Nine-Goal Thriller as Maidstone Edge Hornchurch

Maidstone United: J. Gilbert (6'), R. Court (10'), H. Kargbo (12'), T. Foran (33'), S. Corne (58')

Hornchurch: J. Rees (26'), A. Balanta (30'), J. Rees (42'), A. Balanta (45'+2')

The Stones couldn’t have asked for a better start. Inside 12 minutes, they were three goals up and flying. John Gilbert reacted quickest to open the scoring, before Riley Court finished off a strong run to double the lead. Moments later, Hamzad Kargbo added a third with a well-taken header.

At that point, it looked like it could be a long afternoon for Hornchurch. But football doesn’t work like that.

A tactical switch brought Angelo Balanta into the game, and suddenly the momentum flipped. He helped spark a quick response, setting up Josh Rees to pull one back before getting on the scoresheet himself to make it 3–2.

Just as quickly as things turned, Maidstone hit back. A defensive mistake was punished, and Taylor Foran restored a two-goal cushion with a simple finish.

Still, the drama wasn’t done. Hornchurch refused to go away. Rees grabbed his second in a goalmouth scramble, and deep into first-half stoppage time, Balanta struck again to make it 4–4 at the break. Eight goals in 45 minutes. No control, just chaos.

After all that madness, the second half actually calmed down a bit. Maidstone regained some structure and started to manage the game better.

The decisive moment came just before the hour mark. Court was involved again, teeing up Sam Corne, who picked his spot from the edge of the box to make it 5–4.

From there, it became about holding on. Hornchurch pushed, made changes, and had their moments. Lenny Holden was called into action late on, producing an important save, while Rees came agonisingly close to completing his hat-trick in stoppage time.

But it didn’t go in.

Maidstone saw it out and claimed a huge win in a game that was anything but straightforward. Brilliant going forward, shaky at the back, but in matches like this, all that really matters is finding a way to win.