TT PREVIEW

Steve Harris – @steveharris84

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MATCH DETAILS

Match details: Torquay United vs Maidstone United

Competition: FA Trophy 2nd Round

Venue: Plainmoor

Date: Saturday 15th November 2025

Kick-off: 3pm

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Torquay: 2
Draw: 4
Maidstone: 13

CURRENT FORM (LAST 6)

Torquay (W3 – D0 – L3):
L 0-1 Chesham United A
W 3-0 Chippenham Town H
L 1-3 Dorking Wanderers A
L 1-2 Hornchurch H
W 3-1 Farnborough A
W 2-1 Maidenhead United A

Maidstone (W4 – D0 – L2):
W 2-0 Farnborough H
W 3-0 Eastbourne Borough H
W 4-1 Slough Town A
L 1-2 Tonbridge Angels A
L 0-1 Ebbsfleet United A
W 3-0 Chippenham Town H

TOP GOAL-SCORERS

Torquay: Jordan Young (8)

Maidstone: Ruben Carvalho/John Gilbert/Hamzad Kargbo (2 each)

GULLS FA TROPHY RECORD

2007-08 Runners-up L Ebbsfleet United N
2008-09 Round two L Southport A
2014-15 Semi-finals L Wrexham H
2015-16 Quarter finals L Bognor Regis A
2016-17 Round one L Braintree Town A
2017-18 Round one L Maidstone United H 
2018-19 Round one L Boreham Wood A
2019-20 Round two L FC Halifax Town H
2020-21 Quarter finals L Woking A
2021-22 Round three L Tonbridge Angels A
2022-23 Round five L Barnet H
2023-24 Round four L Hereford FC A
2024-25 Round four L Worthing A

MAIDSTONE FACT FILE

Year founded: 1992 (reformed as Maidstone Invicta)
Nickname: The Stones
Last season’s league finish: 7th in the National League South
Notable Honours:
National League South:
Winners: 2021-22
Isthmian League:
Winners 2014-15

MANAGER – GEORGE ELOKOBI

Cameroon-born George Elokobi initially took charge of Maidstone on a caretaker basis following the dismissal of Hakan Hayrettin, before he was handed the reins on a permanent basis.

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. Elokobi was released by Wolves at the end of the 2013-14 campaign and joined Oldham Athletic.

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.

In the 2023-24 season, Elokobi guided the Stones to the fifth round of the FA Cup, memorably defeating Championship side Ipswich Town in the fourth round. Elokobi has also steered Maidstone to the National League South Play-offs twice in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns.

PLAYER PROFILE – SAM CORNE

Sam’s senior career started with Welling United in 2013 and after four seasons at Park View Road, he signed for Braintree Town and worked under former Stones boss Hakan Hayrettin.

During his time at Welling, he received an England C call-up and attracted interest from league clubs. Prior to signing at the Gallagher, he played for Greenwich Borough and Ashford United – scoring 21 goals in 40 games for the Nuts & Bolts – while focusing on his football coaching qualifications.

He made his Maidstone United debut on the opening day of the 2019-20 season and has clocked up more than 100 appearances since. He was a key figure in the club’s 2021-22 championship-winning season, as well as last season’s FA Cup run with goals against Barrow, Stevenage and Ipswich Town.

PLAYER STATS:
Position: Midfielder
DOB: 07/11/96
Height: 1.78m
Previous Club: Ashford United
NLS Stats 25/26: Appearances: 16, Goals 0, Assists 0, Yellow/Red Cards 1/0

OLD BOYS

Torquay: None

Maidstone: None

LAST MEETING

Last meeting: Saturday 16th August 2025, Maidstone United 1 Torquay United 1

A late, late penalty from Jordan Young saw United earn a battling point against Maidstone on Saturday. John Gilbert’s early strike forced United to chase the game for almost the entire match, however, just when it looking like being another disappointing afternoon at the Gallagher Stadium, up stepped Young to ensure Torquay earned themselves a share of the spoils.

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS

Torquay United (4-2-3-1): James Hamon; Jordan Thomas, Jordan Dyer, Sam Dreyer, Jay Foulston; Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Dan Hayfield; Jordan Young, Matt Jay, Callum Dolan; Sonny Fish

Maidstone United (3-4-3): Nathan Harness; David Sesay, George Fowler, Lexus Beeden; Antony Papadopoulos, T J Bramble, Sam Corne, Jephte Tanga; John Gilbert, Dajon Golding, Hamzad Kargbo

COYY – STEVE

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