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Sport

Maidstone United manager George Elokobi tight-lipped on selection for National League South game at Welling as Chi Ezennolim returns to Park View Road

By: Craig Tucker ctucker@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 05:00, 24 October 2023

Maidstone boss George Elokobi is giving nothing away on his selection for tonight’s game at Welling as Chi Ezennolim returns to his former club.

Summer signing Ezennolim returned to the Stones squad against Farnborough on Saturday after missing the Torquay double-header through injury.

Maidstone United defender Chi Ezennolim. Picture: Steve Terrell

The wing-back was an unused substitute as Levi Amantchi’s injury-time goal earned a 1-1 draw and Stones fans will have to wait and see whether August’s player-of-the-month will be restored to the starting XI.

Some managers make a point of including players against their old club - but Elokobi is staying tight-lipped.

“I don’t give anything away,” he said.

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“It’s not about one individual, it’s about the team.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a player’s old club.

“That’s history for Chi - obviously nice history - but we’ve got a squad and we’ve got to look at it and go from there.

“We want all our players to be ready and fit for selection.

“If that’s the case, and Chi’s available, then the management team will make a decision and we’ll see what team comes out on Tuesday night.”

It’s Maidstone’s first visit to Park View Road since taking to the field as newly-crowned National League South champions on the penultimate day of the 21/22 season.

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They were given a guard of honour, two days on from clinching the title, with then-boss Hakan Hayrettin joking his players were still drunk following a 3-2 defeat that saw the Wings secure safety.

A return to south-east London brings back happy memories of those league celebrations but it’s business as usual for Elokobi as his side look to stretch their unbeaten record to nine games in all competitions.

“That’s history, that’s a long time ago,” said Elokobi.

“We just focus on the job at hand, taking one game at a time.

“We know Welling are a good side and we have to focus on getting our players fully recovered from the Farnborough game and turning our attention to Tuesday.

“We’ll see what Welling are about in terms of the scouting reports and see how we go about preparing for the game.

“We need to go there with a game plan to be effective.

“If we do that, it’ll still be a tough game, but hopefully we’ll come out with a positive result.”

Maidstone are fifth in National League South, four points behind leaders Yeovil, while Welling are second-bottom, five points from safety.

On Saturday, the Wings lost 5-1 at Torquay.

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