George Elokobi knew there was no way Solihull Moors would take Maidstone lightly in the FA Cup first round.
The Stones made headlines all over the world last season after making the last 16 as a National League South club.
But they fell in round one yesterday, with their higher-league opponents showing their quality in a 3-0 victory.
Two of the goals came late but Moors, National League play-off finalists last season, were worthy winners against a Stones outfit who never gave up but lacked a cutting edge.
Boss Elokobi feels Maidstone have had a target on their backs ever since last season’s heroics, which included a 2-1 win at Premier-League Ipswich Town in the fourth round.
“I think Andy (Whing, Solihull boss and ex-Coventry defender) is doing a great job here with his management team and the players,” said Elokobi.
“It’s about respect and respecting the competition and I’m sure they need the finances as much as we do for progressing to the next round.
Report: Solihull Moors 3-0 Maidstone United
“But, of course, it’s not just Solihull Moors that show us respect, it’s everyone that comes up against Maidstone.
“I said this in the summer and I’m still going to say it, teams are raising their game by 10-15% and we have to deal with that as a football club, based on what we did last season.
“But that’s history now, we’ve been beaten well and congratulations to Solihull Moors.
“We approached this game to try and progress and that’s how we prepared the team, not to just come here and sit back and get beat.
“No, we competed to try and get our football club and our community into the second round of the FA Cup but it wasn’t to be today.”
Elokobi felt Maidstone could get at their West Midlands opponents.
But they didn’t work
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