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Manager George Elokobi enjoyed everything about Maidstone’s win at Hampton & Richmond on Saturday.
The Stones won 3-0 at the Beveree Stadium with goals from Tom Leahy - his first since joining on loan from Millwall last month - and two for leading scorer Aaron Blair.
They remain seventh in National League South but now have a four-point lead over Weston in the race for a play-off place after the Someset club drew 1-1 with Chesham.
And there’s still only seven points separating the top seven going into the final six matches, although leaders Worthing have a game in hand to play at Hornchurch on Tuesday.
Maidstone had gone five away games without scoring but found their touch against a Hampton side on a run of nine defeats in 11.
“It was an extremely brilliant, amazing performance,” said Elokobi.
“I really liked our character from start to finish.
“The intent was there in terms of how we wanted to play, how dominant we wanted to be, playing on the front foot, denying them territory.
“Hampton, you’ve got to give credit to the job Alan Julian has done here, they are a possession-based team and if you allow them to build from the back and maintain it through the mid to final third, they can hurt you.
“So our strategy was to ensure we stay on the front foot, deny them those territories and ensure we were ready if they went over the top as well, and I thought we were commanding, especially at the back.
“I thought the back four dealt with all the aerial challenges, winning first phases and the midfield picking up the second phases.
“But, more importantly, it was about us making sure when we land on the ball, we put in a sequence of passes and that’s how we got the first goal, by being patient after nullifying their strength and switching the play out wide to the left and a fantastic, delightful cross and a brilliant finish from Tom.
“We’ve been praying for him to open his account for us and it was good to see him get that first goal for Maidstone.”
Blair’s goals were his first in six games and just his third and fourth since the turn of the year, taking him to 18 for the season.
He’s continued to work tirelessly up front during his lean spell and got his rewards at the Beveree.
“‘I’m delighted for Aaron Blair,” said Elokobi.
“His work rate has been tremendous throughout his moments when he hasn’t scored.
“But he’s always believed and we’ve told him to carry on believing and carry on working behind closed doors with Craig Fagan (Stones No.2) to ensure that he hits the back of the net on a regular basis.
“It’s about making sure he’s in the right place at the right time but also nice and composed in those moments and it’s good to see him back in the goals today.”
Maidstone fans made themselves heard in a crowd of 1,226, travelling in good numbers on Non-League Day.
It had been a while since they last saw a goal on the road - a 1-0 win at Weymouth in January - but they had plenty to celebrate against Hampton.
Elokobi said: “I can’t stress how thankful I am to the Maidstone supporters.
“They’ve been there for us throughout the season, especially away from home.
“They’ve come out again today in their numbers and they’ve just backed the boys.”
