Sunday 14th December 2008

Maidstone United Rascals 3 - 1 Ramsgate

After the double header to White Cliffs last week, the ladies were at home to Ramsgate ladies; a team that had beat the Stones 8-5 at the beginning of the season. There were a few changes to the squad with the stone's regular keeper Lisa Gilbert unavailable and Sian Finnis filling the in between the posts, as well as Kay Doody making a return to a centre forward partnership with Natalie Larby.

The first half started quietly for each team, each having a share of the possession yet not converting any chances on goal. It took a while for the Stones to settle and with tensions running high a break on goal for Kay Doody brought about friction when Doody felt she was fouled and lashed out at the opposition causing her to be booked.
With the pressure mounting on each side, it took the cool head of Larby to collect the ball from Nicky Knight and converting her efforts into a goal, slotting the ball nicely past the keeper and into the back of the net. This was Larby's first goal in six matches and she did not stop there; with the confidence flooding back Larby scored another goal before half time, this time chipping the Ramsgate keeper.

With the stones now two-nil up in the first half, manager John Harvey made some substitutions at half time; Thelma Ankrah-Tetteh replaces Kay Doody at centre forward and Rita Dorombozi replacing Nicky Knight, moving Amy Noakes over to the left wing and Dorombozi in Centre Midfield. Even with these tactical changes The Stones sat back in the second half and invited the better players in the Ramsgate side to play their game. This pressure from the opposition allowed the Rams to win a corner which they converted into a goal, with the ball curling in to the front post from the corner kick. With the Rams now back in the game, The Stones side never looked like they would score another goal, which they needed in order to secure the win and the three points.
With the added pressure from the opposition Harvey decided he would add fresh legs to the side half way through the second half and replaced Left winger Amy Noakes with Louise Nixon. Nixon's introduction added much needed pace to The Stones squad and she was given lots of space on the left wing opening up the Ramsgate defence. With a goal needed to lessen the pressure on The Stones' defence, Natalie Larby stepped up again and scored her hat trick, breaking down the Ramsgate defence Larby scored a similar goal to her first and caught the keeper off guard.

With the time running down, The Stones held strong to their lead, not allowing the Ramsgate Ladies to play their game and closing down on their players. With the final whistle blown this was the fourth win for the girls this season, taking 13 points from a possible 18 since the New Year. Man of the match for the stones was Natalie Larby, not only for her hat trick but also because of the efforts she produced during the match.

Maidstone Club Captain Rae Walsh said after the game;

"This home game against Ramsgate was very exciting, and we were out of the blocks from the minute the whistle was blown. This was a lesson learnt from our previous match away to Whitecliffs.

The 4 - 4 - 2 formation worked very well and with our new goalie for the match Sian Finnis the overall team performance was very impressive. I must say I am extremely impressed with our defensive girls and the way Sian took control of attacking corners and free kick. Maidstone United Ladies are becoming stronger with each outing we have, our strength is coming from the back line forward. There are still tactical changes that will be made by our respected manager John and the coaches, and with all the hard work being put in the results are beginning to show."