Stones lack the finishing touch
BRIGHTON MAIDSTONE
It was another tale of what might have been for Maidstone in London 1 South on Saturday. Once again, the pack provided the backbone for a fine team effort but a makeshift three-quarter line struggled to hammer home the possession against an improving Brighton. And yet Maidstone provided the move of the match for their second try, showing what could be achieved. The visitors made a lively start but Euan Caborn missed a simple penalty and they were punished when Brighton charged down a clearance in the 22 and fed centre Fogarty for a try, converted by Evans. Caborn was successful with the next penalty but Evans restored Brighton’s seven-point lead after a knock-on and an offside from the restart. With Danny Baker coming off the bench at half-time, Maidstone’s pack went into dynamic mode, pushing Brighton off the ball at the first put-in. It gave the hosts something different to think about and with a higher tempo, Maidstone began to stretch the defence, resulting in a yellow card for Emerson. The visitors made the most of the extra man with a flowing crossfield move finished by Josh Pankhurst to cut the gap to two points. But the home side struck the next blow as a quick tap penalty saw Harte dart over in the corner for 15- 8. And with the clock running down, Fogarty’s slick pass pierced the line and set up a try for Emerson. Maidstone refused to lie down and scored a consolation try through Nathan Simpson four minutes into added time, Caborn adding the extras. Bottom side Gosport & Fareham visit The Mote on Saturday. Maidstone: Williams, Pankhurst, Simpson, A Knight, Massey, B Knight, Stimpson, Brill, Morosan, Beech, Moore, Perica, Iles, Woolford, Caborn. Replacements: Baker, Clarke, Johnson. PW D L F A Ps Sidcup .......... 24 23 1 0 917 330115 Havant .......... 24 18 1 5 857 453 93 Tun Wells...... 24 18 0 6 698 378 90 Tottonians..... 24 16 0 8 759 581 84 CS Rugby...... 24 15 0 9 686 523 74 Cobham ........ 24 14 0 10 707 566 73 Sevenoaks .... 24 12 0 12 588 559 64 Gravesend .... 24 12 0 12 644 534 61 Maidstone..... 24 10 0 14 580 589 56 Chobham ...... 24 10 1 13 565 530 54 Brighton........ 24 7 0 17 434 589 40 Chiswick....... 24 7 1 16 483 654 32 Dover............ 24 2 0 22 3231027 11 Gosport & F... 24 2 0 22 2121140 10 Results: Brighton 20 Maidstone 15, Chobham 19 Tottonians 26, Cobham 33 Havant 31, CS Rugby 1863 36 Gravesend 15, Dover 24 Chiswick 50, Gosport & Fareham 5 Tunbridge Wells 52, Sidcup 27 Sevenoaks 12. Fixtures: Chiswick v CS Rugby 1863, Gravesend v Cobham, Havant v Chobham, Maidstone v Gosport & Fareham, Sevenoaks v Brighton, Tottonians v Sidcup, Tunbridge Wells v Dover.