Maidstone United manager George Elokobi vows to come back stronger after 1-0 defeat by Boreham Wood in National League South play-off final

Manager George Elokobi says Maidstone will come back stronger after their National League South play-off final defeat.

The Stones lost 1-0 at Boreham Wood in Sunday’s promotion decider at Meadow Park.

Charles Clayden scored the only goal just after the break to clinch an immediate return to the National League for the hosts after relegation on the final day of last season.

Maidstone had won their only two previous play-off finals, against Faversham in 2013 and Ebbsfleet in 2016.

But they came up just short against the Wood and face a third successive season in National League South.

Stones players briefly returned to the dressing room at full-time before emerging to watch Boreham Wood collect the trophy after jubilant home fans had cleared the pitch.

“It hurts, it will sting for our group but we’ll pick them up,” said Elokobi. “That’s our job.

“Watching it hurts but we are Maidstone United Football Club and there’s a culture of respect and that’s one of our values.

“Win, draw, lose, we respect the opposition for what they’ve done, shake hands and we move on and we heal and then we’ll come back stronger.”

Maidstone recovered from a slow start to the season to finish seventh and take the final play-off spot.

An outstanding 2-0 win at Worthing in the eliminator round was followed by a 2-1 success at Eastbourne with 10 men in the semi-finals.

They arrived at Boreham Wood looking to finish the job but it wasn’t to be.

“The season isn’t going to be defined by today,” said Elokobi.

“Yes, it’s a final and you want to try and get promoted.

“But, more importantly, you’ve got to look at the strides we’ve taken throughout the season and where we were today.

“You win some games and you lose some but I’m immensely proud of the group