Hak laughs the loudest

Maidstone manager Hakan Hayrettin had the last laugh after rival boss Ian Allinson branded his centre-backs ‘numpties’. The Stones moved four points clear at the top of National South after Johl Powell, whose loan from Charlton has been extended until the end of the season, scored a 96th-minute winner in a 3-2 success against St Albans.

It was particularly satisfying for Hayrettin, who was disappointed with comments made by Allinson about Joe Ellul and George Fowler as the visitors fought back from 2-0 down.

“He called my two centre-backs numpties,” said Hayrettin.

“He said, ‘Get at those two numpties, they’re useless, they can’t run’. He said it when they scored their first goal. “I took it in, didn’t say anything.

“He’s a good friend of mine, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him, but we put three goals past his team today.

“We do this job with dignity and pride.

“The minute you drop your guard and start doing things like that, you lose a bit of class. “But he is a classy man and I’ve got a lot of respect for him. People can say what they want.” Maidstone were on course for a straightforward victory against an out-of-form St Albans side after

Sam Corne and Jerome Binnom-Williams struck inside seven minutes. City were gifted a way back into the game, with Ellul suffering a rare off-day, which led to his substitution.

But Powell settled a crazy game from fellow substitute Christie Pattisson’s cross as Maidstone extended their advantage over title rivals Dorking.

Hady Ghandour, the final change, also caused problems, as Hayrettin used his bench to make the difference.

“I wasn’t happy because we turned off after their first goal and went sloppy and lethargic, and we weren’t at the races again until after they scored their second,” said Hayrettin.

“It was like everything we said at half-time, they did something completely different but then last 20 minutes we turned the screw and won the game.”