Maidstone United right-back Dermi Lusala was in the Coventry City squad for the historic FA Cup fifth-round meeting in 2024

Dermi Lusala was involved in the biggest night in Maidstone United’s history - long before joining the club.

Lusala, a summer signing from Dagenham, was a Coventry City player when United faced the Sky Blues in the FA Cup fifth round in February 2024.

And manager Mark Robins named the young right-back on the bench for the tie in front of almost 27,000 fans at the CBS Arena.

Maidstone’s history-making run to the last 16 had made headlines worldwide, and after beating Premier League-bound Ipswich in the previous round, Coventry knew they couldn’t take George Elokobi’s non-league side lightly.

The Championship outfit were ultra-professional, winning 5-0, and reached the semi-finals before suffering penalty shoot-out heartbreak against Manchester United after a 3-3 draw.

It was still a night to remember for Maidstone and their 4,800 travelling supporters behind the goal as the club’s fairytale run ended in the West Midlands.

Lusala, now 23, was an unused substitute for Coventry but remembers the occasion well.

“To be fair, I was gutted myself that I didn’t come on and play,” he said. “I was prepared and ready. But to be on the bench for that game, it was a good experience for me at the time.

“I thought Maidstone did amazing to get as far as they did and the support they had that night was amazing.”

Robins, now in charge at Stoke, was taking no chances against a Stones side dreaming of another big Championship scalp following their stunning 2-1 win at Portman Road in round four.

“It was a game he wanted to win, so he did put a strong side out,” said Lusala.

“In the build-up, he was like, ‘we want to win, we don’t want to lay off them’. He knew Maidstone would be a good challenge.”

Lusala came through the academy at Tottenham,