The Stones showed a reaction of grit and determination to bounce back from Saturday’s disappointing defeat at Bath City to claim all three points in deep Essex against Braintree Town.
The Iron would been coming into this on a high having scored late on in their 3-2 win against Truro City. However the Stones weren’t going to roll over and showed their hosts exactly what they’re about.
It was a very positive start from George Elokobi’s side as they looked to show their physicality early on putting Braintree under pressure from a set of corners in the first 5 minutes but fortunately for them, they were able to deal the set pieces.
Braintree would always prove a threat on the counter with the two forwards Will Davies and Tom Blackwell looking to make the clever runs in behind the defence but throughout, we was able to restrict them to limited clear cut chances.
In a frantic first half with a lot of balls in the air, the Stones found the bit of luck they were missing on Saturday when the returning Sam Bone picked the ball up from 25 yards and fired an effort which took a flick off the Braintree defender on the way through as well as the inside of the post before it rustled the net.
The goal allowed the tempo of the game to slow down which suited the Stones. However, they were close to doubling the lead at the end of the first half when Sam Corne’s corner found George Fowler inside the 6 yard box but the pace of the ball was a bit too much to control as he couldn’t keep the header below the bar.
Iron manager Angelo Harrop would have been looking for a reaction second half and he got it just 90 seconds in when the dangerous Blackwell delivered the perfect delivery to the back post for full back Harry Beadle whose diving header managed to power its way past Lucas Covolan to peg the Stones back.
To their credit, Maidstone managed to react really well as they showed promise coming forward and less than 10 minutes after conceding, they almost regained their lead when Reiss Greenidge managed to head home but was flagged for a marginal offside call.
Elokobi’s side kept pushing for that elusive second goal and it came 20 minutes from time when Liam Sole flicked on a beautiful pass towards Corne who did went to set himself for the shot and leathered it off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net.
Despite a late scare when a strong penalty shout for Braintree was turned down in the final minute of added time, the Stones managed to hold on to collect a valuable 3 points on the road and their first since a 2-0 win at Scunthorpe in November 2022.
Braintree Town: Harry Beadle 47’
Maidstone United: Sam Bone 29’, Sam Corne 70’
Braintree Town: 1. Jack Sims, 2. Harry Beadle, 3. Toby Stevenson, 4. Joe Grimwood, 5. John White (C) (16. Nnamdi Nwachuku 46 mins), 6. Kyran Clements, 7. Leon Davies, 8. Alfie Payne (12. Josh Dawodu 79 mins), 9. Will Davies, 10. Tom Blackwell, 11. Reggie Lambe (5. George Quantrell 69 mins). Subs not used: 13. Joshua Blunkell, 14. Ben Tompkins,
Maidstone United: 1. Lucas Covolan, 2. Gavin Hoyte (C), 3. Chi Ezennolim, 4. Reiss Greenidge (11. Devonte Aransibia 72 mins), 5. George Fowler, 8. Sam Corne, 10. Lamar Reynolds (9. Sol Wanjau-Smith 89 mins), 14. Ogo Obi (17. Levi Amantchi 68 mins) , 15. Sam Bone, 16. Liam Sole, 18. Bivesh Gurung. Subs not used: 12. Harley Earle, 20. Conor Kelly.
