Maidstone United winger Joan Luque says there will be nerves and tension before Dorking game

Top scorer Joan Luque will put pre-match nerves aside as he bids to lead Maidstone to victory at Dorking.

Luque made it 16 goals for the season with his wonder strike against Oxford City last weekend.

That’s some going for a winger, with Luque loving his football at Maidstone so much he’s already signed up for next season.

Nerves play a part before kick-off - and there might be a few more than normal going into Saturday’s top-of-the-table game.

But, as soon as Luque emerges from the tunnel, you’d never know.

“At the end of the day it’s another game of football but the nerves are there, the tension is there,” said the Spaniard.

“Obviously we’re playing for something big, we’re going there to win, and it’s always going to be tough.

“I do get nervous just before the games but once I come out, that’s it.

“They’re a good team, they play good football and they beat us at home (2-0 in October).

“Hopefully we can beat them there and get to the top of the league, where we want to be.”

Victory over third-placed Oxford City set Maidstone up nicely for their meeting with the leaders.

Luque opened the scoring with a special strike in a 2-1 win as Hakan Hayrettin’s side moved seven points clear of City.

“It was a good strike,” said Luque.

“It’s one of those, it comes out of your feet and you know you’ve hit it perfect, and obviously you follow the curve of the ball and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s in.’ I don’t think anyone’s saving it.

“This was a massive one to win because they were third and if they beat us, they were going one point behind and now we're seven points ahead and potentially 10, if we win our game in hand.

“That’s quite a gap against a direct rival, so, like we say, tick them off and on to the next one.

“We’ve done that