Maidstone 3
(Rush 4′, Fall 49′, Corne 87′)
United 2
(Hall 17′), Marshall 78′)
There was late heartbreak for United in Kent on Tuesday evening, as a late winner saw Maidstone emerge with all three points.
An early goal from Matt Rush saw Torquay chasing the game, however Asa Hall soon levelled matters up. Another early effort at the start of the second, this time from Mo Faal, saw the hosts restore their lead, before The Gulls once again restored parity, this time through Ross Marshall. Sadly it was Maidstone who had the last laugh however, as home skipper Sam Corne grabbed his side a late winner.
Gary Johnson rang the changes following Saturday’s 0-4 home defeat at the hands of St Albans, with new signing Arkell Jude-Boyd joining fit-again duo Marshall and Duane Ofori-Acheampong, skipper Hall, and back-from suspension pair Will Jenkins Davies and Dean Moxey in the starting XI.
Unfortunately, those wholesale changes failed to prevent The Gulls falling a goal behind in just the 4th minute.
An attack down the left wing saw the ball laid into the path of Rush, and with the striker’s run taking him inside the penalty area, his low finish past the advancing Mark Halstead saw the ball find its way into the back of the net, and give The Stones a perfect start.
Looking for instant response, a long throw found its target in the shape of Will Jenkins Davis’ head five minutes later, however his header was unfortunately straight at Lucas Covolan in the home goal.
On 17 minutes, Hall came to his side’s aid.
A flick from Acheampong presented the recalled Gulls captain with the opportunity to restore parity, and despite home calls for offside, Hall calmly fired home from close range to make it 1-1.
The equaliser certainly lifted Johnson’s men, and following Hall’s goal the match became an increasingly open affair, with both sides enjoying periods of possession.
A dangerous left-wing cross from Liam Sole nearly fed Rush for another chance inside the box, but this time Halstead’s presence was enough to see the Maidstone striker head wide of the target.
With four minutes of the first half remaining, it was Torquay’s turn to threaten, with a deep free-kick into the 18-yard box falling kindly for Acheampong, with the big striker seeing two shots charged down, with Hall just unable to connect with the loose ball.
Acheampong was proving a real handful for The Stones’ defence, and his flick produced one more chance just before the change of ends, with Dan Martin feeding Jenkins Davies to fire in a shot from 15 yards that was deflected behind.
There was still time for Mark Halstead to come up with a marvellous smothering save from Sole to keep Torquay on level terms, but it was honours-even at the break, and rightly so.
When the second period got underway, it was Torquay who began on the front foot.
Three minutes in, and an inviting cross from debutant Jude-Boyd so nearly prompted Martin to find a way through, but unfortunately the Gulls man couldn’t direct his effort on target.
A minute later, the home side made Johnson’s side pay for that miss.
Faal initially looked to have fouled his man, however after being allowed to proceed, he made his way into the box and fired past Halstead from a narrow angle.
Despite the obvious disappointment, The Gulls responded in just the right manner again.
First, Jude-Boyd’s dart into the box forced Covolan into a desperate near-post parry on 55 minutes, before substitute Ethon Archer went even closer just short of the hour mark, as his shot from 20 yards smacked against base of the opposite post moments later.
A dipping 35-yarder from Hall saw Covolan scrambling to get back in time, as Torquay went on the offensive.
Some nifty footwork inside the penalty area from Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong nearly saw Maidstone give themselves some breathing space on 69 minutes, however after working some space for himself, he somehow fired wide when well placed.
With twelve minutes left, the United of Torquay were back on level-terms with their Maidstone counterparts.
A free-kick from Brett McGavin did the trick, and with it finding Torquay’s No.6 at the near-post, Marshall gleefully headed home to make it 2-2 against his former club.
With five minutes remaining, McGavin nearly put his side in front thanks to a stinging 20-yard free-kick, with Covolan once again denying his old club.
Sadly though, the winner came at the other end with just three minutes left.
Home captain Corne seemed to have few options ahead of him 20 yards from goal, however after taking a look up, his 25-yarder was perfectly directed into the top corner of the net, past Halstead to make it 3-2.
It proved to be the winning goal, and it was somewhat cruel on The Gulls, after a match in which they had contributed so much.
MAIDSTONE UNITED: 1. Lucas Covolan, 4. Reece Greenidge, 5. George Fowler, 6. Raphe Brown, 7. Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong (18. Bivesh Gurung 79′), 8. Sam Corne (c), 10. Lamar Reynolds, 11. Mo Faal (9. Manny Duku, 75′), 15. Sam Bone, 16. Liam Sole (17. Jephte Tanga 66′), 20. Matt Rush.
SUBS NOT USED: 3. Chi Ezennolim, 12. Harley Earle.
Yellow Card: Corner 84′
UNITED: 1. Mark Halstead, 2. Arkell Jude-Boyd, 3. Dan Martin, 4. Tom Lapslie, 5. Austen Booth, 6. Ross Marshall (Lewis Collins, 82′), 8. Asa Hall (c) , 14. Brett McGavin, 18. Will Jenkins Davies, 19. Duane Ofori-Acheampong (11. Brad Ash, 75′), 21. Dean Moxey (30. Ethon Archer, 55′).
SUBS NOT USED: 17. Dillon De Silva, 22. Rhys Lovett.
Yellow Card: Marshall 23′, Jenkins Davies 71′
Attendance: 2,004 (77 away)