Roland Edge is thanking the elements for helping him score his first goal for Maidstone United.

The defender’s spectacular 35-yard second-half strike proved enough to beat Canvey Island in Essex last Saturday but he admitted: “Without the wind I don’t think it would have got as far as the 18-yard box.”

He scored three times for Folkestone but only once in more than 100 games for Gillingham – the winner in a 1-0 win against Bury at Priestfield nine years ago – and Edge says he will cherish this one just as much as the others.

He said: “I was surprised to find myself taking the free-kick in the first place. Nobody else fancied it, the bench were shouting at me to have a go and luckily it hit the back of the net. I enjoyed the celebration because it doesn’t happen too often.”

Edge, who turned 30 last month, added: “I’m enjoying my football the most I have for the past seven years and feel we have a good side who have every chance of being successful.

“I am back playing with James Pinnock and Jay Saunders who were both in the same Gillingham youth team as me, as was Sam Tydeman who has only just given up playing. It’s like being in a time warp.”