Gary Johnson’s men return to Plainmoor tomorrow, when Maidstone United make the trip down from Kent.
Picture accredited to Helen Cooper
Who’s the Boss?
George Elokobi took charge of Maidstone on a caretaker basis following the dismissal of previous manager Hakan Hayrettin on the 9th January, and since taking over has suffered two league defeats though led the team to the Fifth Round of the FA Trophy thanks to a penalty shootout victory away at Notts County.
Elokobi was a central defender who played his first professional games in a four year spell at Colchester United between 2004-2008, and following his departure from the U’s he then went on to have a six year spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers, which also included a loan spell at Nottingham Forest. Upon his release from Molineux the defender went on to play for Oldham, before returning for a second spell at Colchester where he stayed for another two seasons. Moves to Leyton Orient & Aldershot were next before his final two seasons were spent at Maidstone, where in his final appearance he scored one of his only two goals for the club.
How have they been doing?
After being crowned National League South Champions last season, the Stones started the season in mixed fashion with two wins, two defeats and a draw in August, with one of those wins being a late James Alabi goal against United to give them the win at the Gallagher Stadium.
However the Kent side then went without a victory during September and October, which included an FA Cup upset when they lost to Needham Market, and it took till mid November to get their next win, which was on the road at Scunthorpe where they won 2-0. However since a 3-2 win at home to Maidenhead at the end of November, Maidstone have lost their last eight league games in a row, with only the FA Trophy games bringing victories.
Following the 4-1 defeat at York City on the 7th January, manager Hakan Hayrettin was relieved of his duties and George Elokobi was placed in temporary charge. The last time out for the Stones saw them go down 3-0 at home to Aldeshot on Tuesday evening, leaving them bottom of the National League with a record so far this season of five wins, six draws and 18 defeats and they currently have 21 points from their 29 games.
Player to watch
Jack Barham is currently Maidstone’s top scorer with eight goals in 27 appearances so far this season, with his last goals coming in the 3-2 defeat to Wrexham where he got a brace.
Barham started his career at Chelmsford City, although it was while he was scoring lots of goals at Grenwich Borough that brought him to the attention of Barnet. The striker spent two seasons at Barnet during which time he had a loan spell at Dorking Wanderers, a move which was made permanent following his release from the Hive. A season at Dorking was then followed by a move to Dartford, before in the summer of 2021 the 26 year old joined Maidstone and in his first season at the club he helped the side to the National Leagues South title, scoring 18 goals in 27 games.
Played for Both
Shaun Donnellan came through the youth ranks at West Bromwich Albion, and it was while he was at the Hawthorns that he had loan spells at Worcester City, Dagenham & Redbridge and Walsall. Following his release from the Baggies the midfielder joined Yeovil Town for the 2018/19 season, though he only stayed for six months before joining Maidstone in January of 2019.
The 2019/20 season saw Donnellan joined newly promoted Woking, and after just one season at the Cards the 26 year old joined Maidenhead United. The summer of 2022 saw Donnellan leave York Road to come to Plainmoor, where he has already become a firm favourite and recently pick up the Club’s Player of the Month award for December, Shaun has also represented the Republic of Ireland at both U17 and U21 levels.
Previous Encounter
Positive results against the Kent side have always proved hard to come by for The Gulls, particularly since the current club (previously known as Maidstone Invicta) filled the void of the original Maidstone United, which went into liquidation in 1992.
Having lost all seven league and cup encounters against the current outfit, the Yellow Army may be better served reminiscing on the events played out on 30th December 1989, when Mark Loram and Dean Edwards scored the goals that saw United win 2-1 here at Plainmoor, to record the last victory against a Maidstone United side in either of their club forms.