Maidstone United used the magic of the FA Cup to stun Championship high-flyers Ipswich Town at Portman Road, becoming the first team from English football’s sixth tier to reach the fifth round since Blyth Spartans in 1978.
Lamar Reynolds and Sam Corne scored the historic goals for the National League South team, but there were heroes everywhere for Maidstone.
Not least goalkeeper Lucas Covolan, who produced a series of incredible saves as Ipswich piled on the pressure late in the match and through a nerve-wracking eight minutes of stoppage time to secure one of the biggest FA Cup upsets of all time .
No wonder the scenes of jubilation at the final whistle as popular manager George Elokobi and his players celebrated with 4,500 away fans, and were heartily cheered by thousands of home fans.
Elokbi had started the day by taking his players outside the stadium before the match to address some of those supporters, with the message to enjoy the day.
Maidstone players celebrate together after Sam Corne (second from left) scored the winning goal
Corne kept his cool after being passed through on goal and coming home under pressure
Maidstone’s historic win was masterminded by former Premier League star George Elokobi
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Maidstone was well aware of the step forward in the classroom. They had beaten League Two and League One opposition to reach this stage, but Ipswich, flying high in the Championship with their sights set on a return to the Premier League, was a very different test.
As if to emphasize this point, the home side came out at a ferocious pace, bombarding the Covolan goal with whistling and fizzing shots from all angles. They rattled the woodwork twice. Sarmiento, on loan from Brighton, hit one post and Omari Hutchinson, on loan from Chelsea, hit the other with a deflected shot.
For Covolan, a Brazil Under-20 international who started his career with Philippe Coutinho in Vasco da Gama’s youth academy, it could have been like stepping back in time as he protected his goal from this barrage of swerving long distance efforts.
The Yellow Shirts gathered in front of him to protect him with heroic blocks and evictions. Covolan stuck out a boot to save from Nathan Broadhead and then made diving saves to frustrate Hutchinson and Sam Morsy. Ipswich became frustrated and their finishing became impatient.
George Edmundson headed a wonderful chance wide of the back post corner and Sone Aluko pushed one wide to a chorus of groans. Covolan was relieved when Sarmiento’s sweet drive took a deflection and hit the crossbar on its way to the crossbar.
Maidstone had the same luck as against Stevenage, but confidence grew. With half an hour to go, left back Harry Kyprianou performed one of those extravagant twists popularized by Zinedine Zidane to escape Hutchinson.
The visitors began to threaten at half-time but to the surprise of everyone present, they took the lead just before half-time when Liam Sole’s sweeping pass released Reynolds and he showed the Ipswich forwards how to finish under pressure.
Lamar Reynolds (right) put Maidstone ahead just before half-time with a delicate chip
He was harassed by his teammates, but Ipswich hit back after the break
Jeremy Sarmiento drew Ipswich level in the 56th minute with a precise finish from the edge of the penalty area
It was his first goal for Maidstone since joining from Braintree last summer and sparked a wild celebration with all the substitutes, much of the coaching staff and goalkeeper Covolan sprinting across the pitch.
Who can blame him? These are the golden moments for non-competitive football players, who perform on a large stage in front of almost 28,000 spectators. These types of opportunities are rare and may be fleeting. That’s how it seemed when Ipswich leveled shortly after the restart.
Sarmiento cut inside on the right foot and found the bottom corner from the edge of the box. McKenna’s response was to send on three of his regular first-team players. Two of them immediately combined, with Conor Chaplin firing over from a Leif Davis free-kick.
Ipswich’s senses were heightened looking for a second, but they were caught out at the back again by the pace of Reynolds, who broke down the left and released Corne, who accepted the pass on the run, drove through and fired low past Christian Walton. .
Maidstone goalkeeper Lucas Covolan produced an inspired performance to keep Ipswich at bay
He loved every minute of the match as Maidstone pulled off a major upset
It was great composure from Corne, just like in the third round when he scored the decisive penalty in the win over Stevenage.
McKenna threw more substitutes. Wes Burns came close and Covolan saved from Chaplin as a bit of desperation crept into the air. Edmundson was shown a yellow card for diving in search of a penalty.
Maidstone were pushed back and Covolan made perhaps his best save of the afternoon in the 84th minute, a knee-jerk reaction to keep out a Chaplin effort from close range, before making another almost as good save to deny Burns.
Eight minutes were added as Maidstone held on and progressed to the last sixteen.
