Town boss says it was a ‘bad day’ after his team’s 2-1 loss while Maidstone’s chief said his side ‘rode’ their luck

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna paid credit to Maidstone for their shock 2-1 FA Cup fourth round victory at Portman Road saying it was “a bad day” for his team with a “lot of disappointment.”

Meanwhile, the visitor’s boss George Elokobi said his team “rode” their “luck a lot” and that the “magic in the FA cup is making us dream again.”

The stunning upset for the National League South outfit, in front of the BBC 1 cameras and who sit 98 places below Town in the football pyramid, came as they defied attack after attack and put their bodies on the line to keep out their high flying Championship opponents who lost only their second home game of the season.

The visiting players and fans, which numbered 4,472 from the 27,763 attending, went wild at the final whistle to hail their progress through to the fifth round of the competition.

The Kent side withstood consistent pressure from the Tractor Boys who had a total of 38 shots on target compared to Maidstone’s solitary two and missed chance after chance with United goalkeeper Lucas Covolan having the game of his life.

They struck through Lamar Reynolds in the 43rd minute and Sam Corne after 66 minutes with the Ipswich goal coming from Jeremy Sarmiento (56). Along with Omari Hutchinson they both hit the post, keeper Covolan made countless saves to deny Hutchinson, Morsy, Clarke and Burns, while George Edmundson and Soni Aluko both spurned golden opportunities.

Premiership referee Anthony Taylor turned down an Ipswich penalty appeal when Edmundson appeared to be fouled in the box, for which he was subsequently shown a yellow card, and also failed to award Town a free kick when Sarmiento had his shirt tugged in the lead up to The Stones winning goal.

McKenna, who made 10 changes to the side that drew with Leicester earlier in the week, said: “It’s full credit to Maidstone, it’s a fantastic day for them, they worked ever so hard for it, they rode their luck as well but they were very clinical and showed a fantastic spirit to get a result.

“It’s a bad day for us and there’s a lot of disappointment and we have to have to live with that and produce a response to that next week.

“I thought we started ever so well, I can’t really fault the attitude, we started terrifically and that’s irrespective of the level of the opponent.

“I thought it was a really good start to the game, we had big chances, we hit the woodwork a couple of times, the keeper produced a couple of good saves and of course the longer the game goes on like that our belief drops a little bit.

“They are hoping for a moment and they got it with the corner … they broke away and got the goal that really put the tie to life for them.

“We needed to be much more clinical than we were, they were incredibly clinical with their two (goals) and they defended with great resolution … and full credit to them for that.”

McKenna said he thought there was a foul leading up to Maidstone’s winning goal saying: “I thought it was a pretty clear foul that led to the ball being given away, having said that their reaction was faster than ours to break for the goal and again it was a very good finish.

“It’s Maidstone’s day. Today’s their day and they deserve to enjoy their celebrations and we wish them all the best for the next round.”

Elokobi said: “This was a historic occasion for Maidstone Football Club, our group of players, our supporters, mostly for our community. They have come out here with a huge support, they have came out in their numbers.

“Someone had to win today … of course it was us.

“After the first 25 minutes we had to earn our luck and it’s important that our players stayed resilient in those moments and we knew we would not create many chances here because of the magnificent job Kieran is doing with Ipswich.

“We knew to come here and get a result was going to take some doing. We had to be resilient …  we prepared and prepared right and I told them one thing to go out there and enjoy the occasion, you are already history makers.

“Just take every bit of the glory today. The magic in the FA cup is making us dream again.

“We believed we could truly come here and compete against a fantastic Championship side.

“We had nothing to lose today and I told my players that whatever happens to them I am immensely proud of them

“We knew we were coming to a tough place here … we rode our luck a lot.

“Now it’s about making sure we keep our fingers crossed again. Can we play away at a Premier club? If we can it’s going to help our club in terms of the finances and to help us stay sustainable.

“If we can have another big tie away from home then the magic of the FA cup is still alive … we cannot control the draw, we are just going to stay positive and enjoy this moment and this day until the draw comes through tomorrow.”