MATCH PREVIEW: Chippenham Town vs Maidstone United | National League South | Saturday 14th February
Love in the air as Maidstone United come to town. Jack Neville previews the Stones’ visit
We host Maidstone United on Saturday as we look to build on from the 1-0 win against top of the league Torquay on Tuesday night.
The Opposition
Maidstone were formed in 1897 playing primarily in the Kent League. The club won multiple trophies before folding in 1992. Maidstone Invicta was a team made up of the remaining youth players as they folded and they started to progress through the leagues, changing their name back to Maidstone United in 1995.
The Gallagher Stadium was built in 2012 and has been their home since. They won promotion into the National League system in 2014/15 by winning the Isthmian Premier Division. In 2016 they gained promotion again into the 5th tier of English football, now known as the National League, bringing 5th tier football back to the town for the first time since the old club in 1989.
Maidstone stayed up for a few years before being relegated in 2019 and then being promoted back to the National League in 2022 via winning the National League South, however this time could not stay up and were relegated the following season. The 2023/24 season was the biggest in terms of impact for the club, remarkably reaching the 5th round of the FA Cup, beating sides like Ipswich on the way.
Last season, Maidstone reached the playoffs where they were knocked out by Boreham Wood in the final. This season, they have been challenging to get into the playoff spots, currently sat in 10th place but have lost their last two games, with only one win in the last six.
Fixture History
Our first ever fixture against Maidstone United was in 2015 in the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup which we saw defeat in. Last season when Maidstone visited the Thornbury Surfacing Stadium the game resulted in a 0-0 draw. In November of this season we travelled to Maidstone where we lost 3-0 with goals from Hamzad Kargbo, John Gilbert and Dajon Golding.
Familiar Faces
Hamzad Kargbo- Kargbo was on loan at the Bluebirds last season, most notably scoring an incredible volley against Hemel. He joined Maidstone at the beginning of this season after being released by Newport County. Hamzad’s loan with us was shorter than originally planned. The striker was injured and returned back to Newport after featuring for us eight times in the league scoring two goals.
Sol Wanjau-Smith- Sol signed for us at the beginning of this season after being at Bath City but he spent the end of last season back on loan at Maidstone after spending a few years there permanently. Wanjau-Smith was a big part of Maidstone’s FA Cup run in 2023/24 scoring a hat-trick in one of the earlier rounds.
Ezio Touray- Ezio also had a spell at Maidstone in 2023, although short, he still played two games for them before returning to his parent club at the time, Watford.
Supporter Information
This game is non-segregated, and tickets can be purchased via our INTIX page, as well as both cash and card on the day.
See you there Bluebirds 🐣
