Super Simms ends Maidstone miracle
GEORGE Elokobi and his wonderful rolling Stones came to a halt on the outskirts of Coventry. It was there where they finally ran out of good fortune, or FA Cup magic as it is also known. And it was there where they ran into a strong and talented team in determined mood and a centre forward in Ellis Simms in ruthless form. Coventry City now take their place in the quarter-finals for the first time for 15 years. Those who travelled to cheer Elokobi’s team will spin their stories, and remember goals scored by Sam Corne and Lamar Reynolds and the saves of Lucas Covolan. In truth, Maidstone never looked likely to take Coventry into extra-time but their 4,500 fans refused to go out quietly. They backed their team noisily until the very end and Elokobi’s team, three down at half-time and threatening to disappear in a deluge, kept the fourth goal at bay until Fabio Tavares burst through in the 87th minute, before the Portuguese added a fifth in stoppage time. Covolan was one of the stars of Maidstone’s fourth-round shock at Ipswich, where he made a series of incredible saves, and the Brazilian started in similar fashion, here. He flew acrobatically to his right to save the first shot of the night, on the turn from
Kasey Palmer. Then he pulled a high ball confidently out of the sky from a corner. But any notion that he was set to perform another FA Cup miracle vanished with the first-half hat-trick by Simms, all of them assisted by Palmer. Coventry were just too good as evidenced by every one of the 95 places between the teams in the English football pyramid. These are happier times for Coventry. They are well acquainted with Wembley and they are one win from a return there.