FA Cup roundup: Maidstone United pull off another shock to reach round four

Maidstone United, the lowest-ranked team in the FA Cup, stunned the League One side Stevenage with a 1-0 win to advance to the fourth round and continue their dream run.

The National League South side had already made history in reaching the third round for the first time since the club reformed in 1992 and they took the lead shortly before half-time with the midfielder Sam Corne converting a penalty.

Having defeated League Two’s Barrow in the second round, Maidstone now have a third-tier scalp to add to their collection, with the full-time whistle at the Gallagher Stadium prompting jubilant scenes.

“It binds us together, forever,” the Maidstone manager, George Elokobi, told the BBC. “This is history, for the community, for everyone associated with Maidstone United Football Club, most especially it’s for our football club, our owners who are very good people and they’ve kept this club afloat, sustainable for the time they’ve been here.”

Bournemouth survived a scare at Loftus Road, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Championship strugglers Queens Park Rangers 3-2. Sinclair Armstrong opened the scoring in the 40th minute with a fine solo effort and Lyndon Dykes’s shot, just two minutes later, benefited from a deflection to double QPR’s lead. But second-half goals from Marcus Tavernier, Kieffer Moore and Justin Kluivert took the Premier League side into the next round.

Leicester, FA Cup winners in 2021, were victorious at the Den, defeating Millwall 3-2 to reach the fourth round for the fifth consecutive season. The visitors took the lead through the Chelsea loanee Cesare Casadei, who headed in a Marc Albrighton cross in the 16th minute. Ricardo Pereira then began and finished a fine team move to double Leicester’s lead in the first half.

Duncan Watmore brought Millwall back into the game before the hour with a goal from close range, but Thomas Cannon skipped around the keeper to slot in his side’s third. Zian Flemming scored in the 86th minute to keep things interesting, but Leicester held on.

A first-half hat-trick from Sammie Szmodics set up Blackburn’s 5-2 rout of Cambridge United at Ewood Park. Jack Lankester gave the League One visitors the lead in the sixth minute before Szmodics scored for the third consecutive game to bring Blackburn level. Sullay Kaikai was quick to put the visitors back in front, but Szmodics turned the game around with two more goals before half-time.

Coventry enjoyed a goal-laden day at home with a 6-2 win against Oxford United. Early proceedings were eventful, with the hosts taking a 3-1 lead inside 17 minutes. The Championship side struck first thanks to Joel Latibeaudiere before Mark Harris equalised for Oxford a couple of minutes later. Their joy was short-lived, with goals fromthe former Arsenal midfielder Ben Sheaf and Kasey Palmer – who hit a wonderful strike from range – putting Coventry in control. A Callum O’Hare penalty early in the second half provided them with further smiles, as did a late Matthew Godden double.

Cameron Dawson saved two penalties inside the first 10 minutes for Sheffield Wednesday to set up a 4-0 win against Cardiff. Ryan Wintle and Callum Robinson missed from the spot after Josh Windass had given Wednesday the lead in the second minute.

Ipswich, high-flyers in the Championship, were victorious on the road, beating AFC Wimbledon 3-1. Kieran McKenna’s side took an early lead through an own goal from Josh Davison in the eighth minute but Wimbledon drew level in the 17th with a penalty from their captain, Jake Reeves.

Ipswich were back in front before half-time, with Axel Tuanzebe heading in the first goal of his professional career. Wimbledon were reduced to 10 men in the second half after Harry Pell was sent off for a second yellow, before Jack Taylor scored a late third.

Further non-league glory came in the form of 10-men Eastleigh’s 1-1 draw at Newport, with the National League team bouncing back from the first-half dismissal of George Langston to equalise through a Chris Maguire penalty in the 81st minute. Norwich will also have to take part in a replay after they drew 1-1 with Bristol Rovers, with Ashley Barnes’s opener for the Canaries cancelled out by Grant Ward’s goal.

Birmingham looked set to begin life without Wayne Rooney with a victory at Hull, but the home side equalised in the 87th minute through Matty Jacob after Lukas Jutkiewicz had scored first. Luke Williams’s coaching reign at Swansea began with a 2-0 over Morecambe at home.