Maidstone Ladies 4s were the first side to play on the newly rejuvenated Armstrong Road pitch. The game against Marden was the first of the return league fixtures and gave the team a chance to reflect on just how far they have come in the first half of the season. In their first game back in September they were pummelled 6-0 by Marden but this time they battled continuously gaining a draw that stopped Marden from going to the top of the league over the Christmas break.

The game could have gone either way. Lessons were learnt from the previous week with defenders upping their game to mark tighter, and Marden struggled to find a route through. The score remained 0-0 at half time, with both sides unlucky not to have scored.

Maidstone came out with the same determination in the second half, but eventually, Marden found the opportunity for a quick break and edged ahead. Maidstone didn’t get disheartened and had many positive attacks and several very close chances themselves. In due course they were rewarded when Niki Davis confidently drove into the circle and fired home a much-deserved equaliser. The last quarter of the game was tense, with near misses for both teams, a goal line clearance for Georgia Keen, and both teams losing a player to the bench with a green card after an altercation. Player of the Match was Louisa Coffey, commanding the defence despite it not being her usual position. Player of the match votes were widespread across the players reflecting the performance of the whole team this week.