Maidstone defender Raphe Brown’s first start of the season brought FA Cup memories flooding back.

With Reiss Greenidge away on international duty, Brown was named in the side to face Ebbsfleet last weekend.

The long-serving centre-back, in his fifth season at the Gallagher Stadium, was rock-solid as Maidstone beat their National League opponents 3-0 to reach the first round.

Brown had a rollercoaster FA Cup journey during the Stones’ run to the fifth round last season.

A red card at Tonbridge on Boxing Day threatened to rule him out of the third-round tie against Stevenage but was overturned on grounds of mistaken identity.

He was, however, suspended for the fourth-round win at Ipswich after being sent off at Slough, before starting at Coventry as Maidstone bowed out in the last 16.

“You can’t forget what we did in the FA Cup last year, it will stick with us forever,” said Brown.

“We want to try and emulate that and I think we showed we’ve got another two or three levels we can push for.

“If we play like that in the league, and carry on in the FA Cup, it will be another good season.

“But we can’t put too much pressure on ourselves to say we’ve got to make the fifth round again.

“You can’t put that pressure on a National League South team.

“We’ll just see where our run takes us.”

A combined abdominal/lower back injury kept Brown out of action at the start of the season.

He’s been fit and training well but, with the side on a good run, he’s had to wait for a chance.

The former Herne Bay man showed what he can do against Fleet and has given manager George Elokobi something to think about before the home league game against Slough on Saturday (3pm).

“I’m feeling strong,” said Brown. “I’ve had to be patient and wait for my time because the team’s been doing well.

“It’s one of those things in football.

“You’ve got to keep yourself fit, which I think I am, and I did all right in my first start of the season.

“I found out on Thursday I’d be playing and I was preparing mentally because you don’t want to be the one that comes in and messes things up.

“You want to slot in like you’ve been there for the duration.

“It was a massive game to come into, the boys were unreal, it was a great team performance.

“There’s healthy competition at the back.

“I’ve been fit for the last month and a bit but I’ve had to wait for my time and the gaffer was honest about that.

“Reiss is back next week but all I can do is perform.

“I’ve got to train well, perform well and hopefully make the team.”

Brown feels Maidstone have gelled after a difficult start to the season while a new-look squad settled in.

Their unbeaten run is up to six games since losing 5-1 to Chelmsford last month.

“We come here and train every day and work hard and listen to the gaffer,” said Brown.

“The Chelmsford game was like a reset, a reality check that you have to work hard.

“It’s a new squad and it took us a while to fully gel.

“The team’s good and the new players are good.

“I loved the players from last year, and made good friends, but that’s football, people move on.”