Maidstone United's historic FA Cup run ends in Coventry

KentOnline / KMTV

It wasn't Maidstone's night, but the thousands of fans who made the journey to the West Midlands made sure to keep singing all the way to the very end.

Transcript

00:00 It's a groggy and windy day down at the Gallagher but no one seems to mind, smiles on everyone's

00:09 faces here. These are just some of the thousands who will be heading to Coventry later today

00:14 and I'm going to be joining them on one of these coaches. I've got my scarf and I'm ready.

00:19 After what had already been a fairy tale journey for Maidstone in this year's FA Cup, nothing

00:24 was going to stop the fans from coming out in their droves to follow their club up to

00:29 Coventry. Whatever was about to happen, it was always going to be a day never to forget.

00:34 We're very excited, kind of hoping for the same again. I think we've not got super high

00:39 expectations but, well, we did it before so hopefully we'll do it again.

00:45 The Ipswich game which was really well organised and probably the best atmosphere I've ever

00:49 been to. And the people in Ipswich were really nice as well. They were good so hopefully

00:58 we'll get the same reception in Coventry. We went to Ipswich, didn't we, and we just

01:02 didn't expect to win that and the feeling was just, we were just ecstatic, absolutely

01:06 ecstatic. The coach I joined was occupied by members of Maidstone's disability team,

01:11 the Maidstone Raiders. Massive. The guys are absolutely loving everything that's happened

01:18 so far and their parents are telling me how much of an impact that this has had on them.

01:24 What can we say? Football has been a lifeline to so many kids.

01:28 Reaching the stadium, fans quickly dispersed from the coaches and found their way through

01:32 the turnstiles with many choosing to enjoy themselves in the bar before finding their

01:37 seats. For those who did decide to go down to the South Stand early, club manager George

01:44 Elokobi and assistant Craig Fagan were waiting to thank fans for their support and to take

01:49 lots of selfies. After teams lined up to rapturous applause and singing from the packed-out

01:55 away stand, the game soon got underway. Maidstone saw more of the ball in the opening stages

02:01 than at Ipswich, however it wasn't just eight minutes into the fifth-round tie that the

02:06 visitors fell behind. Silence from the fans, but not for long. The side hoping to be playing

02:14 in the Premier League next season showed their worth, coming in full attack and with no regard

02:19 for fairy tales. They scored again, and again, and again. But even up to and including the

02:27 dying stages, Maidstone refused to throw in the towel and the fans refused to stop singing.

02:34 5-0 the final score. You all, you all, we all are history makers. I love you all. I'm

02:48 proud of your efforts. Back on the buses and the weight of their club's achievement was

02:55 beyond no one. I thought Maidstone United did us proud. Everyone in Maidstone should

03:01 be very proud of what they did tonight. We are the Black Amber Army, alright? We are

03:11 the Black Amber Army. We are the Black Amber Army.

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