Eastleigh are at the Silverlake Stadium for a third consecutive fixture however this time for an FA Trophy fifth-round clash against Maidstone United on Saturday 11th February with kick-off at 3:00pm.
Eastleigh:
The Spitfires bounced back from just their third home defeat of the season by defeating play-off rivals Woking 1-0 last time out.
Vincent Harper scored his fourth goal of the campaign to secure the three points that propelled Eastleigh to ninth position in the Vanarama National League and just one point off the playoff places.
The Spitfires are currently the third highest-ranked side left in this competition and have reached the fifth round by defeating Woking and Braintree Town.
Maidstone United:
Jerome Williams’ dramatic 91st-minute equaliser earned Maidstone United a 2-2 draw with Yeovil Town which saw the Stones gain their first point in 10 league matches as they sit rock bottom of the National League with just 22 points from 31 matches.
Despite that record, Maidstone United have been more competitive than the results suggest, losing six of the previous 10 league matches by just one goal, failing to score in just four of those fixtures, and even forcing Wrexham to score a 91st-minute winner to leave the Gallagher Stadium with all three points.
The FA Trophy has provided a welcome escape from the domestic league campaign and the Stones served up the biggest upset of the competition so far this season by eliminating Notts County on penalties to reach this stage of the tournament.
While prior to that result, Maidstone United defeated Worthing 2-0 meaning they now sit just three matches from stepping out at Wembley Stadium.
Jack Barham is the Stones’ top goal scorer this season with eight goals so far, while Regan Booty follows closely behind with six goals so far in this campaign.
Fixture History:
The two sides played out a thrilling 5-2 earlier in the season at the Silverlake Stadium as Eastleigh overturned a halftime deficit to claim all three points.
Maidstone’s promotion back into the Vanarama National League meant that the fixture in November was the first time the two teams had faced off in three years.
The two sides have met eight times previously with Eastleigh dominating the head-to-head record winning six of those matches while Maidstone won the remaining two fixtures.
Head-to-Head (Last Five):
08/11/22: Eastleigh 5-2 Maidstone United
12/03/19: Eastleigh 2-0 Maidstone United
06/11/21: Maidstone United 1-3 Eastleigh
20/01/18: Maidstone United 2-3 Eastleigh
12/09/17: Eastleigh 0-1 Maidstone United
By Sajidur Rahman
