Bad day at the office as Maidstone fall short

Maidstone took a step backwards in a 24-8 defeat at Old Dunstonians on Saturday.

Recent performances have been good but the visitors didn’t hit those heights at the weekend.

A bonus-point victory could have moved them above their hosts in the Kent 2 table but it wasn’t to be and they remain thirdbottom.

Maidstone’s points came from a Will Fox try and a Josh Wilton penalty.

“Old Dunstonians played well but we weren’t at our best, it’s fair to say,” said director of rugby Steve Oram.

“We drifted back a little bit on ourselves in terms of the way we played and our attitude and approach to playing.

“We were a little too casual and Old Dunstonians made us pay for it.

“We had a young side out, which was a factor, but that wasn’t the reason we lost the game.

“We started the season not playing how we wanted.

“At times after Christmas we’ve achieved a lot more than we thought we could and at other times we’ve not achieved what we wanted.

“Consistency is going to be key to us having a reasonable finish to the end of the season.

“It was a disappointing result on Saturday but we’ve got to press on and see what we can do this weekend.”

Maidstone will be tested on Saturday (2.30pm) when second-placed Sevenoaks 2nds visit The Mote.

They are missing Josh Smith, who’s suspended for three games after his red card against Park House the previous week.

“We’re back at home and, not uncommonly, we tend to play a lot better at home than we do away,” said Oram.

“In the away game at Sevenoaks we were close right up to the last 20 minutes.

“We are generally in a much better place than when we played them before Christmas, so we’d hope to have a good go at getting something at the weekend.” n Cranbrook gave champions-elect Old Alleynians a good test despite a 46-17 defeat in Kent 1.

In a game where territory and possession was fairly even, Cranbrook were undone by an efficient rolling maul which provided three first-half tries.

The leaders led 24-0 at halftime, the other try came from the speedy backs that also passed effectively. Cranbrook responded early in the second half with a try in the corner by supporting full-back Theo

Rimmer from a tapped penalty.

Wing Luke Lafferty also scored with a clean break from a training-ground move.

But Alleynians were always dangerous and added three further tries of their own while Cranbrook added to their tally when Fabian Rimmer intercepted and strolled home from 20 metres.

It was a full-blooded match of great intensity where Cranbrook stood up to the challenge from an accomplished team. Seventh-placed Cranbrook are on the road again this Saturday with a trip to second-placed Bromley (2.30pm).