Ramsgate v Maidstone United - Ryman Premier

Ramsgate Starting Eleven

Delo
Burton, Dowley, Davis, Eastwood
Tanner, Firth, Sutton, Minshull
Takaloo, Laslett

Substitutes: Kinch, Dolton, Hadden, Vahid, Schultz.

Substitutes Used: In the 53rd minute the first Ramsgate change was made when Schultz came on for Sutton. In the 65th minute a double substitution was then made and Dolton and Vahid came on as Dowley and Firth left the field.

Maidstone United Starting Eleven

Walker
Paul, Edge, Lewis, Cox
Wilfort, Selley, Saunders, Pinnock
Nugent, Bradbrook

Substitutes: Northwood, Peacock, Blackman, Mooney.

Substitutes Used: The first Maidstone substitution of the game came as late on as the 67th minute when Blackman replaced Pinnock. In the 80th minute Peacock came on in replace of Selley, and then in the 87th minute of the match the third and final change was made as Mooney came on for Nugent.

It had been six years since Maidstone last won at Ramsgate (as I found out from reading Ruth Tunnel's report of the match); I knew it had been a while but I didn't realise it had been that long, that's for sure. So six years of hurt was here put to rest at the Southwood Stadium as ten-man Maidstone cruised to victory against Ramsgate. The first half of football was a fairly dull affair, Meshach Nugent scored an incredible goal in the 7th minute and Takaloo equalised from the penalty spot in the 17th; aside from these two goals however there wasn't much to see here. Nugent's goal was definitely worth paying £9 to see however, he turned spectacularly and calmly smashed the ball home to give Maidstone the lead very early on in the game. The initial pass had been played behind him, Nugent did brilliantly to keep his composure and turn so sensationally; it was a fine bit of footwork and a great little goal for his efforts also. When Mo Takaloo took his penalty he placed it well; he'd missed his last one for Ramsgate but wasn't going to let this one go to waste against his former employers. At this stage level pegging seemed to be a pretty fair reflection of a game where nothing had really happened.

In the 38th minute nightmare struck for Maidstone as Nathan Paul was shown the red card. It looked as though Ramsgate player Joe Dowley had been sent off for a two footed challenge, that wasn't the case at all though and Nathan Paul was the man that had actually been sent off allegedly for sticking his studs into the leg of Dowley with intent. It was never a red card for Paul, if anything the red should have gone the other way for such a dangerous challenge from Dowley; Nathan Paul was the man that was shown the red however and as he left the field of play he looked absolutely distraught. Nathan Paul did not know what he'd done and nor did the attending crowd; it was a ridiculous red card and with this sort of decision Constantine Hatzidakis showed himself to be completely incompetent.

As the two teams left the field for half time the score was level, Ramsgate would surely have the easier second half given their player advantage however and things looked quite grim for Maidstone. It's never good going down to ten men, and away from home with over 45 minutes still to play it's never going to be easy either. In the second half you wouldn't have known that Maidstone were a player down though; Maidstone United were by far the better of the two sides in the second half of the game, and if a goal was going to come you thought that it would surely be from a Maidstone man. Both teams had chances, both brought on fresh faces, and either side could have stolen it come the full time whistle. Andy Walker was in fine form in the Maidstone goal and on many an occasion made some super stops to deny Ramsgate from taking all 3 points. Takaloo had some decent chances to score, having been beaten by him from the penalty spot however - from that point onwards Walker seemed determined to stop everything that was sent his way; and he did.

Going into the latter stages of the game Maidstone continued to battle on and created a good few chances to score. In the 89th minute the Maidstone reward came and Blackman headed home to ensure that Maidstone took all 3 points from this game. It was an absolutely fantastic diving header and a truly warming moment in this freezing cold night at Ramsgate. Lloyd Blackman had been brought on in the 67th minute as a second-half substitution for James Pinnock; when he grabbed the goal it turned out to have been a masterstroke on behalf of the Maidstone management and everyone behind the goal went absolutely mental. The goal was definitely deserved, and although a horrible shame to concede such a late goal for Ramsgate; the win now takes Maidstone United into the top four of the league with a fantastic thirteen points.

This time last season Maidstone United were struggling, and were it not for a late Mo Takaloo goal in the last game of the season then Maidstone would have been heading back down to the Ryman League Division One; how times change, and things really do appear to be on the up for Maidstone United at current. 13 points out of a potential 18 isn't a bad haul at all; continue with these sorts of results and Maidstone could well find themselves in the play-offs come the end of the 2008/09 campaign. These are exciting times for Maidstone United and at the moment the club is on an absolute high, a Maidstone base seems to be the next logical step for the club and if development can begin at the Whatman Way location then that would be absolutely excellent to see. Onwards and upwards for The Stones, and hopefully this 2-1 result can spark more wins and allow for further points progression.

Final Score: Ramsgate 1 - 2 Maidstone United

Date: 02/09/08
Home Team: Ramsgate
Venue: Southwood Stadium
Referee: Constantine Hatzidakis
Sent Off: Paul (38)
Goals: Nugent 7, Takaloo 17 (Pen), Blackman 89.
Attendance: 430
Winning Team: Maidstone United (2-1)