Plenty of spirit on show

Maidstone

Maidstone ladies lost 4-1 at highflying Peterborough in the East Premier Division on Saturday. Boro dictated the high pace from the first whistle and took the lead after 15 minutes of sustained pressure.

Maidstone levelled when a move down the right found Laura Jurgeleit at the top of the D. Her strike beat the keeper and was finished by Emily Bush on the back post.

The visitors ended the first half well but Peterborough came out firing after the break and retook the lead with a clinical finish.

Keeper Madeleine Grove made some solid saves but the hosts added a third on the rebound after a shot from outside the D came back off the post.

The Stones showed their fighting spirit, with playerof-the-match Steph Lurshay looking to create chances, but the second goal wouldn’t come and Peterborough made sure of victory from a penalty corner. Maidstone ladies’ 2nds made it three wins in a row in the Kent Premier Division with a 3-1 success at Sevenoaks.

They fell behind but it was 1-1 when Charlotte Nudd, Claire Daniels and Rachel Davies combined to set up a tap-in for Jenny Duggan.

Maidstone knew more chances would come and a fine Daniels deflection, from a quick Duggan restart on the 25, put them 2-1 ahead.

Jo Hernon’s penalty save kept them in front and with fine defending from left-back Kitty Worsfold eliminating any further threats, Maidstone clinched victory through Vic O’Reilly.

An outstanding team effort saw Maidstone ladies’ 3rds beat Burnt Ash 5-0 in Kent Division 3. Player-of-the-match Jamie Blythe converted Nicky Coomansingh’s pass inside five minutes and the provider turned scorer as Maidstone led 2-0 at half-time.

Burnt Ash put up a fight in the second half but the hosts pulled clear with tremendous goals from Ellie Doherty, Sarah Day and Coomansingh.

Young keeper Freya Brown was congratulated by the opposition after her performance for the ladies’ 4ths.

Remnants won 6-0 in Kent Division 5 but Brown made numerous saves and took the player-of-the-match award. Maidstone put in a superb team effort but trailed 4-0 at half-time.

Stand-in captain Michelle Smith rallied the troops and they persevered in the second half, the score not reflecting their spirit.

Millie Jones worked tirelessly in midfield.

Maidstone over-35s put Herne Bay to the sword again in the EH Cup.

Having beaten them 10-0 in the first round last season, they went one better on Sunday. Maidstone led 7-0 at halftime with goals from Lizzie McClintock (2), Julie Davies (2) Louise Cassey (2) and Jenny Capstick.

Davies completed her hattrick after some wonderful, unselfish play by McClintock set up another easy finish.

Vic O’Reilly, Jaime Cronk and Capstick completed the rout, while player-of-the-match went to midfielder Ellie Doherty.

Sutton Valence survived a K Sports fightback to beat their local rivals 2-1 in Kent Area Division 2.

Valence took the lead with Kevin Kirkham’s penalty flick, followed by a second from James Stanford at a penalty corner.

They thought it was all over at half-time but allowed the visitors back into the game. The defence held firm for half an hour but what followed can only be described as fraught, frantic and close to total chaos, with Valence picking up three green cards as desperate tackling crossed the mark.

Captain and goalkeeper Stewart Young made save after save from short corners before Brook Fowler scrambled home five minutes from time.

Valence held on to move up to third place with Young named man-of-the-match. Sutton Valence 2nds put in their best display of the season but lost 1-0 at Ashford in Kent Open Premier B.

The game was played at a high pace, with crisp passing, and the second half saw more of the same but gaps started to appear towards the end and Ashford broke for the only goal with Valence failing to clear. Man-of-the-match Alex Hodges’ energy carried the team at times, moving up the pitch and tracking back. Sutton Valence 3rds dropped to second in Kent Division 3 after losing their unbeaten record.

Marius Dreyer broke the deadlock against Canterbury Friars but the visitors levelled almost instantly. Valence had much of the second-half possession but couldn’t find their rhythm, with Canterbury scoring twice for a 3-1 lead.

James Willmott pulled a goal back with a good finish. Rupert Humphrey scored a last-minute winner as the vets won 3-2 at Teddington Tigers in the Southern Counties Conference. Teddington punished defensive errors for a 10th-minute lead but

Stephen Wickham levelled in the second half, then Paul Linaker – the oldest player by 10 years – swept home. Teddington made it 2-2 but Humphrey pounced after John Dinnis’ reverse-stick shot hit the bar.

Linaker and Stuart Bates shared the man-of-the-match award.