Millie Waud scored twice inside six minutes and player-manager Tori Campbell headed the third. The Stones are away to Croydon on Sunday 6 September.

Maidstone United Women beat Hastings United 4-1 at the Gallagher Stadium on Sunday to reach the first qualifying round of the Women’s FA Cup.

It was the Stones’ first home game of the season, and the tie was over almost before it started. Millie Waud scored in the 4th minute and again in the 6th, according to the club’s own match report.

Hastings did not fold. They pulled a goal back just after the half hour through a Lily Smith free kick, and the score stayed 2-1 into the second half.

Maidstone brought Megan Wood on for captain Annie White at the interval, and made three more substitutions before the pressure told. Player-manager Tori Campbell headed the third on 71 minutes. Wood added the fourth four minutes later, a finish the club called an early goal-of-the-season contender.

The new signing who scored on her home debut

Wood only joined the club this month. Maidstone confirmed her signing on Sunday, listing previous spells at Southampton, Yeovil Town, Dorking Wanderers and London Bees. She had already played 70 minutes of the Stones’ 3-0 opening day win away at Actonians Reserves.

The context: a division up, and a cup run to follow

Maidstone were promoted this summer and are in their first season in the London and South East Regional Women’s Football League Division One North. Hastings play a division below, in Division One South, and had opened their league campaign with a 6-0 defeat to Saltdean United Development.

The Stones also have last season to live up to. Campbell’s side won three qualifying rounds in 2025-26 to reach the first round proper, which earned them an away tie against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park.

The tie was arranged in late July, when the club confirmed the home draw and said the scheduled league fixture at home to Hackney would be rearranged as a result.

What it means for you

Next in the cup: Maidstone travel to Croydon Women in the first qualifying round on the afternoon of Sunday 6 September.

Next in the league: an away fixture at Dulwich Hamlet Reserves, which the club says is a week after the cup tie.

If you want to watch them at home, the women’s team plays at the Gallagher Stadium, James Whatman Way, ME14 1LQ, with admission through Turnstile 3. For Sunday’s cup tie the club charged £5 for adults, £3 concessions and nothing for under-16s, with gates opening an hour and a quarter before a 3.15pm kick-off. Check the club’s fixtures page for the next home date and prices before travelling.

Getting there. The club’s travel page puts two mainline stations within walking distance: Maidstone East, on the London and Ashford International line, and Maidstone Barracks, on the Medway Valley line. It gives Maidstone East station car park as a seven-minute walk, at £4.80 on a Sunday or bank holiday. From the town centre the 101 bus stops at the top of James Whatman Way, outside the Kent Library and History Centre.

One thing worth knowing on a Sunday: on-street bays in Maidstone, including those on James Whatman Way itself, are free all day. Our guide to parking in Maidstone sets out the tariffs, and trains from Maidstone to London covers the same two lines in reverse.

Sources: Maidstone United FC match report, key info and signing announcement, all published 23 August 2026, and the club’s draw announcement of 31 July 2026. Checked 24 August 2026.