Kentish Football 
Maidstone United 2-4 Bognor Regis Town - I'm under pressure to win promotion next year - Saunders
MAIDSTONE UNITED 2-4 BOGNOR REGIS TOWN
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 28th April 2012
Stephen McCartney reports from Bourne Park
MAIDSTONE UNITED player-manager Jay Saunders says he is under pressure to deliver promotion next season after finishing in sixth-place in the Ryman League Division One South.
The Stones lost their place in the play-off zone to Godalming Town after a disappointing 3-2 away defeat to Walton Casuals last weekend. Godalming will join runners-up Bognor Regis Town, Dulwich Hamlet and Folkestone Invicta in next week’s play-off’s, to see which club will join champions Whitehawk in the Ryman Premier League next season.
Maidstone United fully deserved their 2-0 lead at the break, courtesy of two goals from striker Shaun Welford, who ends this campaign with 32 goals.
But Bognor Regis Town adapted to the conditions after the interval and following a tactical switch fought back and two goals from striker Terry Dodd, an excellent curling strike from substitute Ben Johnson and Steve Harper saw the Rocks finish two points behind promoted Whitehawk.
When asked his thoughts on their final game, Saunders, 33, said: “A game of two halves to be honest. I thought we were superb first half. We sort of had a game plan, we stuck to it. Everyone did their jobs. Possibly we should’ve killed the game off in all fairness.
“We came out second half, even first half, we’ve had a lot of chances, not took them and if you don’t do that against good sides and then lose your shape, you’re going to let teams come at you and good sides will cause you problems.”
Saunders is gutted that he hasn’t been able to qualify for the end-of-season play-off lottery, which will see Bognor Regis Town play Godalming Town, and Dulwich Hamlet welcoming Folkestone Invicta to Champion Hill Stadium next Tuesday.
“I’ve just said to the lads, it’s something definitely got to change next season. I think we had a side good enough. I think we proved it first half, a side good enough who can match teams and cause teams problems, the top teams, but you need to be consistent.
“The amount of times I look back over the season and the first half we’ve been superb and second half we’ve not come out and again that’s happened today!”
Despite being in the grips of a so-called drought, this final day game was played in rain and bitterly cold temperatures, with supporters wrapped up in coats, hats and scarfs, and the waterlogged Bourne Park pitch proved difficult.
Speaking about the wet and muddy conditions, Saunders said: “I quite like them personally. I don’t mind them. I’d rather that than a hard pitch, but it was alright. You get on with it. It’s the same for both sides. When you’re winning 2-0 no-one’s complaining about it, but when it’s 4-2 people start moaning!”
Bognor Regis Town, who brought two coach loads of supporters, ensured today’s crowd of 705 was the largest crowd of the season at Sittingbourne’s Bourne Park ground, which was hosting The Stones final home game.
The club will be moving into their £2.6m new stadium at James Whatman Way and their homecoming will see Championship outfit Brighton & Hove Albion become the first visitors to play Maidstone United in the County Town (on 14 July 2012) since The Stones defeated Stafford Rangers 4-2 (in what is now the Conference Premier) in their last game at London Road in 1998.
The Stones wanted to wave goodbye to Bourne Park with a victory and they started well with a high-tempo that had Bognor Regis Town on the ropes.
Alex Flisher and Welford combined down the left and Flisher was just about to pull the trigger before Bognor Regis skipper Dan Beck got back and slid in to block the driven shot.
Maidstone United deservedly opened the scoring inside the opening ten minutes. Welford scoring his 31st goal of the season as the dubious goals panel (club secretary Darren Lovell) gave the number nine the goal.
Welford was fouled just outside the left corner of the Bognor Regis penalty area and Sam Bewick stroked a low right-footed free-kick around the two-man wall and Welford slid in with central defender Ben Andrews to poke a right-footed shot into the bottom near corner from six-yards.
Saunders said: “I thought we did start well. I thought we fully deserved the lead. To go 2-0 up, I thought we deserved that as well. We were well worth to be in front first half.”
