I'm not even going to talk about THAT night back in May, as I still can't quite believe how Wealdstone didn't win that! However after seeing the departure of key players such as Lee Chappell, Rikki Banks, Alex Dyer, Chris O'leary and of course Richard Jolly, it was always going to be intriguing to see what players Gordon Bartlett would be bringing into the side. The results have been encouraging! The signing of Jey Siva from Enfield seems to be a great signing as a replacement for Lee Chappell, as well as signings such as Dean Martin, Jerome Okimo, Lewis Putman and a certain Glen Little! The injury to Lewis Putman in pre-season was a huge blow, seeing him out for the season. This gives a chance to young Reece Grant though, who is highly rated coming from the reserves and has impressed me with his brief performances so far.
It was a mixed pre-season for the stones with wins against Hitchin and Slough Town, but pretty awful defeats to Uxbridge, AFC Hayes and Hayes & Yeading. I saw the game against Chelsea U21's and I thought Wealdstone looked fairly competent against a very strong, quick and fit Chelsea side, who's quality really shone through in the second half despite some shocking defending. And it was the defending that was a huge concern heading into Saturdays opening fixture away at newly promoted Maidstone United.
In front of a 2000+ crowd, both of 'The Stones' played out a rather cracking fixture ending in a 1-1 draw, a result that will probably disappoint Wealdstone given the way they played in the second half, although if offered that at the start of the game, they probably would have taken it. The atmosphere throughout a majority of the first half was absolutely fantastic, with both sets of fans in fine voice sharing some rather amusing banter. With regards to the football, a very even first half saw Maidstone take the lead right on half time following a sweetly struck effort hit straight across Jonathan North. Half time 1-0 to Maidstone.
Unfortunately, I missed the goal due to some unsavoury scenes between Maidstone supporters and Wealdstone supporters. I find it bemusing how supporters from both clubs are so quick to shift the blame so quickly upon each other. From what I could see, it was 5-10 idiots from both sides who had enjoyed a little too much beer before the game, and things had gotten slightly out of hand. It doesn't really matter who started what, the fact of the matter is a very small minority of so called supporters from both clubs, somewhat spoiled a brilliant first half. For some Maidstone fans to judge Wealdstone as 'a bunch of cunts' is somewhat ridiculous, as there were no more than 10 idiots amongst 220 away supporters. Either way, I hope the reputation of both clubs isn't damaged too much, as 95% of the banter was light hearted and taken very well.
The second half saw Wealdstone up their game slightly and they grabbed a deserved equaliser on 57 minutes through Chris Moore. A handball outside of the Maidstone penalty area saw Peter Dean play in Tom Pett with a quick free kick, who in turn slotted the ball across goal to the unmarked Chris Moore to punt home from 6 yards to send the away supporters ballistic. The final 20 minutes was end to end stuff, but Wealdstone should have won the game in the 92nd minute, when Jack Hutchinson did brilliantly to sell 2 Maidstone defenders leaving him 1 on 1 with Lee Wogan who had a brilliant game in the Maidstone goal. From 10 yards out, Hutchinson cooly sent Wogan the wrong way with his shot, but the ball agonisingly hit the inside of the post before Wogan managed to clear the ball. The full time whistle sounded shortly after and 1-1 was probably a fair result on the balance of play.
Maidstone looked a decent side and will be there and there abouts regarding the play offs at the end of the season, and if Wealdstone continue to play like they did for the rest of the season, with Scott McGleish and Sean Cronin to return, it could be yet another successful season for the blue Stones. The crowd trouble was a slight dampener on a great day, but I honestly believe it was 5-10 morons from both sides that had over indulged a bit too much. Maidstone are a great club in my opinion and I wish them all the best for the rest of the season, apart from when they come to the vale!
