Simms hat-trick sees Coventry end Maidstone's FA Cup run
Coventry manager Mark Robins made six changes from the team that lost to Preston North End on Friday night, but as many expected, it was a sky blue wave flowing forward early on and American international Haji Wright had the first sighting of goal after just three minutes.
He capitalised on some ponderous Maidstone defending but his vicious volley was well saved by fourth-round hero Lucas Covolan.
However, the Brazilian stopper was helpless just six minutes later when Simms latched on to Kasey Palmer’s through-ball and applied the finish to open the scoring and settle some nerves among the home faithful.
The Coventry pair were clearly on the same wavelength tonight, as the Jamaican international played another beautifully weighted pass that the former Everton man nicked off the toes of his own teammate Wright and buried into the corner, opening some early breathing room.
For George Elokobi’s men, Liam Sole was trying to make inroads down the right, while Reiss Greenidge was crunching into tackles, yet they were punished again by Simms, who was quickest to the rebound when Covolan parried Palmer’s searing half-volley to complete his first senior hat-trick inside 35 minutes.
The Stones were left with a mountain to climb in the second half but they had their first real chance of the game five minutes after the restart when some neat build-up from Sole and Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong put Lamar Reynolds through, but he could only pick out the side netting.
Despite it becoming clear that their FA Cup dream was coming to an end, the 5,000 Maidstone fans were making plenty of noise and their team were battling hard, although they were looking tired.
The Sky Blues were largely in control of proceedings and long-range efforts from Tavares and Josh Eccles tested Covolan before the former of those two capped off the victory with a late double - a neat finish on 88 minutes and a stoppage-time rebound.
The scoreline was perhaps harsh on Maidstone, who have had a season for the history books, but the hosts got the job done early and now have a first FA Cup quarter-final since 2009 to look forward to.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ellis Simms (Coventry City)
