Match Report | Cards complete spirited late comeback

Maidstone United 1-2 Woking
Vanarama National League
25th March 2023

Darren Sarll made two changes from the side defeated by Chesterfield, with Solomon Nwabuokei and Joe McNerney in for Ricky Korboa and Luke Wilkinson, whilst returning on-loan defender Charlie O’Connell and new loanee Charlie Wakefield made the bench.

Woking began the game with intent, and a Rohan Ince shot with four minutes gone sailed just over the bar, as the Cards looked to heap more misery onto the lowest placed side in the league.

A spell of Maidstone pressure resulted in no clear-cut chances to note down, and when Jim Kellermann stole the ball down the right hand side, the midfielder cut back for Padraig Amond, whose shot was well cleared off the line.

With 36 minutes gone, a last-ditch interception from Ince prevented a Maidstone shot from just outside the six-yard box, before Scott Cuthbert had to block a goal-bound effort from Sol Wanjau-Smith. Rhys Browne managed to force a good save from Daniel Barden just before half time, as the Cards looked to break the deadlock after a lacklustre first half.

Half time followed, and Woking would have been disappointed with their performance, as Maidstone had the better chances and frustrated the Cards.

Half-time: Maidstone United 0-0 Woking

Maidstone took the lead on 58 minutes, when a move down the right hand side found Josh Shonibare, who finished well on his left foot, burying the ball into the bottom left corner.

A superb cross from substitute Charlie O’Connell was met by the head of Amond, and he powered the ball past Barden to give the Cards an equaliser.

This gave the Woking players and supporters some belief, and Lofthouse fired a shot towards the Maidstone goal, but Barden got a touch to prevent the winger from scoring.

A sharp turn from substitute Marcus Dackers allowed him a chance to test Barden, with the Maidstone stopper doing well to parry the ball away from goal, as Woking looked to pile the pressure onto a fragile Maidstone defence. Dackers and Wakefield were making a difference after coming off the bench, looking to stretch the Stones and winning fouls and set pieces.

With just a minute left of stoppage time, an O’Connell corner was met by the head of Amond, who found the back of the net and won the game for the Cards, cue jubilation for the travelling Woking contingent.

Despite a below par performance for much of the game, Woking dug deep, and managed to turn one point into three, a result that could be even more crucial come the end of the season.

Woking: 22 Will Jaaskelainen, 2 Kyran Lofthouse, 3 Josh Casey, 4 Scott Cuthbert, 5 Joe McNerney, 10 Padraig Amond, 12 Dan Moss (15 O’Connell 45’), 14 Rhys Browne (21 Wakefield 82’), 16 Sol Nwabuokei (20 Dackers 69’), 17 Jim Kellermann, 24 Rohan Ince

Unused subs: Craig Ross, Billy Sass-Davies

Goals: Amond 72’, 94’

Bookings: Kellermann 32’, Moss 47’, Jaaskelainen 50’

Maidstone United: Daniel Barden, George Fowler, Raphe Brown (Binnom-Williams 80’), Sol Wanjau-Smith (Viggars 66’), Dom Odusanya, Regan Booty, Kevin Berkoe, Sam Bone, Mamadou Jobe, Josh Shonibare (Touray 73’), Bivesh Gurung

Unused subs: Hadler, Alabi

Goals: Shonibare 57’

Bookings: Barden 77’

Referee: Ben Atkinson

Attendance: 2117 (442 Woking)

Man of the Match: The calm head of Scott Cuthbert helped settle down the Cards despite a nervy first 70 minutes, and fresh from extending his contract, the Scotsman was once again excellent in defence.