Maidstone boss George Elokobi has hailed his side’s fourth-round FA Cup tie against the Blues at Portman Road as a “fantastic” match for the National League South club.

Town were paired with the Stones, the lowest-ranked team still in the tournament, in this evening’s draw. The game will be played at some point over the weekend of January 27th with it appearing likely to be among those selected for live TV coverage.

“Ipswich is a fantastic club - it’s a huge club,” Elokobi told Kent Online. “In my opinion, they’re a Premier League club to be and rightly so.

“They’re playing incredible football under their management and we have to go there and enjoy the occasion and make sure we showcase ourselves and bring the Maidstone that everyone’s been watching and admiring.

“I’m sure the Ipswich fans will welcome us. It’s a fantastic FA Cup match for us. It’s going to be an amazing occasion for our group of players who have got us this far. The magic of the FA Cup and the dream is still very much alive here.

“In our preparations we’re going to be showing Ipswich every bit of respect leading towards that game.

“We’ll be ready to go out there and compete against a Championship team who are really well equipped to get into the Premier League.

“It’s important we understand the fanbase they’ve got and they’re flying high in the Championship. They’re on the up and it’s important we go there and enjoy the occasion.

“I’m sure we’re going to take a few thousand there ourselves to make sure it’s a great occasion for our football club. It’s going to be a fantastic day and a fantastic occasion for us all to celebrate.”

The Maidstone squad includes former Town academy defender and ex-Debenham High School pupil George Fowler, who made one senior appearance for the Blues, and one-time trialist Reiss Greenidge, another defender.

Elokobi played for former Town boss Mick McCarthy at Wolves with the ex-Republic of Ireland manager having watched their 1-0 victory over Stevenage in the last round.

The Cameroonian was a player at Colchester between 2004 and 2008 and knows the locality well, although his time in Suffolk hasn’t always been positive.

“I’ve mixed memories because in >2008/2009 I dislocated my knee and that kept me out for a long time,” he recalled. “That happened at Portman Road.

“It was a local derby when I used to play at Colchester and I’m sure some stick will come my way for that because I used to be fierce against their wingers.

“But I’ve got fond memories playing against Ipswich and it’s a stadium I know really well. I’m going to make sure our players understand they are going into such a beautiful environment and the stadium itself and the fanbase are huge.”

Photo: Reuters

itfchorry added 22:26 - Jan 8 Good luck to him - Looks like a Top Man
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Miaow added 23:08 - Jan 8 Very nice words to read.
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Gforce added 23:42 - Jan 8 You'll get no stick from us mate,it's all reserved for that horrible lot,north of the border.
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SpiritOfJohn added 07:07 - Jan 9 Good draw for both teams for different reasons. With a high number of all-Premier ties (which the TV companies will be drooling over) I'm hoping this one will be a 3pm Saturday kick-off. Nice comments from the Maidstone manager.
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Bert added 09:19 - Jan 9 This is not a tie we should take for granted. Maidstone are in the same league as Braintree and they turned us over in a pre season friendly……… admittedly under Paul Hirst. I sincerely HopiI io I
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Bert added 09:22 - Jan 9 …….. I sincerely hope we win but at the same time as a big club we should give a friendly reception to Maidsone.
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Karlosfandangal added 09:36 - Jan 9 This is their FA Cup final……they have nothing to lose….everyone is expecting them to lose by 5 or 6…. Fingers crossed our second eleven don’t think it’s a walk in the park think how silly Town could look if they lose.
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statto72 added 09:36 - Jan 9 Hope not. But I’ve got a feeling this could be a Monday night on ITV4. As a regular watcher of non league football too, I’ve seen Maidstone a number of times and they’ve always been a good bunch.
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leftie1972 added 09:54 - Jan 9 What a guy he is! Deserves credit and I look forward to the match. A chance for some of the younger members of the squad to get some game time.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 10:22 - Jan 9 "Beautiful environment" - Yes. "Huge stadium" - Well it's all relative. I doubt Newcastle would agree. "Huge fanbase" - A great set of fans, but our catchment area is quite rural, so "huge" is perhaps overstating it. Again, it's all relative.
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Bluearmy_81 added 12:09 - Jan 9 It’s nice he’s calling us a huge club. Under Evans there were fans on here saying “we’re not a big club,” which blew my mind… Maybe it was Evans downplaying his failure! Ha
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Stretchyboy added 16:09 - Jan 9 Have had the pleasure of meeting George a number of times last year, as he was coaching my partners boy for a while. He's a true gentleman, and a top guy. Does so much voluntary work around schools and coaching youngsters for the love of it. hopefully after our game they can go on a decent league run and get back into the National league.
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Radlett_blue added 17:15 - Jan 9 Well, Elokobi is putting a brave face on what is a disappointing draw for Maidstone. They'd have rather had a home draw, where they'd have had a much bigger chance of causing an upset or been drawn away to a big Premier League club. Hopefully the game will be on TV so they will make some money & given Town's momentum, there will be a decent crowd for them to share in the receipts. While we can't take Maidstone lightly, we should win comfortably.

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Jugsy added 17:33 - Jan 9 Seems like a really top bloke - the Football Focus piece was enlightening and great to hear your experience @Stretchyboy. He talks about showing us respect, I hope our fans are able to turn out in force to show Maidstone the same.
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mathiemagic added 08:12 - Jan 10 All nicety aside, we need to field a strong team and get the job done and hope the builders and milkmen dont injure any of our players.
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