Net gains can turn the tide
George Elokobi says National League teams will struggle to live with Maidstone - once they start taking their chances. Caretaker boss Elokobi liked what he saw from his side in their 3-1 defeat by Eastleigh at the Gallagher on Tuesday night.
The Stones may be bottom and 10 points from safety but Elokobi took plenty of encouragement for the season run-in.
They were all over Eastleigh after Jack Barham’s secondhalf equaliser, with Roarie Deacon hitting the post and Jerome Binnom-Williams firing wide after a magnificent run opened up a big chance.
The visitors scored twice near the end but Elokobi was positive in defeat.
“Sometimes that’s how the game goes,” he said. “It wasn’t a lack of commitment or effort or desire to win. It was all there.
“The chances were created, we played some technical and tactical stuff.
“However, it was about that end product that we didn’t have today.
“But we are upbeat as a management team. We’re happy. At least we’re creating those chances.
“Which means, eventually, when these chances start going in, I don’t think there’ll be a lot of teams that can live with us, and that’s the honest truth. “What’s not to be proud of ? Yes, it’s another defeat. We know that. It’s been the story of our season.
“We know how good we can be. If we didn’t create the chances today I’d be very disappointed because of the work we put in on the training ground.
“But to see those chances being created...it’s important we keep encouraging the players to keep getting in those areas and make sure we pick the rightoptionandthenthoseend products will come.
“There’s everything to be positive about.
“We will nullify how we’ve been conceding our goals.
“If we can stop them going in at the other end, we’ve got a chance, because we’ve got goals in this team.”
Maidstone - beaten 2-0 at Oldham on Saturday - have gone 12 league games without a win and have 13 matches to survive.
Elokobi is convinced they’re on the right track and takes heart from the crowd’s continued backing.
He said: “Everyone’s playing their part behind the scenes to give the players everything they need to go out and perform with freedom, with enjoyment, with belief, and we did that.
“In defeat, sometimes you’ve got to look at the positives and there were an awful lot of positives out there.
“There’s no negativity here. Yes, it’s a defeat, but on another night it could have been a differentoutcome.Wecameout here to try and win the game for our fans.
“Yet again we’re in front of a good crowd and we knew if we put in a performance, they’ll be proud of us.
“Did you hear any booing? No, there wasn’t any booing. “That tells you a lot about the performances and the effectiveness of this team. “The fans know it’s a patient game and it’s only a matter of time before we start picking up those results that we need. We know that.” n Maidstone have signed veteran winger Mark Marshall following his departure from Crawley.
The 35-year-old, whose former clubs include Charlton, Bradford and Gillingham, made his debut in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Oldham but was an unused substitute against Eastleigh.
Marshall’s arrival follows the departure by mutual consent of forwards Christie Pattisson and Hady Ghandour last week.