Penalty paid at the death
CHOBHAM MAIDSTONE
An 80th-minute penalty saw Maidstone lose to midtable London 1 South rivals Chobham by a point.
The Stones still had a chance to snatch victory but Euan Caborn’s last-ditch 40-yard kick drifted wide.
The visitors did, though, earn two bonus points.
Maidstone’s forwards dominated in the tight and loose on Saturday but the visitors were up against a much sharper three-quarter line, who exploited defensive frailties out wide.
The Stones fought back from 10 points down at half-time to lead 31-22 with 10 minutes left, only to be denied.
Left wing Edwards scored an early try for Chobham, converted by Seers, as the hosts dominated.
It took Maidstone the whole of the first quarter to get out of their half but once they did, a catch-and-drive move led to a penalty-try for Caborn.
Chobham went back in front just before half-time, with Williams providing the overlap and it was 17-7 after a poor restart gave Chobham a scrum and another try for Williams.
Maidstone resisted second-
The gap was down to two points when Wakefield’s try was converted by Mays.
And with Maidstone down to 13 after yellow cards for Nathan Hughes and Lucian Morosan, Mays kicked a penalty that had been moved forward 10 metres for backchat, handing Chobham victory.
Maidstone are due to host Canterbury in the Kent Plate quarter-finals on Saturday. Maidstone: Williams, Beck, Simpson, A Knight, Massey, B Knight, Brill, Iles, Morosan, Beech, Moore, Perica, Cooke, Woolford, Caborn. Replacements: Baker, Chandler, Clarke. Aylesford dropped back into the bottom three after blowing a 17-0 lead at relegation rivals Park House. Bulls were in charge after 20 minutes on Saturday but it all went wrong as the sides swapped places in London 3 South East. Coach Jay Jenkins said: “It’s put us in a precarious position in the relegation zone. “They scored before half-time and just played their 10-man forwarddominated game, which we struggled to cope with. “We got on the wrong side of the ref, started trying things that weren’t working and basically just imploded. “We talked before about playing our own game and not getting sucked into theirs. We did that for 20 minutes but either we switched off or they got on top.” Tries from Ben Turner and Jake Lott were converted by Will Kelly, who also added a penalty. Park House replied with a try before half-time and added two more before Kelly’s penalty made it 20-15. The hosts levelled and, with Aylesford out of shape after missing a kick to touch, went through for the winning score. Academy player George Moore did well on his debut – becoming the 50th player used by Bulls in the 1st XV this season. Aylesford host London 2 South East side Dover in the Kent Plate quarterfinals on Saturday.