Truro City FC vs Maidstone United Report

Photo Credit: Chaos Radio

Match Report

by Gareth Davies, Meadow Park, Saturday

Vanarama National League South

Truro City: 3 – Maidstone United: 1

City have all but secured their National League South status for another season after a dominant and deserved victory over Maidstone United.

Tyler Harvey passed the 50-goal mark in Step Two football for City with a brace, while Dan Sullivan was also on the mark, his third of the campaign.

For Maidstone, who saw their hopes of finishing in second or third and thus avoiding a play-off quarter-final, severely dented after a tepid showing.

With the game in its dying embers, the FA Cup giant killers did score through Raphe Brown, but it was a mere consolation as City had already secured a fine win.

The hosts made nine changes to the side which lost 2-0 to champions Yeovil Town at Meadow Park on Thursday evening for this, City’s fourth game of the week.

James Hamon was the only player to line-up in every Truro side over the past seven days and he continued between the sticks against Maidstone.

Ryan Law joined Hamon from the Yeovil defeat, playing once again as a left sided wing back.

Ed Palmer, Ben Adelsbury and Will Dean partnered in defence for City with the latter playing out of position due to Tom Harrison’s suspension. Sam Sanders was only fit enough for a place on the bench after suffering a facial injury against Yeovil.

Connor Riley-Lowe returned to captain the side and slotted in on the right in midfield alongside Adam Porter, Dan Rooney, Sullivan and Law.

Up front, Harvey would lead the line with Neal, as before kick-off, the pair had bagged 10 and 12 goals respectively so far this term.

City started off the game playing with a strong breeze at their backs and after just seven minutes, the visitors’ defensive fragilities that would hamper them during the first half, came to the fore.

Goalkeeper Lucas Covolan dithered when trying to clear the ball and his effort was charged down by Harvey. However, referee Harrison Blair ruled that Harvey had handled and Maidstone escaped.

Porter then delivered a teasing cross into the box which narrowly escaped every player in a white shite before Sullivan had the first real goalscoring opportunity.

Once again, poor Maidstone defending led to City being presented with a sight on goal but Sullivan was denied by a fine save from Covolan, who atoned for his earlier indiscretion.

But despite City’s dominance in the first 20 minutes, it was Maidstone who perhaps should have broken the deadlock when captain Sam Corne saw his low effort hit the post with Hamon beaten.

The follow up from Jephte Tanga was then turned onto the bar by Hamon and City, somehow, saw their goal remain intact.

This was as good as it got for Maidstone until injury-time at the end of the match as City were totally dominant from this point forwards.

After 26 minutes, Rooney glided into the box, escaping the clutches of several would-be Maidstone defenders to feed Harvey. The former Argyle striker shifted the ball out of his feet to fire home low into the bottom corner past the dive of Covolan.

It got even better for City 10 minutes later when Maidstone once again pressed the self-destruct button.

A long clearance from Hamon was left to bounce and Neal managed to control superbly, he turned on the edge of the box but lost possession. But Maidstone gifted the ball to Sullivan who made no mistake for the second Saturday in succession at Meadow Park.

That was Sullivan’s last action of the game as he was withdrawn with a tight hamstring shortly after and was replaced by James Melhado.

This second goal also prompted visiting boss George Elokobi to make a tactical change as Craig Wanjau-Smith replaced the ineffective Muhammadu Faal.

This made little difference to the game either before the break or into the second stanza as Maidstone huffed and puffed looking for a way back into proceedings.

Granted the visitors enjoyed more of the ball in the second half, but they could not breach a staunch City rearguard.

As time ticked on, Neal broked free and was in on goal, only to be denied by a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Sam Bone.

The points were wrapped up for City three minutes from time when substitute Dom Johnson-Fisher was fouled inside the box by Brown, who was booked for his troubles.

Up stepped Harvey to emphatically dispatch by sending Covolan the wrong way, his 51^st National League South goal in a City shirt.

That wasn’t the end of the goalmouth action though as Brown then was in the thick of things at the other end. He managed to force the ball through the clutches of Hamon and into the net but there was to be no unlikely comeback in a season where Maidstone and City, have often been involved in barely believable happenings.

But just like Maidstone delivered the impossible by beating Ipswich in the FA Cup, City have done likewise by avoiding the drop, despite everything seemingly contriving against Paul Wotton’s side.

Truro City: Hamon, Palmer, Adelsbury, Dean, Riley-Lowe, Rooney, Porter (Brett, 54), Sullivan (Melhado, 38), Law, Neal (Johnson-Fisher, 83). Subs not used: Sanders, Munakandafa.

Maidstone: Covolan, Brown, Fowler, Appiah (Bentley, 54), Tanga, Bone, Klass, Corne, Ezennolm (Adu-Poku, 69), Faal (Wajau-Smith, 37), Rush. Subs not used: Greenridge, Earle.

Referee: Harrison Blair

Attendance: 198

Match Reaction from Paul Wotton

Boss Paul Wotton hailed the performance from his Truro City side as ‘magnificent’ in defeating Maidstone United 3-1 on Saturday.

Against the National League South’s form side, who made national headlines with a run to round five of the FA Cup, City were imperious from first whistle to last.

Tyler Harvey opened the scoring after 25 minutes with a powerful low finish before Dan Sullivan profited from a Maidstone defence error to double City’s advantage 10 minutes later.

The second half saw Truro concede possession and territory to Maidstone but the hosts defended brilliantly. And then, with three minutes left, Dom Johnson-Fisher was upended in the box and Harvey duly dispatched from the spot.

Maidstone did score in injury time through Raphe Brown, but it was a mere consolation for the Kent outfit.

“We were magnificent from the first whistle,” Wotton told trurocity.co.uk. “We had a strong wind (at our backs) and were the better team in the first half. It is also one of the best defensive performances I have seen (from Truro) in the second half.

“Against a top, top side, my goalkeeper has not had a save to make in 97 minutes. Yes, they did score at the end and it is a poor goal, but we looked really comfortable.

“We restricted Maidstone to deep diagonal balls and our wing backs were excellent against two pacey, tricky wingers.

“It was a battle in midfield and the front two worked their socks off. One I thing will say about Truro City is that the boys work. I won’t let them not work and you might hear me shouting and screaming a lot.

“But today against Maidstone if they went past one player then the second was out and if they got past that one, then there was the third. We put our bodies on the line, defended magnificently and I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.

“It is a huge win at a critical time of the season and after a tough week with travelling, I don’t have enough accolades for my squad.

“The boys Monday night, the boys Wednesday night, the boys Thursday night then Saturday, the whole squad, they were magnificent from top to bottom.”

This victory ended what Wotton himself had called a ‘horrific’ run of fixtures with four games played in the space of seven days, which included two matches in 24-hours, against Eastbourne and Yeovil, on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

And the City chief felt this win against the Stones was testament to his players’ resolve, and to triumph against the odds too.

“I’ve said it about my boys so many times that they are bullet-proof.” He added. “They have been through so much over the last three years and this season has been the worst for us in terms of logistics, the weather and things going against in a tough league.

“I have never had player in those three years phone me and say ‘Gaffer, I can’t keep doing this travelling’. They just get their heads down and keep doing it so to be back in Truro next season will be just reward because we can’t keep pulling up miracles.

“Perhaps that is a bit over the top, but nobody thought we would win today. Nobody gave us a chance but my boys did it again after what has been a hell of a week.”