Maidstone United 2-1 Ipswich Town (27 Jan, 2024) Game Analysis

Maidstone United recorded a famous FA Cup defeat on Saturday as the non-league side beat Championship side Ipswich Town 2-1 to reach the fifth round of the competition.

Lamar Reynolds put Maidstone ahead with a superb shot in the 43rd minute before the striker set up Sam Corne's second-half winner to send the Portman Road away side wild with joy.

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Ipswich, second in the Championship and well placed to secure promotion to the Premier League next season, were briefly level when Jeremy Sarmiento fired a shot at the near post, but Kieran McKenna's side had no answer to Horn 10 minutes later.

“You can probably hear it in my voice. I was screaming the whole game and then I celebrated earlier, I can't believe we did it!” » Maidstone defender George Fowler told the BBC.

“Everyone would have said we were the underdogs today, but we held on, stayed organized, took advantage of our luck, which is sometimes what you have to do when faced with such class opposition. But yes, we We are in heaven.

My first job was to block at the line in the first minute and I said to myself, 'I knew it was going to be difficult, but it's a little early!' Like I said, we had to take our chances, persevere, be organized and be a credit to the team, every man worked so hard today.”

The signs looked ominous for Maidstone in the opening stages of the match as Ipswich hit the post twice in the opening 10 minutes.

But Maidstone grew into the competition and took the lead when Reynolds rushed behind the Ipswich defense and showed great composure to pass the ball past goalkeeper Christian Walton.

Ipswich deservedly equalized in the 56th minute when Sarmiento fired a shot through the legs of Maidstone defender Gavin Hoyte to beat goalkeeper Lucas Covolan.

Just when it looked like Ipswich were going to get the better of the National League South side, Maidstone regained the lead when Reynolds played a pass to Corne, who made no mistake with his finish in the first post.

Despite the two clubs being separated by almost 100 places in the English football pyramid, Ipswich could not find a way to force a replay as a combination of Covolan's saves and woodwork frustrated the Championship side and gave Maidstone a historic victory.

Maidstone, coached by former Wolves defender George Elokobi, will find out the identity of their fifth-round opponents in the draw on Sunday (January 28).

“There were a few tears,” Elokobi told the BBC after the final whistle. “We came to Ipswich, with their history, they are flying high in the championship, and for our group of players to be applauded is incredible. History has been made here and in my country, Cameroon. It is a moment of inspiration for all of us.

“Always believe that there is hope and destiny. Always stay humble and respectful, and if you do that, you can create a group like we did.

“Our boys crashed and that's what we said: 'Don't leave anything in the locker room.' It bonds us for life, what our boys are accomplishing right now. What our boys are accomplishing now has not been done. [for] over 100 years old. The magic of the FA Cup is alive and well.”