FA Cup Action At Last - Corinthian vs. Maidstone United

Covered benches and pavilion at Gay Dawn Farm

One of the best things about the early stages of the FA Cup is that some of the games are played in scenic, rural settings and this was certainly the case with Corinthian's Gay Dawn Farm. Corinthian had just returned to senior football the previous season. The home side won two and lost two of their league games to date and beat Dorking 4-3 in the previous round. I'd seen Maidstone in pre season at Beckenham and they looked full of goals. They had however only won one of their opening league games. The last time I saw Maidstone in the FA Cup they over came Tooting and Mitcham 2-1 on a scorching day in Sittingbourne.

Kick off in the leafy surroundings at Gay Dawn Farm.

As with the tie against Tooting, the game kicks off in glorious sunshine and Maidstone don't take long to settle down in the heat. The ball is floated back in to the Corinthian box following a failed attack and the Maidstone player is left alone to head the ball home. There are some hefty challenges from both sides but the referee lets the game flow as much as he can. Corinthian get a few kicks in decent positions but the execution is poor. Maidstone get a fantastic second when the United player shrugs off his marker and lofts the ball over the keeper. They add a third shortly after when the winger gets to the line and pulls the ball back for his team mate. The score is a little harsh on the hosts but credit went to the visitors for taking their chances.

The home goalie makes a good save with his feet.

After the break, the division gap between the two sides becomes apparent. Corinthian continue to try and press the away side and the keeper is called in to serious action for the first time in the match. Unfortunately once the fourth goal goes in, the home side's heads dropped and Maidstone ran riot. The pacey wide men for the visitors got behind the full backs time and time again and this lead to a flurry of goals. Corinthian didn't help themselves as several individual errors lead to more goals. The final score was 9-0, I couldn't remember the details of the all goals unfortunately. Corinthian deserve credit for pushing on until the end and for their fantastic facilities which are amongst the best I've seen at this level.  

Corinthian on the attack in the second half. Notice the ex-bus shelters on the far touchline.

As I said at the start of the post, the ground is in quite a remote, rural setting. The ground is a pleasant half hour walk from Longfield Station. I wouldn't recommend walking to the ground in the dark as long stretches of  the walk are on roads with no paths or street lights. Trains depart to Longifeld from London Victoria on a regular basis and the journey takes around half an hour. I didn't pass a pub on the walk to the ground but the clubhouse is modern and had several ales. It also has Sky Sports and serves hot food.

The Maidstone players celebrate a goal in front of the travelling support.

A match report with details of the goals and link to more photos can be found on the Maidstone United site.

The dugout side of the ground.