We have to be at our best to beat Faversham Town, says Maidstone United boss Jay Saunders

MAIDSTONE UNITED manager Jay Saunders says whoever holds their nerve in Saturday’s Ryman League Division One South Play-off Final will win promotion.



The Stones, who finished runners-up to promoted champions Dulwich Hamlet, booked their place in the final courtesy of Paul Booth’s winner against Folkestone Invicta, whilst third-placed Faversham Town scored three goals in six minutes to stun Hythe Town.

Reflecting on their 1-0 win over Neil Cugley’s side, Saunders said: “A tough one, which is what we expected to be honest.  I think Cugs, as we know, has got a decent side.  They’re well organised and we had to change our game plan to what we normally go with to get the result, but in the end it was a very nervy night, but we got through and that’s the main thing.”

It was the first time that Saunders has been involved in play-offs and he even took a day off work to focus on the big semi-final.

“Leading up to it I was desperate to get there,” revealed Saunders. “I’m normally at work during the day and that generally occupies my mind a little bit. I had a day off and I just needed to get there and get going. I was a bit nervous leading up to it. It was quite stressful.

Saunders added: “First half we had chances to go in front and we looked the better side of the two and then they came out for 15-20 minutes of the second half and they were on top.

“The nerves get to you a little bit. Once we settled down a bit I think we were ok.”

A big game for a big game player and step forward 36-year-old match-winner Booth.

“We changed to 4-3-3, that’s what Cugs likes to play down there. It’s important when you play Folkestone that you stop Roland Edge and Darren Smith and we matched them up and we did that.

“I had to make a tough choice, the toughest choice of my managerial career, was leaving Shaun Welford, he’s our skipper, out, but it was one of them.

“Boothy coming off the bench had more chance of goals in him and he’s done it!

“It was just on the night Ade (Olorunda) was working hard and things weren’t dropping for him and when things are dropping in the area someone like Boothy has that knack of being in the right place at the right time.”

Saunders and the rest of the Maidstone United fans have cancelled their trip to Wembley Stadium on Saturday to watch Kent League side Tunbridge Wells in The FA Carlsberg Vase Final against Spennymoor Town.

Saunders said: “I was going up there. I know Josh Stanford well and they’ve got Lewis Mingle, who was one of our players at the beginning of the season, down there.  I was going up there to see them but we’ve got a big game ourselves to get on with.”

That game is a winner-takes-all showdown against Ray Turner’s Faversham Town, who arrive at a sold-out Gallagher Stadium looking to cause an upset and cap of their excellent campaign with promotion.

“It’s a cruel way to end the season for either side,” said Saunders.

“You get this far, after both having a good season. I suppose it’s fair in the play-offs at least it’s second-versus-third and not fifth-versus-second.

“I’ve got a lot of time for Ray. I speak to him regularly. I spoke to him twice before Tuesday’s game and him and Clive Walker have done a good job and it will be a tough game.

“They’ve got a few ex-Maidstone players and it really is going to be a tough game.

“All we can do is turn up and try to do the right things with the right attitude and hopefully we can continue the good little bit of form that we’re on.

Saunders insisted both club’s have pressure on them going into Saturday’s Kent derby, the largest derby since Dartford beat Welling United 1-0 in last season’s Conference South play-off final at Princes Park Stadium.

Saunders said: “Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had to deal with pressure all the season, the majority of the time.  A couple of times it’s got to us. We had little spells in the season when we were top of the league and it got to us.

“When you’re looking at these games, now they’re one-offs, their cup finals. There’s no pressure on us than Folkestone.

“Us and Faversham both want to win the game. There’s pressure on both sides. Our supporters know that Faversham will want to come here and are capable of getting a result, they did it the other week against us.

“They (our supporters)  know Faversham are a good side and we have to be at our best to beat them.”

Faversham grabbed a 2-1 victory when they last came to Maidstone United – only three weeks ago.

“I think the players are disappointed, they probably cost us the league.  There was a goal at a time that I didn’t see that should’ve been disallowed for a foul on Deren (Ibrahim).

“I think that point would have won us the league. The players may feel a little bit hard done by.  As a player when you’ve lost to a team you always want to go out and prove a point.

“It’s a one-off game. League form and all that is not involved. It’s just a one-off. It’s like a cup game and in cup games we’ve done well in one-off games.

“I think on the day it’s who can handle what players get nerves and who turns up. Sometimes you can be the best player in the world but you can turn up on the day and nerves get the better of you.

“I think it’s the ones that turn up and do the right things on the day.”

There’s a lot riding on the outcome of Saturday’s dramatic climax to the Ryman League Division One South campaign.

Saunders said: “It’s a cruel way to end the season. It’s great if you win them. If you don’t it’s a cruel, cruel end to the season.  All we can do is prepare right and we’ll be in tonight and we’ll go over a few things and we’ll go to the gym and go for a swim and get the boys heads on it because there were a few tired boys out there the other night.

“All we can do is prepare them right and once we cross that white line it’s out of your hands and you just hope that everything you asked them to do they do on the day.  The majority of the season we’ve done that and hopefully on Saturday, in front of a big crowd, with the support behind us, we can do it again.

“The chairmen are both happy that we’re in the play-offs and getting the crowds we are. It just shows, it’s unbelievable. We were talking the other night. When we were playing at Sittingbourne, we played a League Cup tie in front of 100.  You try to explain to the lads that weren’t here last season we didn’t have training facilities last year and we were training on a little five-a-side pitches and the facilities we’ve got now and the support is fantastic.

“We were down the ground last night to get a couple of tickets and there was chaos down there and tickets sold out in an hour. 

“Being a local lad, everyone I see out are enjoying it and are willing us on and enjoying the atmosphere out there.

“I’m delighted for the owners of the club who put the fundraising in – it’s reward for all of their hard work.”

This game is all-ticket and has been SOLD-OUT.

Visit Maidstone United’s website: www.maidstoneunited.co.uk

Maidstone United  v  Faversham Town
Ryman League Division One South Play-Off Final
Saturday 4^th May 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
at The Gallagher Stadium, James Whatman Way, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LQ