Stones miss out in final
Maidstone United were beaten 2-0 by an accomplished Danson Sports team display in the Kent Merit Under-16 girls cup final at the Gallagher Stadium on Sunday.
Goals in either half from Quiana Dillion-Bent and Coco Cardona were enough to overcome a Maidstone team playing on their home ground.
It was no less than Danson deserved. A well-drilled team, with each player clearly knowing their role in the side, and a touch of quality when it mattered most, they never looked like freezing on the big stage.
Danson delivered plenty of early pressure but just when it looked like Maidstone were starting to get a foothold in the game, the opening goal arrived in the 12th minute.
Impressive midfield general Kara Penwarden-Bland won the ball for Danson and set up DillionBent, who almost effortlessly glided beyond three Maidstone defenders before slotting home beyond keeper Tiana Sinnott.
Maidstone had a chance to equalise almost immediately but Ella Roper saw her 20-yard freekick blocked by the defensive wall.
Chances were at a premium although Danson enjoyed the better of both possession and territory. Nazareth Godspower fed Dillion-Bent, whose shot lacked power, while the striker then turned her marker on halfway and strode forward to force Sinnott into an excellent save.
Danson added a second just three minutes into the second half. Ruby Dythe’s free-kick into the area was both difficult to defend and inviting to attack in equal measure, presenting Cardona with a close-range finish that she wasn’t going to turn down.
Maidstone kept plugging away to their credit and both Macey Hall and Grace Gay were denied by keeper Lola Hearn, who looked accomplished in everything asked of her.
But, along the nifty footwork of Dillion-Bent, perhaps the stars of the show were the two players in front of the keeper centre-backs Melissa Jones and Dythe. The former, in particular, read the game brilliantly, rarely gave possession away and thwarted Maidstone’s biggest attacking threat - Roper - on many occasions.
Maidstone: