Boss George Elokobi hailed his Maidstone history makers as their FA Cup heroics ended with a 5-0 defeat at Coventry.
Ellis Simms’ first-half hat-trick and Fabio Tavares’ late brace fired the Sky Blues into the quarter-finals.
The Stones were the first team outside the top five divisions to reach the fifth round since Blyth Spartans in 1978, having started their run in September and beaten EFL sides Barrow, Stevenage and Ipswich.
It was their eighth game in the competition this season and Elokobi saluted his National League South battlers.
“I’m super proud of our players, super proud of our community and how we have gone about this historic FA Cup run,” said the former Wolves defender.
“There has been so much attention, they have inspired so many people. This is a moment we will never forget in the history of the club.
“We are all winners, some are a little bit disappointed but my job is to pick them up and remind them how far we have come.
“Everyone who watches football, this is the moment we live for. There are so many positives to take. We want to make sure we can concentrate on the league.
“The magic of the FA Cup is still alive. When we began this FA Cup journey we knew we weren’t going to win it. It was about showcasing our talent and skills. We have done that.”
Coventry rain riot early and were 2-0 ahead after just 15 minutes through Simms.
He opened the scoring after nine minutes, latching onto Kasey Palmer’s throughball to beat Lucas Covolan before linking with Palmer six minutes later to drill in a second.
His first senior hat-trick was complete after 35 minutes when Covolan parried Palmer’s 35-yard volley for the striker to gobble up the rebound from four yards.
There was no coming back for Elokobi’s side but they held firm for the majority of the second half until Tavares’ late double.
Coventry, who last won the cup in 1987, reached the quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years and will learn their opponents on Wednesday.
Boss Mark Robins said: “I’m delighted, if you do it right against any opponent who are below you, you should prevail. It was important we started well.
“We didn’t turn up on Friday (a 3-0 defeat to Preston) so we needed to start like we did. Ellis’ movement was brilliant, in 35 minutes the game was over as a contest.
“Ellis deserved and needed it, you have to take those chances. It should give him plenty of confidence, he has six (goals) in eight (games) and is starting to come to life and believe in himself.
“He has some brilliant attributes and he is doing it with plenty of scrutiny.”
Premier League MD13: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
Liverpool are now nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, after claiming a 2-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield.
It is fair to say the Reds, who accumulated 3.3 expected goals and had 18 shots, were more than worthy of their victory on Sunday, as City lost a fourth straight league match.
But was that the case across the board this weekend? Which teams were unlucky, and which sides got lucky, when comparing the underlying metrics to their actual results?
Here, we use Opta data to find out.
Unlucky losers: Everton
The away end at Old Trafford was mostly empty by the time full-time rolled around on Sunday, as Manchester United claimed their first league win under new boss Ruben Amorim in style, beating Everton 4-0.
But it's fair to say that Sean Dyche's team had started brightly, albeit without offering too much in the way of a threat. United's opening two goals came via a deflection and then a mistake from Jarrad Branthwaite, who was heavily linked with a move to the Red Devils in the summer.
While Everton cannot be considered unfortunate to lose, the metrics do suggest United were far more clinical than would have been anticipated based on the chances that came their way, as Joshua Zirkzee and Marcus Rashford both netted doubles.
United created just 1.0 xG, while having 11 shots, just three more than the Toffees. Amorim's side took all three of their big chances (defined as an opportunity from which a player would reasonably be expected to score). Everton had only 13 touches in United's box, though, as for all their bright play in the opening 30 minutes, they failed to make any real inroads.
Lucky winners: Newcastle United
Newcastle did not get all three points against Crystal Palace on Saturday, though they were just moments away from doing so. Daniel Munoz headed home late on after connecting with a cross from Marc Guehi, who had bundled in an own goal to give the Magpies the lead.
Yet Newcastle should really consider themselves fortunate to come away with even a point, considering the match metrics.
Eddie Howe claimed his team were in control, yet they failed to have a single shot on target, had only one attempt throughout the entire match and finished with 0.04 xG - by some distance the lowest of any Premier League team this weekend.
