Maidstone United 3-2 Ramsgate - Stones comeback frustrates struggling Rams

Trailing 2-0, thanks to goals from ex-Stone, Ryan Royston and 18-year-old midfielder Ben Brown, Maidstone United looked down and out during a spell of dominance from the Thanet based strugglers.

But when Lloyd Blackman scored the first of his two well taken goals, just 47 seconds after going 2-0 down, this gave Maidstone United hope.

The first thirty minutes of the second half was a tight affair, but the final fifteen minutes lit up Bourne Park - some of the floodlight bulbs weren’t working - and after Elliot Bradbrook flicked in the equaliser, Blackman’s late header ensured the Stones climbed up one place to fifth place in the Ryman Premier League table going into the vital Christmas period.

Yesterday, Maidstone United confirmed that former Arsenal and Woking star midfielder, Ian Selley, had become the third player to join Croydon Athletic.

Selley agreed to cancel his contract by mutual consent to sign for the Ryman League Division One South club.

Selley follows Neil Smith, who is assistant manager to new Rams boss Tim O’She, and Meshach Nugent, who has signed up initially on a month’s loan at Mayfield Road.

Selley, speaking to www.maidstoneunited.co.uk, was philosophical about leaving the Stones.

He said: “When the recent budget cuts were announced, the club made it clear to me that they were prepared to let me leave. I never asked to leave or refused to play or refused a pay cut as some supporters seem to believe.

“In fact I’ve really enjoyed my time at Maidstone and have rediscovered my enjoyment for the game. Unfortunately, having been in the game as long as I have, I fully understand that sometimes players have to move on even if it is not what they personally want. That’s just how football is sometimes.”

Another player to leave was Jim Bodle, the twin brother of Ant Bodle. Jim had recently forced his way close to the first team squad with involvement in the Kent Senior Cup and the Ryman League Cup.

Bodle will be joining up with Ryman League Division One North club Chatham Town and he adds to the list of reserve team players who have moved on this term and follows Marc Morrison and Shannon Donovan who both moved to Whitstable Town earlier in the season.

Back to this derby, Maidstone United made just one change from the side that won 1-0 at Canvey Island seven days ago when James Peacock replaced Ian Cox, who had work commitments.

Ramsgate kept faith with the same starting eleven that won their first league home match off the season - a 3-1 win over Sutton United.

Despite the Stones having one early chance, Ramsgate didn’t play like a side that are currently in the bottom three in the table.

A trademark long throw from Stones’ right-sided midfielder Aaron Lacy was met by Bradbrook’s glancing header from eight-yards, which was straight at visiting goalkeeper Jack Delo.

Royston went close when his right-footed half-volley from thirty-yards whistled just past the right-hand post, with Maidstone United goalkeeper Andy Walker flying to his left and the former Bromley goalkeeper made a comfortable save to prevent Warren Schulz curling a left-footed stroked shot into the corner from the edge of the D.

So it was no surprise when Ramsgate broke the deadlock, with 13 minutes on the clock, delighting the travelling supporters in the shed behind the goal.

A trademark long-throw from Simon Pettit dropped to Brown in a central position from twenty-yards and his right-footed drive went through a crowd of players and Walker got down to parry the shot into Royston’s path and the central defender stabbed the ball to the goalkeeper’s right from inside the six-yard box to score his sixth goal for the Rams.

The Rams were clearly enjoying themselves on the big Bourne Park pitch and skipper Schulz picked up the ball in space before unleashing a right-footed drive from 30-yards, which flashed past the right post.

Maidstone United’s second chance of the game, meanwhile, arrived after 33 minutes when Lacy’s trademark throw was knocked down by Blackman for James Pinnock to clear the crossbar with a half-volley.

Ramsgate fully deserved to double their lead after 39 minutes - before Blackman pulled a goal back - just 47 seconds later.

Schulz, just inside the Stones half on the right-hand side, released Brown and his electrifying pace beat the Stones defence and once inside the penalty area, dinked the ball past Walker to find the bottom right-hand corner.

But Ramsgate’s joy was short-lived as Blackman was released by an excellent through ball from Ashley Ulph and coolly rolled a left-footed shot past the stranded Jack Delo into the bottom far corner.

The Stones forced two more chances just before the break; right-back Nathan Paul unleashing a right-footed drive into the goalkeeper’s arms from 25-yards and Jay Saunders glancing a header just wide from Bradbrook’s in-swinging corner from the right.

The second half was a hard-fought affair, played underneath the poor floodlighting.

And the Stones went close from another Bradbrook right-wing corner after 55 minutes when central defender James Peacock ghosted in at the far post to power his header into the side netting.

Ramsgate’s ten-goal striker, Jay May, meanwhile, struggled without a partner alongside him and his one and only attempt on goal arrived eleven minutes later but his right-footed half-volley was never going to trouble Walker.

Royston thumped the ball with his right boot from 35-yards which was plucked out of the air by Walker as the game entered the final twenty minutes.

But the Stones climbed into the final play-off berth with two goals in the last fifteen minutes.

Blackman’s hooked pass released Pinnock down the right-hand side and his cut-back from the by-line was flicked into the bottom far corner by Bradbrook, taking his goalscoring tally to five for the season.

Up until that point, Ramsgate were resilient but it all went wrong for the Rams as Blackman nodded home the winner with five minutes left.

Left-back Ulph sailed a free-kick from inside the centre circle into the Ramsgate penalty area and Blackman was left unchallenged to glance his header over Delo and into the top left-hand corner to bring Christmas cheer to everybody at the club.

“To be honest, for the first ten minutes we started well, but then against the run of play Ramsgate got a goal,” reflected Maidstone United’s joint-manager Lloyd Hume, when speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“They’re quite a direct side, they bombarded us in the first half with the wind behind them and we didn’t really deal with it as well as we should have done, which was disappointing.

“But to get back into the game five minutes before half-time with a great Lloyd Blackman goal, I really believed that going in only one goal down we could go on and win the game.

“But it sort of dwindled again in the second half and we had a lot of possession, a lot of balls in and around their penalty area and it didn’t look like it was going to be our day.

“But once we scored after about 75 minutes, I really believed we’d go and get the winner and we did.”

Hume praised his team for picking up six points in the three games since the news broke that the club were up for sale and the playing budget was slashed by 40%.

“I’m really pleased for the players today,” he said. “We’ve had some tough times off the pitch over a couple of weeks.

“For them to show that resilience and that support for the club is a big bonus and a big morale boost for everyone off the pitch who is involved with Maidstone.

“I went in the dressing room after (today’s game) and we’re really together as a side, we’re working hard for each other. There’s a lot of unity in our team and there’s a lot of belief and we’ll take that to Dover next week.”

For Ramsgate’s assistant manager, Danny Ward, he felt his side should have come away from Sittingbourne with three points in the bag, instead of suffering their eleventh defeat of the season that leaves them three points adrift of safety.

“In the first half we dominated the game,” Danny Ward told www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“I said to the lads then, the game should have been finished. We should have been four or five up. We played some fantastic stuff in that spell.

“But then we lose a sucker punch with a breakaway goal five minutes before half-time and gave them a sniff of it.”

The younger Ward brother admitted the Stones looked out-of-sorts in the opening 40 minutes as the Rams were clearly the better side.

“I didn’t think they fancied it before then, we was well on top,” he said.

“I don’t think the keeper has a save to make. We should have been more goals in front, but if anything we overplayed in the middle of the field, but that’s what we do - we play.”

But when teams are down at the bottom, these things tend to happen.

“It’s only been in the last five or six weeks we’ve played exceptional,” explained Ward. “There’s been glimpses of that in the beginning of the season, but last five or six weeks we’ve been fine.

“We’ve not been scoring the goals but we shouldn’t be having to score two or three goals to win matches.

“You saw the first 40 minutes we played them of the park. If we got the third, the fourth and we don’t give away the stupid goal before half-time we win the game. At the moment, that’s life.

“It sums up the way things are going at the moment.”

Maidstone United: Andy Walker, Nathan Paul, Ashley Ulph, Ben Lewis, James Peacock, Roland Edge, Aaron Lacy, Jay Saunders, James Pinnock, Lloyd Blackman, Elliot Bradbrook.
Subs: Keelan Mooney, Ant Bodle, Lloyd Hume, Merada Pascal, Steve Northwood.

Goals: Lloyd Blackman 40, 85, Elliot Bradbrook 75

Booked: Roland Edge 20

Ramsgate: Jack Delo, Dan Walder, Tom Wynter, Nick Davis, Ben Laslett, Ryan Royston, Ben Brown (Seb Schoburgh 80), Warren Schulz, Jay May, Simon Pettit, Andy Hadden (Steffan Ball 76).
Subs: Jake Eastwood, Dan Tanner, Tom Tsangarides.

Goals: Ryan Royston 13, Ben Brown 39

Booked: Simon Pettit 31, Tom Wynter 74

Attendance: 331
Referee: Mr Tony Mason (Sidcup)
Assistants: Mr Martin Lehane (Bexleyheath) & Mr James Macey (Bexley)