Stones fight back to draw

It was a particularly impressive attendance for the Saturday before Christmas, a date which usually produces some of the lowest gates of the year.

Stones, on top of the division, had not lost a league game since they went down 2-0 at Worthing at the end of August.

The Rebels have won only one other game on their home turf but have picked up seven victories on the road. No club in the league has won more on their travels.

So it had the potential to be an intriguing battle and it proved to be just that, with Stones having to fight back from 2-0 down to earn the draw.

Worthing, who knew that three points would lift them into a play-off spot, took the lead after only three minutes when Luke Gedling’s volley was turned into the net by Jamie Brotherton.

They continued to look the better side, though chances went astray at both ends, and doubled their lead in strange fashion ten minutes into the second half.

Chris O’Flaherty’s cross hit defender Tom Mills and Worthing forward Matt Daniel, then looped towards goal. Maidstone keeper Deren Ibrahim tipped the ball on to the bar and it dropped on to the line. Daniel was standing about a yard from where it bounced but had his back to goal.

Frantically looking for the ball, he eventually turned round to find it in front of his nose and promptly touched it over the line.

Ibrahim kept his side in the game by denying Chris O’Flaherty after one of the most flowing attacks of the afternoon and Stones then began to take control.

A marvellous long diagonal pass by Mills dropped perfectly for Stuart King to lift a first-time shot over visiting keeper Jamie Banasco-Zaragoza and reduce the arrears in the 69th minute. It was his second goal in four games since his move from Folkestone and his 17th league goal in all, making him once again the undisputed top scorer in all three divisions.

Substitute Ade Olorunda smashed home the equaliser from close range in the 86th minute but Stones, despite five minutes of added time, could not find a winner and a draw was, on balance, a fair result.