ELOKOBI: WE CAN INSPIRE ALL AROUND THE WORLD
PROUD George Elokobi reckons his Maidstone United FA Cup heroes have inspired the next generation – all over the world!
The Cameroon-born boss led the National League South Stones all the way from the second qualifying round to the last 16 of the world’s most famous cup competition, taking the EFL scalps of Barrow, Stevenage and Ipswich Town along the way.
The historic run finally came to an end in front of just under 27,000 fans at Coventry City’s CBS Arena on Monday night, but Elokobi insists his team have every right to be proud of their efforts and says the experience can help them in their promotion chase. “I’m immensely proud of our players and how they’ve gone about this historic day,” the charismatic Elokobi said. “There’s been so much attention, they’ve inspired so many people around our Maidstone community but more so globally, and what’s not to savour?
“This is a moment we will never forget in the history of the club.
“When we set out at Steyning Town away we said we wanted to progress as far as we could in the FA Cup and some of the moments we’ve managed to create as a group, as a football club, it’s super, super admirable. “Coventry were worthy winners tonight. They showed us what different levels are in terms of how they finished their attacks and this is why we aspire to be in football. “Fatigue kicked in and we lost our composure a little bit and our concentration, and we rightly so got punished for it, but we can live with that. I can live with that as a manager. “Some of the players are a little bit disappointed but my job as a manager is to pick them up and make sure we remind them of how we’ve come as a team in this competition. “It’s up to us now to learn from this and now we look forward to concentrating on our National League South form and making sure our players recover and ensure we drive the standards again into our league.”
Maidstone midfielder Sam Bone said: “There are so many emotions. Right now I am so proud of myself and proud of the boys, everyone associated with the club – it’s such a special moment.
“I don’t think I have ever been this happy after a 5-0 loss but it’s just incredible, something I’ll look back on at the end of my career with a real smile on my face. “You’re trying to soak it in but the whistle goes and it’s game mode. We play in front of 1,500-2,000 week-in, weekout so to get this experience is so special and something I’ll cherish.”
And Coventry manager Mark Robins said of the Stones: “Congratulations to Maidstone, because George is doing a fantastic job there and they gave everything. “They put you under pressure and fought for everything, but if you do things right and are on the front foot and move the ball well, you can make them feel the difference in quality, and we did that.”