Palace's 1.8 xG was the fifth-highest total, on the other hand. The Eagles had 16 attempts, meaning their per-shot xG of 0.11 was higher than Newcastle's entire xG across the match.
Unlucky losers: Brighton
Brighton were left to rue some missed opportunities as they drew 1-1 with Southampton in Friday's south coast derby.
The Seagulls accumulated 1.7 xG and had 22 shots, which is at least four more than any other team in the division across the weekend's matches, while their 44 touches in the opposition box was also a league-high.
Yet they could not build on Kaoru Mitoma's opener, and were ultimately punished when Flynn Downes netted just before the hour.
Southampton created 1.0 xG, so it is not as though they were unworthy of at least a goal, but Fabian Hurzeler will no doubt believe his team should have been out of sight.
Motta calls for improvement after Juventus held again in Serie A
Juventus boss Thiago Motta has said that his side should improve collectively and individually after they were held to a late 1-1 draw by Lecce in Serie A.
The result was his side's third consecutive draw across all competitions, following on two goalless draws against Milan in the league and Aston Villa in the Champions League.
The Old Lady set a new club record for most Serie A draws in a single calendar year with their 18th stalemate of 2024 - surpassing the 17 they recorded in 1956.
"It's important to understand the moments in the matches," Motta told DAZN after the game.
"After taking the lead, we can improve certain aspects of the game, both collectively and individually."
Substitute Ante Rebic scored for Lecce in the 93rd minute, cancelling out an Andrea Cambiaso goal from earlier in the half.
Juventus, who are one of three teams still unbeaten in the big five European leagues with six wins and eight draws, are also the side that have drawn the most matches in those leagues.
"So far, in the league, we have got what we have deserved," Motta said.
"Sometimes we have played better than the opponent, other times the games have been more balanced. We are where we need to be."
Juventus' season has been hampered by injuries to key players, including Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored six goals this season, Nicolo Savona and Weston McKennie.
"We saw in the second half that the team was running out of steam, and we knew that was a possibility," the manager said.
"In the first half, Lecce was waiting for our mistakes, and we made few of them. In the second half, we opened up too much, despite being ahead. We need to improve in reading these moments.
"We’ve got to improve, learn certain things and keep thinking positive. We need to prepare for the next match both physically and mentally."
Though undefeated in their last 22 games in the Serie A, Juventus will hope to convert those draws to wins more often, starting with their next match against Bologna on Saturday.
They sit sixth in the table with 26 points from 14 matches and trail leaders Napoli by six points.
Motta calls for improvement after Juventus held again in Serie A at Lecce
Juventus boss Thiago Motta has said that his side should improve collectively and individually after they were held to a late 1-1 draw by Lecce in Serie A.
The result was his side's third consecutive draw across all competitions, following on two goalless draws against Milan in the league and Aston Villa in the Champions League.
The Old Lady set a new club record for most Serie A draws in a single calendar year with their 18th stalemate of 2024 - surpassing the 17 they recorded in 1956.
"It's important to understand the moments in the matches," Motta told DAZN after the game.
"After taking the lead, we can improve certain aspects of the game, both collectively and individually."
Substitute Ante Rebic scored for Lecce in the 93rd minute, cancelling out an Andrea Cambiaso goal from earlier in the half.
Juventus, who are one of three teams still unbeaten in the big five European leagues with six wins and eight draws, are also the side that have drawn the most matches in those leagues.
"So far, in the league, we have got what we have deserved," Motta said.
"Sometimes we have played better than the opponent, other times the games have been more balanced. We are where we need to be."
Juventus' season has been hampered by injuries to key players, including Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored six goals this season, Nicolo Savona and Weston McKennie.
"We saw in the second half that the team was running out of steam, and we knew that was a possibility," the manager said.
"In the first half, Lecce was waiting for our mistakes, and we made few of them. In the second half, we opened up too much, despite being ahead. We need to improve in reading these moments.
"We’ve got to improve, learn certain things and keep thinking positive. We need to prepare for the next match both physically and mentally."
Though undefeated in their last 22 games in the Serie A, Juventus will hope to convert those draws to wins more often, starting with their next match against Bologna on Saturday.
They sit sixth in the table with 26 points from 14 matches and trail leaders Napoli by six points.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
