Maidstone 5 Abingdon 3

QUANTITY not quality prevailed at Bourne Park on Wednesday night as Maidstone United outscored Abingdon 5-3 in their FA Trophy second qualifying round replay.

A drab first half flared into life with a three-goal burst in a four-minute period. On 31 minutes Lynden Rowland headed Maidstone in front when Abingdon let Aaron Lacy’s long throw bounce in the box.

Almost immediately Billy Beechers walked through the Maidstone defence to equalise, but in the 34th-minute the Stones regained the lead when Luis Cumbers converted a penalty awarded for a push on Rowland - who was then stretchered off with a leg injury.

In the second half Abingdon got a deserved equaliser when Anaclet Odinhimbo sprang the offside trap in the 57th minute, but again Maidstone nosed back in front when Mo Takaloo volleyed in Chris Smalling’s knock-down.

When Ray Freeman handled in the area Ryan Curtin scored Abingdon’s third equaliser from the spot, but the Stones finally took the lead for good with a quarter of an hour to play, when Smalling’s goalbound header was inadvertently blocked on the line by Cumbers, who regained his balance and scored his second of the night.

The Oxfordshire side finally buckled six minutes from time when Cumbers, looking half a yard offside, gathered Alex Tiesse’s pass and completed his hat-trick.