TT PREVIEW

Steve Harris – @steveharris84

Steve Harris previews the game at Plainmoor

TORQUAY UNITED VS MAIDSTONE UNITED – NATIONAL LEAGUE

Venue: Plainmoor

Date: Saturday 28th January 2023

Kick-off: 3pm

CURRENT FORM

Torquay: L, W, D, L, W, W

Maidstone: L, L, L, W, L, L

TOP SCORERS

Torquay: Aaron Jarvis (9)

Maidstone: Jack Barham (8)

HEAD TO HEAD

Torquay: 1

Draw: 2

Maidstone: 8

MAIDSTONE FACTFILE

Year founded: 1992 (as Maidstone Invicta)

Nickname: The Stones

Last season’s league finish: 1st in National League South

Notable Honours:

National League South:

Winners: 2021-22

Isthmian League:

Winners 2014-15

MANAGER: George Elokobi (caretaker)

Cameroon-born George Elokobi recently took charge of Maidstone on a caretaker basis following the dismissal of Hakan Hayrettin.

As a player, Elokobi was given his big break in the professional game by Colchester United in 2004, after he was spotted playing for Dulwich Hamlet.

He made his professional debut whilst on loan at Chester City in 2005 and on returning to Colchester Elokobi helped the U’s to win promotion to the Championship under Phil Parkinson in the 2005-06 season.

His displays for Colchester earned him a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2008 and he won two promotions; one from the Championship in 2008-09 and the second from League One in 2013-14. During his time at Molineux he was loaned out to Nottingham Forest and Bristol City.

Ellokobi was released by Wolves at the end of the 2013-14 campaign and joined Oldham Athletic, where he played under Lee Johnson, son of Gary.

A second spell at Colchester United followed when he re-joined the U’s in 2015, and he later returned to the non-league game with spells in the National League with Leyton Orient and Aldershot Town.

He later joined the Stones in 2019 and helped them to win the National League South title in his final season as a player in the 2021-22 campaign. In addition to this, Elokobi scored in the final game of his career, which saw Maidstone defeat Hampton and Richmond Borough 2-1, to give him the distinction of having scored in every division from the Premier League right down to National League South.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Roarie Deacon

After first coming to prominence with Sutton United in the 2016-17 season during their FA Cup run, which saw them eliminated by Arsenal in the fifth round, Roarie Deacon now finds himself back in the National League with Maidstone. He earned himself a move to the Scottish Premiership with Dundee in the summer of 2017, where he remained until January 2019 when he returned to Sutton. A spell with Havant and Waterlooville followed before he joined the Stones in June 2021, and he went on to help Maidstone clinch the National League South title in the 2021-22 season.

DEACON STATS:

Position: Attacking Midfielder

Date of Birth: 12th October 1991 (31 years old)

Birthplace: London

International: England U19 – 3 Caps, 1 Goal

Height: 1.70m

Former Clubs: Arsenal, Sunderland, Stevenage, Crawley, Sutton, Dundee, Havant

NL Stats 22-23: Played 27, Goals Scored 4, Yellows 4, Red 1

OLD BOYS

Torquay: Shaun Donnellan, Ross Marshall, Jacob Mensah

Maidstone: None

LAST MEETING

Maidstone United 1-0 Torquay United

Saturday, 27th August 2022

James Alabi struck in the 87th minute to earn Maidstone victory over Torquay.

The visitors started brightly and came close to an opener when Jake Andrews forced his way into the Maidstone box before shooting straight at Yusuf Mersin.

Andrews had another chance on the half-hour mark when he chased down a long ball before striking just wide of the target.

Maidstone almost broke the deadlock late on when Roarie Deacon’s header forced substitute goalkeeper Rhys Lovett to tip over the bar.

But, just a minute later, the hosts had their deserved goal when Alabi emphatically finished from Deacon’s ball across goal to claim victory.