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A solitary strike from James Pinnock was enough to give Maidstone United their first league win since the 2 nd January as The Stones finally kept a clean sheet after eight attempts.
Prior to the trip to Colston Avenue, Maidstone had conceded fourteen goals in seven games but against Carshalton the side looked a lot more solid which was aided by the return of Nick Barnes to midfield and the presence of debutant Craig Stone who set up the winning goal.
The first half was a very quiet affair but on 11 minutes The Stones worked the ball forwards and a neat move ended with James Pinnock finding Danny Hockton with his back to goal but his flick fell into the hands of Nick Hamann.
Then five minutes later, the home side went close when a free-kick into the box from Kenny Beaney picked out the unmarked David Woozley and his header glanced just wide.
There was then little else to note until five minutes before the interval when Maidstone took the lead. Stone threaded an excellent ball into Pinnock who confidently dispatched the ball into the far side of the net to register his first goal nearly two months for The Stones.
Six minutes after the break Nick Barnes surged forwards from midfield before thumping a shot wide and then Carshalton immediately went up the other end and this time Craig Faulconbridge went close with an effort from 30 yards.
Just after the hour James Peacock conceded possession inside Maidstone’s half allowing Richard Jolly to shoot but he failed to trouble Jamie Turner.
As the game moved into the last ten minutes substitute Keelan Mooney had a chance to seal the win for Maidstone when he won a header on the edge of the box and took the ball into the area but with only Hamann to beat, Mooney struck a weak shot which was easily gathered by the Carshalton keeper at the base of the right hand post.
By now, The Stones were understandably tired after playing three games inside a week and as a result, Carshalton began to pile on the pressure. Fortunately for The Stones though, substitute David Ray was wasteful when he lofted the ball wide from a good position and then Beaney gave Maidstone a scare when he turned in the box only to miss the target with his shot.
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