Saunders nicked the ball off former Maidstone midfielder Antonio Gonnella – who has turned out for Folkestone Invicta, Walton & Hersham, Canvey Island, Concord Rangers and Bognor Regis Town this season – and unleashed a right-footed drive from 25-yards, which was plucked out of the air by visiting keeper Craig Stoner, who dived to his right.
Bognor Regis Town’s first chance arrived in the 14th minute when Harper and Dodd combined and Beck delivered a cross from the left and Harper swept a left-footed volley just past the near post from ten-yards.
Stoner was forced into action halfway through a first half dominated by the Kent side when player-of-the-year Tom Mills and Karl Murray combined down the left and Murray’s driven diagonal cross excellently picked out Bewick on the outside of the penalty area, but the midfielder cracked a right-footed drive which was caught by Stoner at his near post.
Saunders should have given his side a two-goal cushion when he hooked a right-footed volley wide of the post after Flisher swung in a hanging cross from the left and the ball was knocked down by a Bognor defender onto the manager’s right foot.
The boss admitted: “I should have took a couple of them. I just said that’s another sign of a team at the top. They kill teams off when they get their chances and we haven’t done that!”
Gonnella was withdrawn four minutes before the break by the Bognor Regis management and Saunders knew that was a good sign for his team at the time.
He said: “I think that’s credit to us though. To be making substitutes early in the first half tells you that we were causing them problems and I thought even when they made the changes in the first half and the beginning of the second half I thought we looked quite comfortable. We started dropping deeper and deeper and it caused us problems.”
Maidstone United doubled their lead a minute before half-time, courtesy of a fine move.
Saunders, who was caked in mud after a determined 76 minutes in the middle of the park, won the ball and moments later Ellis Green released Bewick down the right, who drilled a diagonal cross across the face of goal and this was retrieved by Flisher on the by-line. The left-winger delivered a hanging cross which was palmed away by Stoner’s left arm straight onto Bewick’s head, who cushioned his header across goal and Welford nodded the ball into the net from six-yards.
“I knew if we could get Shaun supplied, I knew he’d scored goals,” explained Saunders.
“He’s a handful. He’s difficult to play against and he works hard for the team. I’m pleased for him. He’s been a big bonus for us.”
When asked what he said to his players during the interval, Saunders replied, “just to keep going, don’t drop deep, don’t change the way we’re playing. Unfortunately we did that and against good sides they’re going to find holes and the way they play, they’ll open you up and that’s what happened.”
Saunders added: “I look back on the season. The amount of times first half we’ve come in and I’ve said keep doing the same thing and we stopped doing it. It frustrates me!”
But Bognor Regis Town came out with much more heart and desire and Kane Wills struck a speculative right-footed drive wide from 35-yards after just 57 seconds into the second half.
Bewick squandered a vital chance to wrap up the victory when he was released straight down the middle of the pitch but he lost his composure when he slid his shot well wide, despite doing all the hard work as former Tonbridge Angels defender Andrews chased his shadow.
Stoner pulled off an excellent save after Green released Flisher down the left and his first time left-footed drive on the corner of the box was tipped around the post by the long-serving, diving keeper.
But it started to go downhill for Maidstone United, when Bognor Regis pulled a goal back in the 58th minute.
Harper, who was now playing out wide on the right, whipped in a precise first time cross and Dodd slid in at the far post to stab the ball into the bottom left-hand corner from inside the six-yard box.
That goal lifted the visitors’ and they levelled just six minutes later.
Strikers Ashley Robinson (who changed the game after coming off the bench at the break) and Dodd combined on the edge of the box and the ball was cut back to substitute Johnson, who produced a goal of high quality, curling a right-footed shot into the top far corner from 25-yards.
Saunders missed his third opportunity when he headed the ball down into Stoner’s gloves after Bewick delivered a hanging free-kick with his right-foot.
But clinical Bognor Regis Town started to play the football on a tricky pitch that they are renowned for and they took the lead in the 72nd minute.
A move involving Wills and Robinson saw Dodd released down the right channel and the striker beat the offside trap and burst forward before cutting inside last defender Graeme Andrews.
