Billericay 4 Maidstone 0

MAIDSTONE United slid into the Ryman League Premier Division relegation zone, after suffering a demoralising 4-0 defeat at Billericay on Tuesday night.

Having lost all five of their previous away games this season United could ill-afford a poor start, yet they found themselves 1-0 down to a tragi-comic goal after just nine minutes.

Billericay striker Bradley Wood-Garness gathered the ball on the edge of the area, fell over in the slippry conditions and still managed to get up and pick out the bottom corner before a defender got anywhere near him.

Maidstone recovered and enjoyed the majority of possession for the rest of the half, but they failed to create any clear chances and the game was effectively up in the 41st-minute when Town counter-attacked and Joe Flack rounded a blameless Pat Mullin to make it 2-0.

The Stones threw on an extra striker in the 57th minute in an attempt to retrieve the situation, but just two minutes later Lee Hodges' diagonal run culminated in a 20-yard drive for Town’s third goal.

Tony Boot's 84th-minute strike sealed a night of unfettered misery for the Stones, in darkest Essex.