Maidstone made a sprightly start to their game against Faversham up at Westlands School in Sittingbourne. Their loyal supporters enjoyed the sunshine and were rewarded with some positive attacking play from the off. Maidstone’s promising youngsters Claudia Allsworth-Clarke, Lucy Wilkinson, Kate Smoker controlled the midfield, supported by the experienced Kate Bowen and energetic Michelle Garrett. Player of the Match Freya Brown, usually in goal, made some exciting runs enjoying the freedom on being on pitch this week. The goal came from one such break by Brown from defence right up to the circle. She passed the ball to Tracy Murphy, and then time seemed to stand still as Murphy deliberated about striking at a difficult tight angle, but sensibly slipped to Nicky Bourne, waiting in front of goal to sweep it home.

Having drawn last week after being ahead at half time, the team talk drilled into the Maidstone players the need to remain focussed, fight back that little bit harder if they lost possession and stay alert to the dangers of some of the Faversham players. The second half was a slog, made harder by failing to convert penalty corners but thankfully Faversham were tiring and also remained off target. When the final whistle went, it was celebrations all round for a much needed, and long-awaited win that also took Maidstone 4s off the bottom of the Division 5 table. There is much to do and it will be a challenge to avoid relegation, but the team definitely deserved this narrow win.