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Coventry secured a spot in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup thanks to Ellis Simms, who scored a hat-trick in the first half and ended Maidstone’s fairytale run in the tournament.
The striker’s treble and Fabio Tavares’ late double sent the Sky Blues into the last eight for the first time since 2009 after a 5-0 win.
The end of the Stones’ remarkable journey in the Cup was disheartening. They had triumphed in seven matches, eliminating teams like Barrow, Stevenage, and Ipswich, making them the first team outside of the top five divisions to make it to the fifth round since Blyth Spartans did so in 1978.
George Elokobi’s National League South side became heroes following their fourth-round win at Portman Road but there was never any danger of a repeat at Coventry.
Before halftime, Ellis Simms scored three goals, as reported by Barrington Coombs of PA.
The Sky Blues were determined to prevent experiencing the same outcome as their competitors in the Championship. Under the leadership of Mark Robins, the team was dominant from the beginning and managed to score two goals within the first 15 minutes.
Haji Wright initiated an early response from Lucas Covolan before Simms scored, giving them a lead in the ninth minute.
Liam Kelly quickly capitalized on a wayward pass from Reiss Greenidge, finding Kasey Palmer who then passed to Simms to score confidently against Covolan.
The forward scored his fourth consecutive goal in six minutes, teaming up with Palmer once again to score a low angled shot from 15 yards.
Maidstone suffered a 2-0 defeat against Aveley on Saturday, placing them in eighth position in the National League South. They were clearly outplayed and outmatched.
Despite the result, Maidstone had a enjoyable evening.
Liam Sole made a rare effort that was unsuccessful, and the visitors were kept under control by their hosts. The hosts had shifted into a comfortable lead after Simms scored two goals.
As the tempo slowed down, the opportunities decreased as well. However, Tavares failed to score from a distance of 25 yards, until Simms scored his third goal 10 minutes before halftime.
Once more, Palmer was the innovator as his 35-yard first-time strike surprised Covolan, causing the goalkeeper to deflect it into the direction of Simms, who then forcefully struck it from four yards away.
At the half-time break, substitute Callum O’Hare wasted no time in trying to score another goal, but his shot went directly at Covolan. The game was already over.
The goalie blocked Palmer’s shot shortly after the 60-minute mark and also saved Josh Eccles’ attempt, but the game had already started to lose steam.
However, Coventry City managed to secure two goals towards the end of the game from Tavares.
In the final moments of the game, the midfielder scored a powerful shot off a pass from Matty Godden. He then followed up in stoppage time to score again after Covolan had stopped Godden’s initial attempt.
The source of this information is from the website independent.co.uk.
