Stones at the summit, with Ebbsfleet a point behind

Maidstone United are still top of National League South, but the cushion has gone. A week after moving four points clear, the Stones were pegged back to a single point of advantage as Ebbsfleet United continued a run that has made the title race the most interesting thing in the division.

Four points clear after Maidenhead

The Stones' 17 October win over Maidenhead United was their second in a row and took them four points clear at the summit. Leone Gravata scored inside four minutes, poking in at full stretch after Nana Boateng's ball into the box was flicked on by Ken Charles.

Maidenhead levelled on 18 minutes and grew into the contest, Josh Umerah turning past George Fowler and seeing a rising shot come back off the bar. Taylor Foran scored at the other end and was named star man.

Plainmoor: an own goal, a penalty and a late header

Then came Torquay. Frankie Hvid, back in the starting XI, diverted Harry Shield's harmless cross beyond Lenny Holden on 27 minutes to give the Gulls the lead in driving wind and rain at Plainmoor.

Torquay could have doubled it five minutes later. George Fowler brought down Matt Jay in the box, but Holden made a brilliant diving save low to his left to keep out Cody Cooke's penalty, and the goalkeeper denied Cooke again early in the second half.

Hvid headed the equaliser six minutes from time, at the back post, after Torquay failed to deal with a Riley Court corner. It sent 234 travelling supporters home happy and kept the Stones top.

Ebbsfleet's unbeaten run and the games in hand

Ebbsfleet's 4-0 win over Maidenhead United was built on Ben Chapman's first career hat-trick, his fifth goal in five games. Chapman is the club's longest-serving player, and the side around him have scored 26 and conceded six in eleven matches.

That is the shape of the problem for Maidstone. Ebbsfleet have played 11 league games to Maidstone's 13, are unbeaten with seven wins and four draws, and sit one point adrift. Two games in hand is a meaningful advantage in a division where points totals are usually settled by fitness in February.

What the table says about the title race

Where the chasing pack stands

Truro City are third on 24 points from 12 games after that 4-3 win at Hampton & Richmond, and they have a game in hand on the leaders. Dagenham & Redbridge are fourth on 23 after beating Chesham United 2-0, with Josh Addae scoring on 25 minutes.

Salisbury are fifth on 22 after a 1-1 draw with Dover Athletic. Billericay Town and Tonbridge Angels both have 21, and Tonbridge's 3-3 draw at Chelmsford kept them seventh.

Tuesday night at the Gallagher

The two clubs meet at the Gallagher Stadium on Tuesday 27 October, which means the argument will be settled on grass rather than by fixture lists. Maidstone have won eight and lost three; Ebbsfleet have not lost at all.

For Maidstone the concern is not the top of the table but the shape beneath it. Three defeats in 13 games is a title-winning rate only if nobody else is unbeaten, and Ebbsfleet are.

• Maidstone's 26 points are the most in the division, from the most games played.
• Ebbsfleet have scored 26 and conceded six in 11 matches.
• Truro City are third on 24 points with a game in hand on the leaders.
• Dagenham and Salisbury remain within four points of the summit.

It is worth resisting the urge to read too much into any single scoreline, which is the argument in reading scorelines without overreacting. But a division with an unbeaten side averaging more than two points a game is not a normal title race.

The wider picture

Below the top two, the playoff places are compressed as usual: Truro on 24, Dagenham on 23, Salisbury on 22, Billericay and Tonbridge on 21. Any of them could be second by Christmas.

Maidstone, though, have the harder immediate task. They have played more football than anyone around them and have just spent a wet afternoon in Devon dropping two points to a side managed by Jimmy Ball. The club has not confirmed any new injury concerns from that match.