SKIP HOYTE HAS PRIDE OF PLACE
MAIDSTONE UNITED skipper Gavin Hoyte says he couldn’t be prouder to be leading the Stones out in the FA Cup fifth round.
The 33-year-old has been through plenty of ups and downs since joining the Kent outfit in 2019 with promotion to Step 1 and last season’s relegation back to the National League South.
But the Stones have been rejuvenated under boss George Elokobi with this run as well as fighting for promotion. And captain Hoyte can’t wait to take on Coventry with a group who have already taken three EFL scalps to get to this point.
“I’m unbelievably proud,” Hoyte said. “I said it in the last round just before we went out, ‘I am proud of everyone. But we can still do something special here’. “Everyone works so hard in training, the togetherness, everything – it’s just amazing.
“It was funny, just after the Ipswich game they had a live replay on YouTube. I watched it back straight away. Everything was amazing. “When we scored the second goal, you just try to take everything in and then refocus. It was 20 minutes left. Everyone was still celebrating so it’s about getting back in that defensive mode.
“I didn’t run over to the other side because I needed to get some water.
It was too far!”
In the weeks since they stunned Ipswich, the spotlight has shone bright on Hoyte and his team-mates. “Everywhere we go,” Hoyte said. “At my kids’ school, people come up to me, some of the kids say, ‘Ah I saw the game, well done’. Honestly, it’s everywhere we go. “When that all comes in, that’s when you realise how big it actually is.”