Maidstone upset third-placed Dover to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season and move out of the Kent 2 relegation zone.

The Stones, beaten 69-12 when the sides met at Crabble in October, turned the tables in a superb display at The Mote on Saturday.

It finished 8-6, with the hosts surviving three missed penalties in the final 10 minutes, including one which hit the post.

Maidstone deserved their bit of luck at the end, having worked hard to cancel out Sharks’ attacking threat in difficult conditions.

The sides exchanged penalties - Lex Ayling on target for Maidstone - as the first half ended 3-3.

A brilliant chip-and-chase try from winger Ollie Jenkins put the hosts in front after the break, with Dover adding a second penalty.

“We were over the moon with how the boys played,” said Maidstone director of rugby Steve Oram.

“I think Dover were a bit shocked. The thrashing we had there enabled us to suss them out and we had a game plan to neutralise their attack which the boys executed perfectly.

“We made well over 100 tackles in the game, which is around 30% more than average.

“The stats support the way the game was and they really didn’t get a sniff of a try.

“It was a bit nerve-shredding at the end with those three penalties but we were delighted to win.

“It was great to see the clubhouse buzzing afterwards and great for me to go in there and not have to explain things after a defeat.

“We’ve promised jam for a while and on Saturday we got the lid open.”

Maidstone moved out of the bottom two at the expense of Hastings & Bexhill and look to continue their improvement at mid-table Gillingham Anchorians this Saturday (2pm).

They go into the game buoyed by their win over high-flying Dover.

“It’s given us a sense of belief that we can compete with anybody in this league,” said Oram, who described the victory as his best day at Maidstone.

“All those lads who came in at the start of the season are beginning to click and do the right things. From a coach’s point of view, we came up with the game plan, it was put in place 100% and it worked.

“We were against a good, experienced Dover side who are third in the league and we thoroughly deserved our victory.”