The Fleet were unable to make it three finals in a row as they exited the Kent Senior Cup at the semi-final stage following a disappointing second-half at the Gallagher Stadium.
Josh Wright made nine changes to the side, with the returned Wes Fonguck in the starting lineup alongside Elijah Anthony, currently on loan at Sittingbourne.
Fleet began with Finlay Barnes whipping a ball into the area following a short corner by Lennon Peake that picked out Ronny Nelson inside the box. He got up above the Maidstone defence but his headed effort was just wide. The Stones pushed at the other end of the pitch and a strong save from Jonathan Macaulay shut out Deon Moore from close range.
The quick feet of Aaron Cosgrave and Barnes got both attacking players into positions to fire shots on goal but Lenny Holden gathered Cosgrave’s effort and watched Barnes’ one skip past the target.
Maidstone continued to go close and Dajon Golding saw his next goalbound effort parried away by Macaulay in the 11th minute with Maxx Manktelow eventually clearing his lines. Golding went close again but he couldn’t keep another promising opportunity on target as Maidstone proved to be wasteful in front of goal.
Just past the half-hour mark, Gene Kennedy and George Moncur forced Holden into action, the goalkeeper tipping over the crossbar from Kennedy and palming clear from Moncur.
With five minutes of added time played, Deon Moore opened the scoring with the last kick of the half. A strong solo run saw him gain ground and he clipped the inside of the woodwork with a shot that had enough to go past Macaulay and into the net.
Fleet never got going after the break and Maidstone capitalised as Moore completed a hat-trick 10 minutes into the second half. On 52 minutes he got up well to a cross to nod the ball over Macaulay and three minutes later he had time and space to make it three after pouncing on Kennedy’s back pass.
It took a while for the Fleet to trouble the Maidstone defence as substitute Ben Chapman pulled the trigger from distance but his shot from the middle took a deflection to leave a comfortable save for Holden.
Things became more difficult on the hour for the Fleet when they went down to 10 men following a straight red card after Ronny Nelson’s challenge on Riley Court.
Maidstone took advantage of the extra man and added a fourth through David Sesay after a deflection caught Macaulay out with 20 minutes left.
There was little action from either side in the closing stages, Maidstone having booked their place in the final and the Fleet with the return here next week and the visit of Dagenham to think about.
EUFC: Macaulay, Manktelow, Ehmer (Fielding 46), Nelson, Anthony, Kennedy, Fonguck (Chapman 56), Moncur (Olagunju 63), Peake, Barnes (Appiah 56), Cosgrave. Subs: Seaman
MUFC: Holden, Sesay, Agbontohoma, Hamblin, Foran, Gilbert, Court, Tanga, Golding (Mbunya 39), Kargbo, Moore. Subs: Harness, Fowler, Chime, Mbogba
Attendance: 503
Photos: ©EUFC/Ed Miller
