to Scott it was a great game. I’m sure as a spectator watching or as a neutral it was a brilliant advert for Ryman football but to be involved in it certainly got the old heart racing!

“It was a great advert for Ryman football.  If you came down here to have a day out and watch a game of football you certainly got your money’s worth.

“Our supporters’ when they travel away are phenomenal.  The atmosphere they make compared to others is unbelievable!  Hopefully they’re enjoying what the boys’ are doing for them and they’ll keep coming.”

Saunders said today’s win can be crucial in their bid to clinch the Ryman League Division One South title at the end of the season.

He said: “Exactly what I said at half-time.  You come to places like this and when you’re 2-0 up and you go back to two-all, I think it moulds the season.  You crumble, they’re in the ascendancy or you kick on again.  We showed great character and kicked on and gone on and won the game.”

Porter added: “We’re just making too many mistakes and we’re getting punished for it.  We’ve scored three great goals today and I’d say they’ve scored a couple of decent goals and apart from that the ones we’re mistakes and we keep getting punished for it.

“You can’t keep taking to people at the start of the game and then go out and switch off and what we’ve said in the changing room and they’ve just switched off again.

“It’s not good enough!  They’re not disciplined enough when they’ve crossed that line and it keeps happening, the last two or three weeks.

“Maidstone wanted it more than us. You could see that. Their big players turned up and ours didn’t.”

Hythe Town: Dean Ruddy, Greg Smith (George Savage 21), John Walker, Pat Kingwell, Craig Cloke, Ronnie Dolan, Dave Cook, Nick Barnes, Jake Hobbs, James Everitt (Brendon Cass 78), Taser Hassan (Lee Winfield 26).
Subs: Craig Thompson, Tom Elliott

Goals: Jake Hobbs 35, 45, 76

Booked: Craig Cloke 42, Jake Hobbs 90

Maidstone United: Deren Ibrahim, Tommy Osborne, Tom Mills, Gavin Greenfield, Tim Olorunda, Michael Phillips (Danny Lye 90), Alex Brown, Shaun Welford, Ian Draycott (Alex Flisher 83), Warren Whitely.
Subs: Ade Olorunda, Stuart King, Kaiyne Woolery

Goals: Shaun Welford 2, 46, Warren Whitely 17, Michael Phillips 63

Booked: Michael Phillips 37, Tim Olorunda 87

Attendance: 709
Referee: Mr Jim Paterson (Camberley, Surrey)
Assistants: Mr Jason Connolly (Camberley, Surrey) & Mr Mark Hounsell (Camberley, Surrey)