George Elokobi toasted the magic of the FA Cup after a 2-1 win at Ipswich, but insisted he always believed Maidstone could produce one of the great upsets in the competition’s history.
National League South side Stones were playing their seventh FA Cup tie this season after entering in the second qualifying round and, despite facing 38 shots at Portman Road, they stunned the Sky Bet Championship promotion hopefuls.
Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Colovan was the initial star with a string of first-half saves before Lamar Reynolds dared the 4,472-travelling support to dream with a superb lob in the 43rd minute.
When Brighton loanee Jeremy Sarmiento levelled for 1978 FA Cup winners Ipswich, Kieran McKenna’s men were expected to overpower the Kent club, but third-round hero Sam Corne had other ideas with his left-footed strike enough to earn etch Maidstone’s name in FA Cup folklore.
Ex-Wolves defender Elokobi said: “We had to be resilient for 98 minutes and I drummed this into our players.
“We prepared right and told them to enjoy the occasion because they are already history makers in the eyes of the world, eyes of the people who watch football and to take every bit of the glory today.
“When we set off this morning on our walk, we saw the fans at the pub and waved to them. That’s how we wanted to approach today. To make it historic, to have memories to look back to and again the magic of the FA Cup is making us dream again.”
Ipswich hit the post twice inside eight minutes through Sarmiento and Omari Hutchinson before Colovan denied Nathan Broadhead and Hutchinson.
Sarmiento went close again with a deflected effort and after Sone Aluko dragged wide from close-range, Maidstone sent their fans into pandemonium.
After an Ipswich corner had been cleared, Liam Sole found Reynolds, who collected the ball and scooped over Christian Walton for a memorable first goal for the club.
Sarmiento equalised soon after half-time with a curled finish, but Maidstone remained full of belief and grabbed a 66th-minute winner with another breakaway effort when Reynolds teed up Corne and he rifled in from 12-yards.
Covolan tipped Conor Chaplin’s 84th-minute effort onto the crossbar before Stones survived eight minutes of stoppage time to become only the 11th non-league outfit to reach the FA Cup fifth round.
“If you know George Elokobi, he is a believer. I am a believer,” Elokobi insisted.
“Every project I embark on as an individual and with my management team, we believe and we believed we could truly come here and compete against a fantastic Championship side.
“In our preparations we have showed every bit of respect to Ipswich Town. We normally train on 3G but we hired a grass pitch and looked at the dimensions of the Ipswich pitch.
“We also created what we would come up against, wave of attacks, so our defenders and the entire team could be resilient. Everyone knew what their jobs were and knew we had to run a little bit more than we have ever done.
“Let’s be honest nobody believed we could pull the shock out like we did against a great Ipswich side, which we watched on Monday play against Leicester.
“We knew we was coming to a tough place but it was about installing belief in them today.”
All eyes will now be on who Maidstone, – who reformed after being liquidated in 1992 – draw in Sunday’s draw.
Elokobi added: “If we can have another big tie away from home then the magic of the FA Cup is still alive. Whichever club we draw, we will take it.
“The community will be looking forward to who we draw next. Again this is the magic of the FA Cup and to be in the hat for the fifth round is truly amazing. I am really proud and honoured to be the manager leading this.”
Opposite number McKenna paid tribute Elokobi’s team.
“Look, first of all full credit to Maidstone. It’s a fantastic day for them, they worked ever so hard for it and of course they rode their luck, but they showed great spirit,” McKenna acknowledged.
“We really didn’t want to be on the end of one and prepared well and did some good things, but that’s cup competitions.”
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return
Leicester City are once more a Premier League team, having bounced straight back after relegation last season.
The Foxes secured automatic promotion without kicking a ball, as title rivals Leeds United lost 4-0 away to Queens Park Rangers on Friday.
Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side gave their fans a reason to cheer in their final home game of the season, and the emphatic win means they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.
The Hoops boss told BBC Sport: "I came here, perhaps I was crazy thinking we could manage the great escape.
"The atmosphere has been unbelievable since I came here. Everybody thought tonight could be a special night to achieve our target.
"Big players deliver big performances and our players all did that tonight."
Defeat ensured only Ipswich Town can now finish above Leicester, meaning the Foxes will be back in the big time.
Ipswich, who have three games left to play, face play-off hopefuls Hull City on Saturday.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "It's not in our hands any more [automatic promotion], we need to be honest.
"The race is not over. If Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations, but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for.
"As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up."
Leicester could be crowned champions if they beat Preston North End on Monday and if Hull beat Ipswich.
The Foxes are looking to break the 100-point barrier, despite a wobble from Enzo Maresca's side in recent months.
After they had been so far ahead and top for all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, an untimely dip in form handed Leeds and Ipswich hope.
However, while Leicester celebrate their promotion, they face the daunting prospect of starting next season with a points deduction, after they were charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of the competition's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
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