FINAL SCORE:
The Blues...........4
AFC Maidstone...0


Many of the Stones players will readily admit this was their worst display of the season. AFC have an appaling record against the Blues: in the two previous games, AFC lost 11-0 and 5-0. With that record plus the fact that the team turned up over 1½ hours early (due to a mis-understanding) then it was never going to be a good day for AFC. The Stones spent their extra time practising passing and shooting - and by the time the match arrived, they were both bored and tired. They were playing to a reasonable standard for the first four minutes but a distinct lack of effort was noticeable. Pilcher had one shot on the run, which threatened to demolish the roof. The first goal scored by The Blues was an absolute screamer, with AFC failing to close a player down he unleashed a shot from distance that flew past Cope. Ryan was on his own up-front again, trying in vain to create something. But The Blues policy of 4-up or 4-back was working wonders and wore down the team. Ward had a chance to equalise. Running down the left, he dribbled past two players before unleashing a well-struck shot at goal. It squirmed under the keepers arms, but he recovered to pull it back into his possession (some players still maintain that it had crossed the line). The Blues extended their lead before half-time, to make the score 2-0.
Tiredness now was really beginning to kick in. Sam and Pilcher tried their best to get stuck in, but it was a poor all-round display. Cleisham twice tried to dribble from the back and twice failed, and from this point he decided to stay forward. A third goal for The Blues came about due to no-one bothering to run back to defend. It was a well-executed goal which gave Cope no chance. The fourth came soon after, a how it came about was a mystery. Epps followed a man from the half-way line, didn't make a challenge, and the ball ended up going through Epps legs and trickled towards goal as Cope watched. Epps claimed to have been elbowed in the face during the build-up, but no more was said of it. Ryan was penalised for controlling the ball with his hand, but more blantant was Cleisham who jumped up and punched the ball Maradona-style. Cleisham did have some long-shots later in the game in an attempt to get a consolation, and Ryan dragged a shot across the face of goal, but it was just one of those days.


TEAM: Cope; Ward (Epps 13), Cleisham, Pilcher (S.Charman 12); R.Charman.

SCORERS:


Manager comments:
"The less said about that game, the better. We really couldn't be bothered and it was an effortless performance. Every team plays very badly at some point and that was it. If we hadn't turned up so early then I'm sure it would have been a completely different story. The Blues aren't the best side in the league, although fair play to them because they played well today. We can now concentrate on getting points from our remaining games, starting with N.B.T this sunday."