When Torquay United won their first ever meeting with Maidstone United on December 30, 1989, few could have imagined that the Gulls would have only won once against the Stones since.
Goals from Dean Edwards and Mark Loram sealed a 2-1 win for Torquay, who were undergoing a revival under Dave Smith, following the departure earlier in the 1989-90 campaign of Cyril Knowles, and were laying the foundations of their eventual promotion in 1990-91.
The Gulls never got to face Maidstone in the 1992-93 season as they resigned from the Football League before the start of the campaign and later went into liquidation.
Many years later in the National League during the 2016-17 season, Torquay first faced the reformed Stones, who had fought their way back to respectability after starting again in the Kent County League.
Wins were hard to come by for the Gulls against the Stones, with a solitary 1-0 win at Plainmoor in January 2023 courtesy of an Aaron Jarvis strike, being all that Torquay have had to show for their efforts against the Kent side since then.
However, current Gulls boss Paul Wotton is refusing to be weighed down by their history playing against the Stones. Indeed, Wotton's current record against George Elokobi's side includes two well earned draws - including the Gulls' 1-1 draw at the Gallagher Stadium in their second game of the current campaign which was secured with a late penalty from Jordan Young.
Torquay will be going into the game in a positive state of mind after winning 4-1 against Hampton and Richmond at Plainmoor last weekend, and positivity
