Nearly 150 Kings Langley supporters travelled over the impressive Queen Elizabeth II bridge into Kent to see if their side could overcome the odds to reach the First Round Proper of the F A Cup for the first time in their history by beating National League side Maidstone United. The record books will show that it was beyond them, but for the first forty five minutes, they not only held their illustrious rivals, but were the better team, created the better chances and had the ball in the net, only to be ruled marginally offside. With eight minutes on the clock, Mitchell Weiss won the ball in the box and delivered a shot that looked to have given Kings the lead, but somehow Jake Cole got a hand to it at the last moment, while a minute later Harry Crawford’s shot from a partially cleared corner was just over the bar. Maidstone responded with a stinging free kick well held by Melvin Minter, but the fatal moment when the story could have taken another route came exactly mid half, when Kings capped a flowing move with Weiss slotting the ball through to Crawford and the striker finishing in style, only to be flagged offside. It was extremely close, but the assistant had his flag up before the ball entered the net and the Stones could breathe again. Minter had controlled his box and dealt with every cross the home side threw in, to the frustration of their supporters, but did have a moment in the final minute of the half when he rushed out and the defence covered the goalbound shot, but the interval arrived with Kings ahead on points. Three minutes into the second period and Harry Crawford had a chance, but his chip of the keeper lacked conviction and suddenly the tide turned in dramatic fashion, when a corner from Noah Chesmain was met by a thunderous header by Ryan Johnson and within five minutes a cross by Gavin Hoyte from a throw-in gave Saidou Khan the chance to head home number two. Kings were stunned to find that the game had so suddenly slipped away from them and although a Mitchell Weiss inswinging shot came close, they were opened up again when Justin Amaluzor should have finished a flowing move. Bad went to worse when Harry Crawford and Ross Marshall were both given a straight red for a foolish confrontation and then Chesmain fired a twenty yard free kick past Minter. When Dean Hitchcock, on as substitute after a sixth month injury absence, conceded a soft penalty, Kings probably felt the six minutes added on was a torture, but an innocuous clash between Weiss and Cole led to the referee awarding an even softer penalty and Roddy Collins converted for a 95th minute consolation. And so the journey came to an end, but the fans, who made up a mere 10% of the large crowd were magnificent, singing to the end in support of players who have given everything in this historic cup run, which will be remembered for a long time. Or at least until next year, when we aim to go further still!