What’s better than a 1-0 win over your south-west rivals? Well, a 2-0 win of course! That’s exactly what happened on Saturday as Yeovil extended their unbeaten run to 6 games. Let’s look at what went down on a busy Saturday afternoon.
Before we get stuck into National League South action, I feel it’s right to give Maidstone some well-earned attention. They would’ve faced Havant & Waterlooville, but instead they were in FA Cup action hosting Stevenage in the 3rd Round, and they didn’t disappoint. Stevenage continued their recent poor form against non-league outfits (looking at you 2021 2nd Round tie) as a Sam Corne penalty handed the Stones a famous 1-0 win, booking their place in the 4th Round for the first time in their history!
Back to league action, and we begin in Essex, where Hampton & Richmond’s 16 match unbeaten run finally came to end in a surprising 3-1 defeat away to Braintree Town, Shaquille Coulthirst’s brace proving to be the difference maker. There were two 3-2 thrillers, with the better of the two coming at Hardenhuish Park. George Williams slotted a 90th minute penalty to win the game for 10 man Hemel Hempstead over Chippenham Town; in the other fixture, Chelmsford City left Worthing with all three points, with NLS top scorer Ollie Pearce’s double proving too little too late for the hosts.
Welling United’s relegation worries were deepened with a 3-1 loss at home to Aveley, the visitors leading 3-0 at half-time. Taunton head into Tuesday’s visit from the Glovers with concerning form, as they were easily dealt with by Slough Town, the 3-0 win giving the hosts a serious boost to their season. And in the only other 2-0 win of the day, Truro City left Dover Athletic with all three points, as they registered their 4th win on the bounce.
There were two 2-2 draws to discuss, with two injury time equalisers involved! Decarrey Sheriff got a 93rd minute equaliser for Eastbourne Borough‘s new manager Adam Murray’s first game in charge, taking a point away from Torquay United. In the other game, a 96th minute Reuben Reid goal rescued a point for Weston-super-mare as they hosted a stop-start Dartford side. St Albans City held on for a vital three points in a 2-1 win at home to Farnborough, and in the final game of today’s roundup, Tonbridge Angels climbed to 9th place in a 2-1 win over W*ymouth.
National League South results – in full
Braintree Town 3-1 Hampton & Richmond Borough
Chippenham Town 2-3 Hemel Hempstead Town
Dover Athletic 0-2 Truro City
Slough Town 3-0 Taunton Town
St Albans City 2-1 Farnborough
Tonbridge Angels 2-1 W*ymouth
Torquay United 2-2 Eastbourne Borough
Welling United 1-3 Aveley
Weston-super-mare 2-2 Dartford
Worthing 2-3 Chelmsford City
FA Cup 3rd Round results (NLS teams in bold)
Maidstone 1-0 Stevenage
National League South table
