Kent Merit Under-16 Boys’ Cup Final: Cray Valley 1 Maidstone United 3

Striker Freddie Francis scored twice as Maidstone United proved too strong for Cray Valley in an entertaining Kent Merit Under-16 Boys’ Cup Final at Whitstable on Sunday.

Francis scored twice with Sachin Balasundaram also on target for the Stones before Cray claimed a late consolation through Elisha Allechi.

Maidstone boss Jim Brown said: “It’s fantastic, the boys played ever so well but so did Cray.

“My son is our assistant coach and my other son is vice-captain, so it’s a family affair.

“I’ve had some of these players since they were five but we only had five players at the start of the season, so to get to the Kent Cup Final and to win it is fantastic.”

After a quiet opening to the game, the breakthrough came on 23 minutes when Cray keeper Brendan Loukil was dispossessed, and Francis got his reward by scoring into an empty net.

Cheered on by a large and noisy travelling support, the Stones nearly added a second when Francis nodded wide from Ryan Kent’s long free-kick.

Kent and player-of-the-match Igor Czernichowski were excellent at the heart of the Maidstone midfield while Cray had plenty of talent with Kofi Mensah catching the eye.

Mensah’s twisting run nearly produced an equaliser as he shot wide from distance and Levi Gordon’s low shot was saved before the break.

There were chances at both ends in the second half. Cray’s Shay Ivory saw his header saved and Mensah cut inside only to fire over the bar.

Maidstone’s Balasundaram forced Loukil to push away his long-range free-kick before Francis was denied by an even better stop as the keeper dived smartly to his right to turn behind a 30-yard shot.

Maidstone’s pressure told with a second goal on 63 minutes, Balasundaram finishing from close range after Mitchell Brown