Truro City FC vs Maidstone United: Match Report

Photo Credit: Colin Bradbury

by Tom Howe, Truro City Stadium, Saturday

Vanarama National League South

Truro City:0 – Maidstone United: 2

National League South leaders Truro City suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Maidstone United, a result that saw them drop to fourth in the table.

In front of a crowd of 1,721 at Truro City Stadium, the hosts struggled to find their rhythm and were undone by key moments either side of the half time oranges.

The first blow came in the 23rd minute when a speculative strike from Anthony Papadopoulos squirmed through the gloves of Dan Lavercombe to give Maidstone the lead.

City looked brighter after the break and pressed forward in search of an equaliser but their efforts were in vain. With 18 minutes remaining, Matt Rush capitalized on a defensive lapse, sliding a shot past Lavercombe to seal all three points.

Manager John Askey made a single change from the goalless draw at Dorking Wanderers last time out, with Dan Rooney starting in place of Yassine En-Neyah who dropped out of the squad completely.

Lavercombe continued between the sticks, behind the combination of Sam Sanders, Tom Harrison and skipper Connor Riley-Lowe, on a day marking the first time City had conceded two goals at home in a league match since their opening day defeat to Dorking.

Both sides found it difficult to settle during a rather laboured opening ten minutes. Maidstone were the quicker to settle though, with Aaron Blair working some space for himself before shooting wide of the mark.

Sanders and Harrison each came to City’s rescue with a pair of crucial blocks but they could do nothing to prevent the Stones going ahead soon after, with a diving Lavercombe diverting Papadopoulos’ effort into the top corner.

Although the Tinners sought to regain control, they were unable to stem the momentum of a confident opposition, who came into the game on a run of 12 league games unbeaten. Indeed, they were fortunate not to fall further behind moments later, as Blair’s effort rattled the crossbar.

Sanders proved his proficiency at both ends, bringing an acrobatic save out of ex-City custodian Alexis Andre Jnr but the referee’s whistle had already blow  as a result of a handball decision in the build up.

City imposed themselves better at the beginning of the second half, with Jaze Kabia coming close to an equaliser on the stretch, his invention leading to the ball landing on the roof of the net.

He came close again, heading a Riley-Lowe free-kick wide, a trick repeated by teammate Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain from his captain’s corner.

It wasn’t quite clicking and frustrations began to build. Askey opted to change things, with Andrew Neal and Tylor Love-Holmes introduced to the fray. It didn’t quite have the desired effect however as, moments later, Rush swept in Maidstone’s second and left City with a proverbial mountain to climb.

The Tinners will dust themselves down and look to regroup ahead of their visit to struggling St Albans on Saturday, ahead of preparing for what are sure to be Christmas crackers against fellow high-fliers Weston-super-Mare (home) and new league leaders Torquay United (away).

Match Facts

Truro City: Lavercombe; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Harrison (Adelsbury, 85), Sanders; Andoh (Love-Holmes, 65), Rooney, Dean, Palfrey (Neal, 65), Riley-Lowe (capt); Harvey, Kabia; Subs not used: Johnson-Fisher, Yetton

Maidstone United: Andre Jr; Seaman, Eweka, Fowler, Brooks; Papadopoulos, Higgs (Bentley, 87), Gurung; Wanjau-Smith (Brown, 87), Blair, Rush (Coulthirst, 90); Subs not used: Holden, Court

Referee: Harry Warner

Attendance: 1,721

Photo Credit: Colin Bradbury

John Askey’s Match Reaction

Boss John Askey felt his side ‘were second best’ after suffering a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Maidstone United.

However, the Tinners chief backed his troops to bounce back on the road against St Albans City this coming Saturday, based on their form prior to their first reverse at home since early September.

Antony Papadopoulos fired Maidstone ahead after 20 minutes with a long-range effort and despite Truro improving after the turnaround, Matt Rush made the points safe for the Kent visitors, who remain unbeaten away from in 2024-25.

“I thought we were second best and didn’t deserve three points or even a point,” Askey told trurocity.co.uk. “We are disappointed but we just have to pick ourselves up and go again because we have been doing really well and playing some good football.

“Today it just wasn’t there for us and that is going to happen during the season. The key thing is how we respond now from that disappointment.

“Maidstone had that little bit more quality, won a lot of second balls and we didn’t really create a chance. They created one or two chances but overall it wasn’t to be. We won’t get too carried away with the loss and we will go to St Albans with confidence.

“They have been struggling and although they got a point against Worthing, we will take every game as it comes and keep pushing.

“We are in a really good position and have played some of the top teams twice so when we play the lesser teams as such, we need to capitalise on that.”