Stones’ giantkiller Corne not believe what they’ve done
MATCH-WINNER Sam Corne admitted he was almost lost for words after National League South Maidstone dumped Ipswich out of the FA Cup.
“I don’t think I’ve got the words to describe it,” said an emotional Corne.
“We had belief and it showed on the pitch, that desire to put our bodies on the line.
“The manager said we had to have that belief not to sit too deep, to counterattack and we did that.
“The fans, to follow us all the way to Ipswich, they are our 12th man and helped us through, especially in the later stages.”
Maidstone defender George Fowler added: “I can’t believe we’ve done it.
“We were the underdogs but we dug in, stayed organised and rode our luck, which you have to at times against class opposition. We’re over the moon.”
Hailing the nerveless finishing from Lamar Reynolds and Corne, after Jeremy Sarmiento had equalised, Fowler said: “We know we have that quality from our forward players.
“We knew we weren’t going to have many chances so the gaffer said when we do get chances, make sure we take them. That’s exactly what we did.”
Stones boss George Elokobi insisted he always believed his players could pull off a seismic shock.
He said: “If you know George Elokobi then you know he’s a believer.
“Every project I’m involved in, I believe in individuals and I believed we could come here and compete against a top Championship side.”
Elokobi took his players to the pub on a pre-match walk to meet supporters.
It proved a masterstroke as they helped roar his troops over the line.
“We want to take everything from the glory of today,” added Elokobi. “This morning on our walk we went to the pub to see the fans.
“We wanted to make this historic and have memories that will last forever.”
Ipswich boss Kieran Mckenna (inset) said: “It’s Maidstone’s day.
“We’ve had lots of good days but they deserve to enjoy their celebrations.”