HAMPTON & RICHMOND 1 MAIDSTONE UNITED 4

By Tom Rogers. Pictures via @acerhelen

The Stones romped to victory on Bank Holiday Monday in leafy Hampton with a clinical counter attacking performance. In a game Maidstone bossed for the majority, the frontline of Court, Gravata and Leahy ran riot, having been consistently afforded space in transition.

Hampton had the first chance of the game, with a corner the Stones failed to clear, resulting in a melee in the penalty area. The ball eventually fell at the feet of Uriah Djedje, who lashed his effort into the side netting.

From there on it was close to one-way traffic. Jayden Davis, who was lively in his first start of the season, found Riley Court, who put a teasing ball across the Hampton penalty area which was diverted onto the post as Gravata lurked for a tap in. The Stones came close again when Gravata found Tom Leahy who, from point blank range, was able to beat keeper Marco Underwood, but the effort lacked power, with Ben Jackson clearing off the line. Both squandered chances were met with a bizarre, overzealous cheers and several wanker gestures from a peculiar young couple of Hampton fans who were in front of me and the travelling support, in a scene that looked straight out of The Undateables.

The happy couple were eventually silenced on the twelfth minute. Zanda Siziba was dispossessed in the Stones box by Court, who found Gravata on the halfway line, before slotting through Leahy who found acres of space in the Hampton half. He charged through on goal and finished in the bottom corner. Having watched the replays, Leahy does look half a yard offside from the initial Gravata ball, albeit the camera angle does not provide conclusive evidence.

Hampton did have a big chance to level it before half time: the lively Siziba hit a slow yet accurate effort toward Lenny Holden’s bottom left corner, with the Keeper getting down to push it onto the post, before a Maidstone defender was fouled as Hampton tried to bundle in the rebound.

The Stones put their stamp on proceedings in the second half. Leo Hamblin disposed Jasper Mather inside the Hampton half, finding Leahy who drove into the area, exchanging a one-two with Davis. He seemed to lose control of the ball and the angle had gotten away from him, however with his back to goal he readjusted superbly to dig out a fantastic, chipped ball into the six-yard area, which evaded everyone bar Gravata, who was on hand to nod Maidstone into a two-goal lead from a couple of yards out.

Proceedings looked to be petering out, when on the sixty fifth minute the hosts got back into the game. Substitute Sakariya Hassan picked out the run of fellow sub Tobi Sho-Silva, who held off Alex Stepien-Iwumene and forced Holden into a great stop with his initial effort, before Siziba poked the rebound into the net.

The hosts hopes were short lived. Hamblin found Court in acres of space from a throw on the left-hand side, with Court able to pick out the run of Leahy who nodded the ball down and past Underwood in the Hampton goal to end the game as a contest once and for all.

A fourth was added with fifteen minutes remaining. Hampton once again overcommitted in attacking areas and for the second time in the game were punished on a counterattack from their own set piece. Stepien-Iwumene headed a corner clear, finding lively youngster Farron Chime, who beat a man and set Leahy free on the right. Court broke down the centre, creating a two on one. Leahy’s ball over was a good one and Court swept home. The Stones’ counter covered the length of the pitch in ten seconds, mercilessly cutting through our hosts.

Hampton afforded us far too much space on the break, something Salisbury didn’t do even when reduced to ten men forty-eight hours earlier. Any team at this level that leaves our frontline with that much room to operate without pressure will be cut apart. It felt like watching a discount version of Salah, Mane and Firmino, with the movement and precision throughout the attack being unstoppable at times. If we are able to keep this team fit, we should be in for a very enjoyable season.

Quiz night:

Stones fan and Back Page Sponsor Ian Hewett is hosting a Charity Quiz Night in aid of Lenham Nursery School at The Wishful Thinker on Friday September 18th. Click on the image below to buy tickets.