Cliftonville 1-0 Maidstone

Maidstone travelled to Ramsgate on Thursday night knowing that a point would be enough to secure themselves fourth spot for the league season.

The re-arranged Cliftonville fixture had been one that excited those in the squad, it provided the opportunity to play under lights midweek and marked a first visit to St Lawrence School’s water-based pitch. Having secured a win on Holcs’ turf at the weekend, the side felt they were positioned well to acclimatise quickly and take the game to a Cliftonville side who knew that points would likely secure them their spot in the division next season.

Notably, Cliftonville had defeated Folkestone at the weekend – their best result of the season. They came into the fixture with confidence.
Not particularly appealing to both sides was the weather that greeted the sides on Thursday evening. The East Coast blessed the teams with strong winds and heavy rain throughout the fixture.

Maidstone’s first half was a strong one bar the fact it brought no goal. Two goals were disallowed, both of which raised question marks amongst the MHC ranks. 0-0 at half time was not a reflection of the momentum of play for the half, but it was a testament to the hosts ability to dig in and absorb what was considerable pressure.

The second half was a similar affair. Maidstone’s best chance came from a broken down short corner where a shot from the right hand side of the D was not negotiated towards goal by their left-back who was a mere three yards from goal. This miss proved costly.
In the last ten minutes of the game, CHC won their first shot corner of the game. After the initial efforts were saved chaos ensued on the goal-line before a Cliftonville player apprehended an MHC defender as he ushered it over the line – somehow this was missed by the umpire and so Cliftonville took the lead.

Having played good hockey in stages, particularly in the first half, Maidstone’s efforts to equalise late on were particularly poor. It was evident that there was a sense of urgency to their play, passes were forced and picked-up often by Cliftonville’s masked midfielder; who must be noted had a very strong game of hockey.

1-0 was how it finished. Despite being three points ahead of Gore Court as they head into the final game of the season, MHC have a difficult task in confirming 4th – they host league winners Old Wills. On the other hand, Gore Court shall host the victors of this fixture, Cliftonville.
14.30 this Saturday – one last dance at home until mid-September.