RUGBY: MUCH-CHANGED MAIDSTONE STILL STRONG ENOUGH TO BOOK SEMI-FINAL SPOT
Maidstone withstood a spirited display from hosts Folkestone as they reached the Kent Plate semi-finals with a 41-19 win. Playing into a strong, cold wind in the first half, much-changed Maidstone started brightly with backs and forwards combining to probe the hosts’ defence. Right-wing Sam Pearson made good ground before the ball was switched left for Matt Moore to touch down in the corner. Caborn’s conversion attempt hit the post but the conditions equally affected the Folkestone kicker as two penalty chances drifted wide before Maidstone got themselves onto the scoreboard again. This time it came from a catch-and-drive with Jack Johnson getting the touchdown on his debut and Caborn adding the conversion to make it 12- 0 on 15 minutes. The deficit inspired Folkestone to get back into the game and a spell of pressure in the Maidstone 22 ended with the fly-half dummying his opposite number to score under the posts, making the conversion a formality. A yellow card issued to Maidstone’s Ben Knight, for delaying the ball at a ruck, influenced the game over the next 10 minutes as Folkestone used their man advantage with two tries. The first was converted and the second was a fine solo effort to make it 19-12. With Knight restored, Maidstone clawed a try back just before half-time to reduce the deficit to two points and they started the second half with Josh Pankhurst restored to the front row. Rory Beech was immediately on the scoreboard as Maidstone set off at a high tempo and player-of-the-match Lucian Morosan released his partner to score out wide. Morosan bagged the next try with 20 minutes left after a catch-and-drive. Three attempts by the forwards to force their way over were resisted by a strong Folkestone defence and it was left to the scrum-half to finish. As Folkestone legs tired, Maidstone began to dominate and Matt Iles was presented with a straightforward scoring opportunity by Morosan 10 minutes from time and he then cut a superb line to set up Alex Clarke for a straightforward score. With Caborn adding both conversions, Maidstone stretched the gap to 41-19 to wrap up the game.