Tonbridge Angels 0 Maidstone United 1
A late goal from ex Angel Tom Leahy gave Maidstone United a slender win in the so-called A26 derby.
Angels spurned a host of chances to steal the points and paid for their profligacy in the 79th minute when Leahy converted brilliantly to convert the only chance of substance the visitors made.
It was a cruel blow for Alan Dunne’s men who dominated large periods of the game but wasted several gilt-edged chances to kill off the below-par visitors in front of a healthy midweek crowd of 2,260.
Dunne kept faith with the same side which won convincingly at Farnborough. After an inconsequential opening 20 minutes during which neither side could assert themselves, Angels wrested the initiative from Craig Fagan’s men and did everything but score.
With ex Stone San Corne pulling the strings, Reynolds, Tanga, Korboa and Akehurst all went close while Stones only effort was a weak shot from Leone Gravata which dribbled through to Nathan Harness.
On 41 minutes, the best move of the match culminated in Frankie Baker netting but the effort was adjudged to be offside.
When Reynolds again went close it seemed that Lenny Holden’s goal had a charmed life and half time arrived exactly when Angels didn’t want it to and league leaders Stones were grateful to slink back into the sanctuary of their dressing room.
The interval had the effect of taking the sting out of Angels momentum and the second half was a more even affair with Stones finally going close with a free kick from the highly-rated playmaker Riley Court.
With 20 left on the clock, Dunne replaced Reynolds with Alfie Pavey as the game looked like it might be heading for a 0-0 draw.
Yet the deciding moment was about to come. First Lexus Beeden had a speculative lob clawed away by Holden for a corner which the Stones’ keeper then plucked out of the air.
He unleashed Leone Gravata who skipped past a couple of challenges before playing the ball into Leahy who controlled and then produced a superb left-footed finish to break the deadlock and give the visitors an undeserved lead.
Korboa and Corne were replaced by Jaden Brown and Kai Martin respectively and both had attempts on goal. With 90 minutes on the clock Pavey brilliantly found Ethan Sutcliffe in the box but the tall defender could not keep his effort down and the chance went begging.
It was the final moment of an enthralling encounter in which Angels deserved to get at least a point.
The one moment of true quality from Maidstone was enough for the three points to head back up the A26 to the Gallagher.
After the game Alan Dunne said: “Congratulations to Maidstone. It’s tough to take because I don’t think they deserved it and we deserved more but in life and football you don’t always get what you deserve. That’s not to take anything away from them because they are a strong side and top of the table for a reason but anyone who watched that game will be amazed at how we haven’t scored because we’ve missed a hatful of chances. Overall I thought it was a great game which we dominated. We showed a lot of quality and we move on to Hemel on Saturday.”
Angels: 4-3-3 Harness; Sutcliffe, Thompson, Beeden, Akehurst; Corne (cap), (Martin), Bullas, Korboa (Brown); Tanga, Baker, Reynolds (Pavey)
Subs not used: Burford, Lintott, McDonald, Cockerill
Photograph by Dave Couldridge