He reached the by-line and fingers can be pointed at Whitehouse as he allowed the driven angled left-footed drive from a tight angle flash across him and the ball nestled into the bottom far corner. The two-goal hero ran to the perimeter fencing to celebrate with the jubilant away fans’.
Whitehouse made his first save of the game in the 80th minute when he blocked Robinson’s stabbed shot at the near post after Wills swung in a corner from the right.
But Bognor Regis Town grabbed a flattering fourth goal from the resulting corner.
This time Wills’ corner from the right wasn’t cleared by the Maidstone defence and the ball came out to Harper, who lashed a right-footed through a crowd of players to Whitehouse’s left and into the back of the net to the celebrating travelling fans’ behind the goal.
Whitehouse will be scratching his head just too how he conceded a goal each time Bognor Regis Town had a shot on target.
Saunders said: “He’s frustrated in there because at the end of the day people will read the paper tomorrow and see he’s conceded four goals and as a goalkeeper that’s not good. He’s been superb since he’s come here (from Welling United) and I feel for him conceding four.”
The Bognor fans’ taunted the home faithful over their side throwing away a 2-0 lead, and they celebrated news that their Sussex rivals’ Burgess Hill Town had scored the only goal against Dulwich Hamlet, which ensured the Hillians’ maintained their Ryman League status (at Whyteleafe’s expense) and with Dulwich losing, Bognor Regis Town finished runners-up.
Maidstone finished the game with a couple of efforts on goal. Substitute Baff Addae cut the ball back to Bewick, who whipped in a left-footed cross, which thanks to a gusty wind curled wide of the far post and Welford’s right-footed shot was tipped around the post by Stoner.
The Maidstone United fans behind the goal started to celebrate the club’s emotional home-coming, “we’re going home, we’re going home, Maidstone’s going home,” they chanted to the theme of Three Lions.
Meanwhile, Maidstone United should be the leading lights in the division next season with regular four-figure crowds expected to watch the club on home soil (well, their £600,000 3G pitch) next season.
“The first game back is going to be an unbelievable day,” said Bearsted based Saunders, who supported the club on the London Road terraces as a kid.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of people who have been here longer than me, who have been waiting for that day and it will be a massive day for all those people.
“I think there will definitely be a lot more pressure next year. If the boys’ haven’t been able to deal with it this year, I think they’ll be surprised with the pressure because I’m fully aware that if we’re not promoted next year I should imagine I won’t be in the job too long but I ain’t got a problem with that!
“I’d rather be at a club that’s ambitious than a club that’s quite happy to sit midtable, not winning anything. I’m in football because I want to win things. That’s why it’s important we get a squad together that’s capable of doing that!
“That’s what we’ll concentrate on now,” added Saunders, “It’s all well and good having a new stadium with a lot of supporters’ turning up, but we need a team that’s worthy of playing in front of them and we’re trying our best to do that.”
Maidstone United: John Whitehouse, Tommy Osborne, Tom Mills, Sam Groombridge, Graeme Andrews, Jay Saunders (Alex Waugh 76), Ellis Green (Ben Davisson 65), Sam Bewick, Shaun Welford, Karl Murray, Alex Flisher (Baff Addae 67).
Subs: Josh James, Steve Northwood
Goals: Shaun Welford 10, 44
Booked: Karl Murray 45
Bognor Regis Town: Craig Stoner, Callum Sherrif (Darryl Woller 57), James Crane, Antonio Gonnella (Ben Johnson 40), Sonny Cobbs, Ben Andrews, Dan Beck, Kane Wills, Steve Harper, Terry Dodd, Harvey White (Ashley Robinson 46).
Subs: Jon Marzetti, Tom Boyle
Goals: Terry Dodd 58, 72, Ben Johnson 64, Steve Harper 80
Booked: Dan Beck 45, Sonny Cobbs 70
Attendance: 705
Referee: Mr Andrew Parker (Stanford-le-Hope, Essex)
Assistants: Mr James Lisher (Chelmsford, Essex) & Mr Dave Tregaskes (Chelmsford, Essex)
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd