Maidstone maintained their four-point lead at the top of Ryman League Premier Division with a battling 1-0 win at Kingstonian on Saturday.

With second-placed Dulwich Hamlet beating Grays and third-placed Margate winning at Witham, Stones needed three points to keep up the pace and Alex Brown’s solitary goal four minutes before the break proven enough to do it.

Boss Jay Saunders fielded a three-pronged attack with Frannie Collin and Billy Bricknell joined by Jay May, recalled after six weeks out with a hamstring injury in the place of the suspended Jack Parkinson.

Stones keeper Lee Worgan was in action early on as he smothered a Steve Laidler effort after Malachi Hudson cross was not cut out by the defence.

May lashed over at the other end after nice interplay with Collin but Ks began to take charge and Worgan needed to make a fine save to keep out a flicked header from Adam Doyle.

Worgan was beaten by Josh Casey’s 18-yard drive which deflected off Steve Watt but came back off the bar but was equal to another Laidler effort from 20 yards soon after.

Both a free-kick from Collin and a Matt Bodkin cross were only missing a finishing touch at the other end however on 40 minutes Collin nodded down Bodkin cross for Brown to coolly slot in off the post to put the visitors ahead.

May volleyed over from a Collin corner before the break and was denied by keeper Rob Tolfrey after the turnaround after a cut-back from Collin from a searching cross from debutant Craig Stone.

Charlie Penny saw a shot saved by Worgan after being well-shepherded by Sonny Miles and Laidler blazed over before Casey’s low cross fizzed past everyone while May spurned another two chances at the other end, dragging wide and then heading straight at Tolfrey as Stones finished the stronger.