Altrincham 1 Maidstone United 1 match report: Ten-man Stones claim a point

Ten-man Maidstone claimed a battling point at Altrincham on their return to the National League.

The Stones played the last half an hour a man down after Hady Ghandour was shown a second yellow card.

They rode their luck at times but worked their socks off to leave Moss Lane with a draw.

There were debuts for Jack Cawley and Portsmouth loanee Liam Vincent in the back four while Yusuf Mersin got the nod over Tom Hadler in goal.

Maidstone made early progress down the right through Roarie Deacon and Gavin Hoyte in a bright start that was rewarded with a fourth-minute opener.

A foul on Hoyte on the touchline saw Regan Booty’s wicked inswinging free-kick turned into his own net by Altrincham defender Liam Brockbank.

It was the perfect start for Hakan Hayrettin’s National South champions and it nearly got even better when Booty sent Jack Barham in on goal in the 12th minute.

The Stones forward looked favourite to score after going through one-on-one with Matt Gould but saw his strike hit the base of the post, with the keeper getting a crucial touch.

Booty sent a free-kick just wide, Gould held Sam Corne’s strike at the second attempt and Odusanya saw a deflected strike saved after Corne and Ghandour combined to win back possession near the corner flag.

Maidstone had done a good job of limiting the hosts but Altrincham grew as an attacking threat down the right.

Mersin justified his selection with a trio of excellent saves in a five-minute spell towards the end of the half, denying Chris Colclough, twice, and Brockbank.

But pressure paid off in the final minute of the first half when another move down the right ended with Chris Conn-Clarke sidefooting home the equaliser.

Christie Pattisson came on for Vincent in a half-time