Maidstone United 1 Stevenage 0 FA Cup match report: Sam Corne’s penalty sends the Stones through to round four

Maidstone have reached the FA Cup fourth round for the first time in their history after a stunning upset win against Stevenage.

Sam Corne’s penalty in first-half stoppage time saw off their League 1 opponents at a rocking Gallagher Stadium – earning £105,000 in prize money.

Maidstone, the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, weathered heavy second-half pressure against a team 69 places above them in the pyramid but were brilliant to a man.

The first half was played at a blistering pace, with neither side getting time to settle on the ball.

It was everything you’d want from a cup tie in terms of commitment and desire, with Maidstone competing magnificently against their League 1 opponents.

The first step was to negotiate the first 20 minutes against big, physical players, and Maidstone not only managed that - they looked the better side.

They were also awarded a surprisingly high number of free-kicks - the opposite of what you’d expect against a Football League side.

Jake Forster-Caskey put an early effort wide for the visitors after George Fowler headed clear from a cross but bar Lucas Covolan’s quick thinking to cut out Nick Freeman’s cross, that was their only half-chance of the first half.

Lamar Reynolds, picked on the left of a front three, forced a decent save with a header from Corne’s cross for the Stones.

And the pair combined again with Reynolds heading wide at the back stick following a ball from the right.

A Harry Kyprianou piledriver, from Sam Bone’s lay-off, was blocked by ex-Stones man Dan Sweeney as Maidstone continued to mix it with their EFL opponents.

United’s big moment came in added time when Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong was tripped in the box.

Referee Steve Martin pointed to the spot and Corne