Hornchurch 5 Maidstone United 4 - Stones lose to lower league opponents in the FA Trophy
Published: 18:00, 06 February 2021
Updated: 18:57, 06 February 2021
Maidstone United were beaten by a stoppage-time goal in a nine-goal thriller against lower-league Hornchurch.
Former Gillingham and Dartford striker Liam Nash settled the fifth round tie to send The Urchins - from the Isthmian League Premier Division - into the quarter-finals of the competition.
Sam Higgins put Hornchurch ahead from a 14th minute corner.
Jordan Clarke deflected Saidou Khan’s strike past keeper Joe Wright to level the scores soon after but George Porter put the Stones ahead with half an hour gone, reacting quickest when a free-kick came off the woodwork.
Maidstone conceded again just before the break through Ronnie Winn. Higgins also hit the bar for Hornchurch before the sides went into the interval.
A second goal for Higgins on 58th minutes put Hornchurch back in the driving seat but Porter responded immediately to level it up again at three apiece.
A Joe Ellul own goal then put Hornchurch ahead at 4-3, turning in a cross from Ellis Brown, but just moments after being introduced from the bench Ibby Akanabi replied on 71 minutes from a Justin Amaluzor cross.
The Stones played the last 10 minutes a man short after Ellul was sent off for a second bookable offence, his second caution for a foul on substitute Charlie Stimson.
Nash and Stimson had both threatened in stoppage-time but with just sixty seconds left of the seven additional minutes the tie was finally settled in Hornchurch’s favour. A long ball forward by the keeper was pounced on by Nash who lobbed the keeper from the edge of the box.
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Luke Cawdell