Maidstone Utd 0 Croydon Ath 0

MAIDSTONE United reclaimed the leadership of Ryman Division 1 South on Wednesday night, 24 hours after Hastings knocked them off the top spot.

Only the woodwork denied the county town team an even greater reward.

The Stones were dealt an early blow when the hat-trick hero of their 4-1 win at Croydon less than three weeks ago, Ryan Royston, had to limp off after just 21 minutes. Craig Roser came close to his first goal for Maidstone when he headed over after half an hour.

Moments later Hegley stole possession and Mo Takaloo crashed a shot against the bar.

Then, seconds before the break, Takaloo came within inches of an oustanding solo goal, dazzling Croydon’s defence before curling a 20-yarder that was deflected against the crossbar.

Jason Barton nearly caught Firkins out with a dipping volley with 11 minutes to go but the subsequent aerial bombardment was dealt with comfortably by a young Croydon side who hadn’t come for the draw.

Maidstone ended the game with all four strikers pressing for a winner and could easily have been caught cold by a number of counter attacks.