Assistant boss Stewart Yetton is predicting a ‘difficult challenge’ as Truro City travel to Maidstone United in National League South tomorrow – 3.00pm.
The Tinners were edged out on the opening day by Dorking Wanderers in front of a bumper crowd of 2,676, whilst the Stones left it late to lower the colours of St Albans City.
Maidstone hit the national headlines last term with a brilliant FA Cup run which took them to the fifth round and along the way, they defeated now Premier League side Ipswich Town.
But the Kent outfit’s main objective of winning promotion, was ended at the first hurdle when they were defeated by eventual beaten play-off finalists Worthing.
“It will be a very difficult challenge because they are a top side,” Yetton told trurocity.co.uk. “They were one of the best teams we came up against last season and they are especially strong at home.
“On their artificial pitch, Maidstone have a really good record and when we played them (at the Gallagher Stadium) we never got going.
We are fully expecting a difficult game and a tough day at the office.
When City locked horns with Maidstone last term, it was one win for each side as George Elokobi’s troops claimed the spoils when the two sides met in Kent last December.
The return fixture, played at Gloucester’s Meadow Park during Truro’s run of 10 games in 20 days, was a total role reversal.
The Tinners were totally dominant and secured a 3-1 triumph thanks to Tyler Harvey’s brace and a single Dan Sullivan strike.
That reverse ultimately cost Maidstone a home play-off tie and Yetton says the hosts will be out for revenge tomorrow.
“They will feel like they owe us one because we got a good victory over Maidstone towards the back end of last season,” he revealed. “That defeat hit their chances of having a home play-off, so they wouldn’t have been best pleased with that loss.
“We can draw off the win as a positive and they will use it as motivation. The weather is predicted to be really hot and these artificial pitches can be brutal when it is hot.
“Although it is the same for both sides, both teams have played a lot of matches on an artificial pitch so far this calendar year.”
Looking back at last week’s history making match against Dorking, City’s first at home for close to four years, Yetton says he and manager John Askey aren’t content with merely putting up a good fight against strong opposition.
The 39-year-old also revealed that the main takeaway from the opening day was the areas City can polish up on.
“Although there were positives from last weekend off the pitch, a loss isn’t acceptable under any circumstance,” Yetton said. “That is the way John (Askey, manager) and I are looking at things and although on another day, we may have got something from the Dorking match, the message to the lads hasn’t been about how close we were, more that we know we have to improve.”