George Elokobi urged his “history makers” to enjoy their extraordinary achievement after Maidstone United reached the FA Cup fifth round for the first time.
The National League South club won their seventh match in this season’s competition to dump Ipswich out at Portman Road.
Elokobi, the Maidstone manager, said: “A massive thank you to Ipswich. They have been amazing. It was a historic occasion for Maidstone. We’ve come out here and someone had to win today. The gods were with us.
“After 25 minutes we had to earn our luck. We knew we wouldn’t create many chances here. We knew, to get a result here, was going to take some doing.
“We had to be resilient for 98 minutes. I said: ‘Go out there and enjoy the occasion.’ They were already history makers and take every bit of the glory today. We have created history and the magic of the FA Cup is here.”
The former Wolves defender added: “Nobody believed we could pull this shock off against this great Ipswich side. It was for our boys to believe and make sure they gave it their all. We’re going to stay here and enjoy it because they are history makers. It’s just unheard of.”
Maidstone have knocked out teams from the Championship, League One and League Two during their run but Elokobi wants his side to be rewarded with a trip to a Premier League club in Sunday’s fifth-round draw.
The emotions in the @maidstoneunited dressing room 🥹#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/pjHNrtd46Y
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 27, 2024
“For our football club, first it’s about ensuring some financial gain and now making sure we keep our fingers crossed we play away at a Premier League club,” he said. “It would give our fans another historic day out and I’m sure supporters will sweep up the tickets. We’re just going to enjoy this moment and day until the draw.”
Maidstone were woken by two fire alarms on Friday night in their hotel but the coach joked it was “just Ipswich fans getting scared”.
Elokobi said: “When we drew Ipswich, I said if this is the last dance we’re going to dance well. You just have to believe in everything you do in life. We had nothing to lose today.”
Ipswich made 10 changes for the tie but the Championship club’s manager, Kieran McKenna, insisted his team were not complacent. He said: “First of all full credit to Maidstone. It’s a fantastic day for them. They rode their luck but they were very clinical.
“It’s a bad day for us but we’re going to have to live with that and have a response next week.”
