Maidstone forward Lamar Reynolds has credited the gruelling fitness sessions of manager George Elokobi for their sensational run to the last 16 of the FA Cup.
The National League South club etched their name into FA Cup folklore on Saturday with a remarkable 2-1 victory over Ipswich, who were 98 places above the visitors before kick-off at Portman Road.
It was Maidstone’s seventh tie of the competition and their reward is a trip to Sheffield Wednesday or Coventry for a place in the quarter-finals.
After beating Barrow, Stevenage and now Sky Bet Championship promotion hopefuls Ipswich, Reynolds paid tribute to ex-Wolves defender Elokobi.
“Who would have thought it? But like the gaffer said, you’ve got to believe and we believed,” Reynolds insisted.
“We probably had not much possession but took our chances, got the victory in the end and the 12th man on the side gave us the second wind and the third wind to get us over the line.
“Our gaffer, you all know his background and he is very tough, especially his training routines.
“He always wants us to be the fittest because if you’re fitter than the opposition, you probably have more chance of winning the game.
“With the programmes he has put into us from when he played, it has really helped us gain that edge. We stuck around them. I wouldn’t say we’re as fit as them but we kept up with them and got the win.”
Elokobi insisted he always believed Maidstone could cause an upset in front of their 4,472 travelling fans and drummed that into the squad.
Sixth-tier Stones also ditched training on their artificial surface at Gallagher Stadium to prepare for the Ipswich clash on grass, with Elokobi going as far as to get them to train on the same size pitch as at Portman Road.
“He exaggerated on believing in each other and knowing we’re all capable of winning the game if we stick to the script we’ve planned,” Reynolds added.
“We had done analysis and he kept nagging on believing – when you believe in yourself, stuff like this happens.”
Maidstone players gathered again on Sunday to watch the fifth-round draw but Reynolds spent his morning back at his day job driving autistic children to events for Links Support Solution in Gants Hill.
Reynolds admitted: “It is amazing and I think a lot of them would have watched.
“If I have a game on a Tuesday, I will do that during the morning and head off to a game.
“On a Wednesday we (Maidstone) have a day off so I’ll go in for the morning and Sundays I do events with them. I am pretty much the driver!
“I take them to wrestling or a basketball match, just events because they are local young lads who want to enjoy themselves.”
After scoring his first goal for the club with a delightful chip in Saturday’s victory, the Jamaican-born attacker is eager to keep putting Maidstone on the map.
“I’d wait another 10 seasons for that same scenario again. It felt special,” Reynolds said.
“This can put us on the map, it shows Maidstone is a huge club with a massive background. Now it is time to push on and hopefully the name gets bigger and bigger.
“You just have to believe and now you have to believe it because it has happened!
“We’re in the round of 16 and who would have thought that? It is ridiculous. When you say it out loud it is ridiculous, but what an achievement.”
Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season
Roy Keane does not believe Manchester United will get back into the Premier League's top four under Ruben Amorim this season due to a "real lack of quality".
The Red Devils legend was speaking after United started life under the Portuguese with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, as Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener.
Keane acknowledged Amorim has to be given time to turn things around at Old Trafford, but does not see United cracking the top four this season.
"You have to give the man a chance," Keane told Sky Sports. "But the threat going forward, it's a huge problem for Man Utd. It's not good enough.
"Do I believe they have the quality to get them back to top four? Absolutely not. The evidence is not there. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality."
United created 0.9 xG compared to Ipswich's 1.75 and had fewer shots on target (four) compared to Ipswich (six) at Portman Road.
They did have more touches in the opposition box (16 to 11) but had fewer final-third entries (48 to 61) and big chances created (two to three).
Ipswich were extremely resilient opponents after their early setback, and Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna praised his side, particularly Hutchinson after he grabbed his first Premier League goal.
"I thought he (Hutchinson) was a big threat first half, naturally more a winger, but most teams are going to press us high and in the spaces in the middle of the pitch having a dribbler in the middle of the pitch who's elusive and hard to pick up can be a big threat," he told Sky Sports.
"I think it's his first goal in the Premier League he'll be happy to have that of his back and he's improving."
"The first half, it's a blow to concede the early goal but I thought as the half went on we grew in the ascendancy, and the intensity of pressing and work on the ball.
"I thought we were the dominant team in the first half and deserved to be going in at least level. Second half in fairness, Man Utd had more control. It was difficult, we had to defend with real discipline on shape."
Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
Napoli 1-0 Roma: Lukaku downs former club on Ranieri's return
Claudio Ranieri's Roma return was spoilt by Romelu Lukaku, whose goal against his old club sealed a 1-0 win for Napoli.
Ranieri was appointed Roma boss over the international break, with the 73-year-old coming out of retirement to take charge of the club for a third time.
Yet it was ex-Roma striker Lukaku who decided Sunday's contest at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with his 54th-minute effort sending Antonio Conte's team back to the top of Serie A.
Lukaku was well-placed to convert from Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cutback, bringing up his fifth Serie A goal of the campaign.
Roma, who had just two attempts and managed only 0.07 expected goals (xG) in the first half, woke up after Lukaku's goal, with Artem Dovbyk powering a header off the woodwork from a free-kick minutes later, but the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless.
Ranieri's next task is to rally his troops for a Europa League clash with Tottenham on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Ranieri's underwhelming return
There was no sign of an immediate upturn for 12th-place Roma, if they were hoping for a new-coach bounce.
Roma ended the first half with fewer than 70 successful passes (68). It is the first time they have had so few successful passes in the opening half of a league game since 2004-05.
With only three wins to their name in the league, they have won fewer than four matches in their opening 13 Serie A games for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign (also three).
And of course, it had to be Lukaku, who was leading their line last season, that delivered the hammer blow. The Belgium international has been involved in nine goals in Serie A this term (five goals, four assists). Only his former Everton club-mate Ademola Lookman, now a star at Atalanta, has contributed to more goals in the competition (seven goals, four assists).
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