Kentish Football 
Maidstone United 0-0 Harrow Borough - The commitment shown with nine men should kick-start us - Ford
Saturday 15th January 2011
MAIDSTONE UNITED 0-0 HARROW BOROUGH
Ryman Premier League
Saturday 15th January 2011
Paul Parkinson reports from Homelands Stadium
NINE-MAN Maidstone United had to battle through a sticky pitch and the loss of Alex Flisher, to what looked initially as an horrific leg injury, to gain a point against an in-form Harrow Borough.
Having lost debutants Jay Saunders and Laurence Harvey to red cards, and been ordered from the dugout himself, boss Andy Ford was understandably upset with the officials, but surprisingly calm when speaking after the game, "normally I'm OK, but I found myself losing it today. It's all about them, and it shouldn't be."
The former Welling United boss added: "We didn't keep possession of the ball very well. I thought first half they looked the better side and could have got a couple of goals, but didn't take their chances.
“Second half we changed it a bit. But overall I thought our performance was fantastic considering we were down to nine men.
“Unfortunately we'll end up talking about the three men in black, not the football match and we shouldn't be doing that."
On a heavy pitch and initially playing with a strong wind behind them, Harrow made light work of the conditions, making a quick start.
The fleet-footed Kenja Nakashima launched a ball over the Stones back-four that Dewayne Clarke ran onto, but the former Tonbridge winger's shot was well saved by Andy Walker.
Clarke then forced Walker into a diving save, which fell to Nakashima on the edge of the box, but the Japanese's shot was blocked by Danny Lye's tackle.
With both sides struggling to keep their feet and produce any telling football, Harrow had to wait until after the half hour before threatening Walker's goal again. Clarke's swirling cross beat the defence, finding Nakashima, who stabbed the ball past Walker, but Tom Mills hooked clear from the line.
Jay Saunders, making his second Maidstone debut on his 32nd birthday, having rejoined from Margate in the week, had the home side's first effort, firing over from 25 yards, but was then harshly shown a yellow card for a challenge on Danny McGonigle.
Having struggled to match their opponents in the first half, Ford made a change with Simon Glover continuing his comeback from injury. But it was Harrow who created the clearest opening of the match, with Troy Hewitt scooping a shot over the bar from 8 yards after Clarke had slipped the ball past Walker.
On the hour, Saunders saw red following a challenge on David Ijaha, but to all, including Ford, who defended the midfielder saying, "Jay is a central midfield player who loves a tackle. I've just had a word with him and although he was being careful, he admitted it was probably worth 2 yellows. It seems to be par for the course these days that when someone is on a yellow card, he is targeted. It leaves players treading a thin line. Personally I don't think it was worth a sending off."
Adrian Stone was sacrificed as Harvey (the first player to leave Sittingbourne after their budget was completely cut last weekend) came on for his debut to help shore up the defence, and Maidstone seemed to get a foothold in the game.
Good work down the left by Flisher led to a Tommy Whitnell drive that Nick Jupp did well to hang onto.
On 71 minutes, Flisher was clattered by Quincy Rowe and suffered what appeared to be a serious injury. Fortunately (if that word can be used), Nicki Collins, the Stones physio advised later that it appeared to be a minor tear to the medial ligaments, and the extent of the damage would be revealed over the next few days. Rowe was booked, with many of the crowd calling for a more severe punishment and even Ford, commenting about the challenge agreed.
He said: "Alex had got stud scars down one thigh, above his knee on one leg, and the guy has followed through and he's got marks and a hole in his other leg as well. To say it was a high tackle with studs showing; we've got the proof in there. That's why I got out of my pram as well. We're trying to bring the kid on & when you see these things happen, how do you protect them?"
Ten minutes later, Harvey also saw red following a clash with Ijaha, although the referee appeared to change his mind after speaking to his assistant.
From the press box, there appeared to be a clash of heads, but Ford admitted that although his elbows were raised, that Harvey is not the malicious kind, "I don't know Laurence too well; I only signed him this week, but the character profiles I've had on him show what type of person he is. He doesn't go around knocking people out with his elbows and he's adamant that he didn't commit an offence.
“How do you head a ball; do you jump without using your arms? You can't. It's impossible. I thought that was a bit harsh, especially as he'd only just come on the pitch."
After Ford himself had been asked to leave the Maidstone bench, both sides were guilty of reckless challenges, but the final chance would fall to Harrow fullback Ryan Watts, who sent a free-kick sailing high over Walker's bar.
With a sense of irony, the officials left the pitch with the ire of supporters from both clubs ringing in their ears, and the sound of "The Benny Hill Show" theme tune playing over the tannoy.
Finally Andy Ford, still waiting for an elusive home victory, and with his side third-from-bottom, said, "when we go down to 10 men, I always like to try to keep two men up front, as it could be an onslaught otherwise. I tried to go with that, but then we're down to nine and we had to sacrifice one.
“I've got a lot of time for the lads today. I've just said that the battling and commitment today should help kick start us. There's going to be some scraps down here for the rest of the season, as it's not really a footballing pitch, so we've got to dig in, scrap and battle like today."
Maidstone United: Andy Walker, Aiden Sherlock, Tom Mills, Danny Lye, Joe Vines, Adrian Stone (Laurence Harvey 62), Jay Saunders, Colin Richmond (Simon Glover 46), Tommy Whitnell, Danny Hockton, Alex Flisher (Dane Sutton 74).
Subs: Tony Boot, Cedric Abraham.
Booked: Jay Saunders 37, Aiden Sherlock 44, Danny Lye 89
Sent off: Jay Saunders 60, Laurence Harvey 81 and manager Andy Ford
Harrow Borough: Nick Jupp, George Chanda (Quincy Rowe 62), Ryan Watts, Wayne Walters, Danny Leech, David Ijaha, Dewayne Clarke, Danny McGonigle, Rocky Baptiste, Troy Hewitt, Kenja Nakashima (Kurt Morlese 86).
Subs: Evandro Delgado, James Fraser, Jon Armand.
Booked: George Chanda 56, Quincy Rowe 71, Wayne Walters 89, Kurt Morlese 89
Attendance: 320
Referee: Mr Michael O'Keefe (Sevenoaks)
Assistants: Mr Darren Eaton (Crowborough, East Sussex) and Mr Frank Meilack (Crowborough, East Sussex)
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