Sol Wanjau-Smith scored twice as Maidstone demolished National League South promotion rivals Boreham Wood at the Gallagher Stadium.

Wanjau-Smith opened up a 2-0 lead with a pair of headers and Ben Brookes added United’s third from the penalty spot in first-half injury time.

Centre-half George Fowler scored his fifth goal of the season midway through the second half as Maidstone moved above Wood into sixth place after a terrific all-round performance.

Manager George Elokobi named the same starting XI for the third game running - a luxury at this stage of the season - with new signings Pharrell Willis and Jacob Berekley-Agyepong on the bench.

Top-of-the-table games, at any level, are so often cagey affairs but this was anything but and it made for great entertainment as the sides looked to get after each other early on.

Maidstone got Aaron Blair away a couple of times in the early stages while the Wood looked to feed ex-United loanee Matt Rush, who saw a fair bit of the ball in the opening exchanges.

Blair headed wide from a Brookes cross while Stones keeper Alexis Andre Jr dived to his right to deny Erico Sousa from the edge of the box.

There was a lengthy delay after Wood defender Josh Hare, another Maidstone old boy, suffered a head injury, and keeper Nathan Ashmore went down immediately after.

Hare tried to continue but eventually had to come off and Maidstone took charge with three goals before half-time.

Wanjau-Smith headed the hosts in front off the underside of the bar after Temi Eweka flicked on a Charlie Seaman long throw in the 36th minute.

He scored again eight minutes later, heading the ball in off Ashmore after meeting a deep cross from Seaman at the back post.

And Maidstone went three up in the fourth of eight added minutes with Brookes emphatically beating Ashmore from the spot after referee George Laflin penalised the visitors for holding in the box.

Maidstone had to stay defensively disciplined in the second half, with Boreham Wood not ready to give up.

Realistically, the visitors needed an early goal back to make a game of it, and they threatened before the hour mark when Rush’s strike was blocked by Jordan Higgs.

But it was effectively game over in the 65th minute as Fowler - outstanding at the back all afternoon - continued his hot streak at the other end with his third goal in six games.

Tom Leahy kept the ball alive after Brookes’ long throw came off the Wood defence and Fowler thumped home from eight yards.

Andre Jr secured a 21st clean sheet of the campaign with a smart tip-over from Tyrone Marsh in the last minute of normal time.

Maidstone: Andre Jr, Seaman, Fowler, Eweka, Brookes, Gurung (Berkeley-Agyepong 80mins), Higgs, Corne, Wanjau-Smith (Willis 84mins), Blair, Leahy (Coulthirst 80mins). Subs not used: Holden, Trusty.

Boreham Wood: Ashmore, Payne, Sagaf, Benton (Abdulmalik 64mins), Hare (O’Connell 33mins, Clayden 64mins), Reynolds, Dixon (Marsh 78mins), Sousa (Coxe 78mins), Rye, Richardson, Rush. Subs not used: None.

Referee: George Laflin.

Attendance: 2,772.