Maidstone United Women Open Step-Up Season with Dominant Win, Add Midfielder Penfold

Maidstone United: Holly Theobald (45+1') Tori Campbell (53') Ellie Hinkley (68')

Maidstone United's women's team have made a winning start to life at Step 6, the division the club moved into this season after its application to the FA's Women's Football Pyramid Promotion Pool was accepted back in June - officially recognising a section of the club that manager Tori Campbell's own statement called "a significant milestone" built from scratch in recent years.

The step up looked to sit comfortably with the Stones at Gunnersbury Park. Holly Theobald broke the deadlock right on the stroke of half-time, before player-manager Campbell doubled the lead early in the second half with what was described as a well-taken free-kick. Ellie Hinkley added a third from close range to make the points safe, while goalkeeper Cara Davies was credited with keeping the visitors' first clean sheet of the new campaign.

There's fresh competition for places to go with the winning start. Milly Penfold, a midfielder with previous spells at Gillingham Development, Aylesford, Millwall Lionesses, Dartford and, most recently, AFC Greenwich Borough, joined in time to make her debut off the bench in the Actonians win. Campbell said Penfold adds "further quality, experience and competition to the Stones midfield" as the squad settles into a higher level of football.

Next up is a first taste of cup competition this season, with Hastings United visiting the Gallagher Stadium on Sunday for a Women's FA Cup preliminary round tie. Maidstone reached the first round proper last season before falling to Plymouth Argyle, and Campbell is wary of a repeat of that kind of jolt from lower down the pyramid despite Hastings' 6-0 defeat in their most recent outing: "We'll take absolutely nothing for granted," she said. The winner faces Croydon Women or Biddenden Women on 6 September. Source: maidstoneunited.co.uk