Barnet Football Club

BARNET FOOTBALL CLUB

Match Preview | Maidstone United (FA Trophy Quarter-Final)

The Bees travel to the Gallagher Stadium on Saturday as they look to book their place in the FA Trophy Semi-Final.

 

Brennan’s men progressed into the quarter-finals of the competition after beating Torquay United 2-1 at the Planimoor Stadium.

 

Maidstone United navigated their way to the quarter-finals of the cup after beating Eastleigh 4-0.

 

Both sides come into the game on the back of respective 2-1 league defeats so will be looking to set things right as they push on for a trip to Wembley.

 

Nickname: The Mighty Stones

Founded: 1992

Ground: Gallagher Stadium

Manager: George Elokobi

Top Scorer: Jack Barham (9)

League Position: 24th

Form: LDDLL

 

One to watch: Jack Barham

 

Bahram leads the Stones’ scoring tally with 9 goals in 35 appearances for the club so far this season.

 

The centre-forward has started 84% of all matches this season, with the Englishman playing 80% of all possible minutes. Additionally, the Maidstone number 10 has contributed to nearly a quarter of all his side’s goals this season with 23% of them going through him.

 

The 27-year-old played for the Bees for a couple of seasons, making 25 appearances and contributing towards 5 goals.

 

Since departing the Hive, he has faced his former team once. His side lost the game but Barham scored one against his former employer.

 

In the dugout:  George Elokobi

 

George Elokobi is the current interim manager at Maidstone United, a club that he represented as a player for nearly 3 years after joining on a free transfer from Aldershot.

 

The Cameroonian centre-back’s playing career began at Colchester United in 2004, where he would make 39 appearances before moving to Chester City on loan. Following a brief spell in the North West the player joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, a club that he would help get promoted to the Premier League.

 

After a 6-year spell at the midland club, the Cameroonian moved on to represent the likes of Nottingham Forrest, Bristol City, Oldham Athletic and finally Maidstone United. The centre-back made 55 appearances for Maidstone before retiring in 2022 and being named the club’s assistant manager.

 

In 2023, following the departure of the head coach, Elokobi was named as the caretaker manager. Since taking on the role he has overseen 10 matches, picking up an average of 0.30 points per game.

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