Ellis Simms scored a first-half hat-trick as Coventry emphatically ended Maidstone’s remarkable FA Cup run with a 5-0 victory in the fifth round.
The National League South side had already eliminated EFL clubs Barrow and Stevenage before stunning third-placed Championship side Ipswich in the previous round.
Around 5,000 Maidstone fans travelled to Coventry in hope of another upset but they were quickly brought back to reality when Simms poked in his first from Kasey Palmer’s smart pass.
Palmer and Simms combined again minutes later, with the striker’s sharp finish catching out goalkeeper Lucas Covolan.
Simms then completed his hat-trick by turning in the rebound after Covolan weakly pushed Palmer’s ambitious effort into his direction.
Coventry looked to have settled for three as the game ticked towards full-time, only for Fabio Tavares to add a late double – the second after another sloppy Covolan save – to ruthlessly send George Elokobi’s sixth-tier side out of the competition.
More to follow…
What’s next?
Friday 1st March 7:30pm
Kick off 8:00pm
Coventry head across the Midlands to face West Brom on Friday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 8pm.
Maidstone United return to their National League South promotion charge with a trip to bottom side Dover on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
