by Maidstone’s progress to the third round of the FA Cup after defeating Barrow was celebrated far and wide, from Kent to Kathmandu. The winning goal came from Bivesh Gurung, a local lad born to Nepalese parents, making him a hometown hero and increasing his popularity 4,500 miles away.
There was frustration for Gurung after his stunning winner when he missed the next game against Stevenage through suspension but he will be back for Saturday lunchtime’s fourth-round trip to Championship side Ipswich, where he will be interested in Nepal .
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“When I signed for Crystal Palace as a 16-year-old, my aunt in Nepal called to say she’d seen me on TV just to sign for the academy – and it was just the academy,” says Gurung. “It was the same for the FA Cup: them [my family] They were saying that they kept my face on TV screens and that I was the talk of the town. It’s all a bit surreal but amazing at the same time.”
Gurung’s parents settled in Kent after his father as a Gurkha in the British army. There are an estimated 50,000 Nepalis in the UK but Gurung is yet to come across a single one on the pitch, although fellow British-born player Kiban Rai, also a Gurkha, became the first player of Nepalese origin to sign a contract professional i. the EFL having progressed through the ranks in League Two Newport.
Gurung has international ambitions and has been in touch with Nepalese football authorities but is yet to commit. At the moment it is not possible to be a dual national but that could change this year. “I am extremely proud to represent Nepali people and young people, like my cousins, who look up to me as a role model, seeing that it is not the normal path one might take in our culture,” says Gurung. “I try to show them that you continue to do whatever you love.”
According to Gurung, who has A-levels in maths and economics, parents in South Asian families often do not see a career in football. “My parents – and my whole family – were amazing,” he says. “They see the amount of work I put into it, how much it means to me, and when they see their kid they think: ‘How can we take football away from him?’ They have tried to encourage and support me in every way they can to help my career. At the same time, they told me during GCSEs and scholarship times at Crystal Palace to always have a back-up plan.”
Gurung started his youth career with Maidstone before joining Palace. When Palace released him he left for Scandinavia to play in the lower leagues in Norway and Sweden over two seasons to help develop as a full-time professional on a circuitous route back to his hometown.
Maidstone are the lowest remaining club in the FA Cup. They sit fourth in the National League South under the guidance of former Wolves defender George Elokobi, who knows what it’s like to progress from non-league, having started his playing career with Dulwich Hamlet before n -it will rise to the Premier League. Elokobi is in his first managerial role and Gurung needs a bit of luck and help to progress to this tie.
“I saw my number go up against Barrow, I was clapping for the fans and walking over to the bench, then suddenly our attack Sol [Wanjau-Smith] He was struggling with his ankle, so I stayed on the field,” says Gurung. “He was lucky; everything was aligned for me to have that moment 10 minutes later. After the game, he [Elokobi] he was joking and laughing with me.”
Gurung is not a prolific goalscorer, who needs words of encouragement from his mother. “When I’m breaking down for a game, my parents are always in the car giving me some tips – one of the biggest is always to shoot more,” says Gurung. “If you don’t shoot, you don’t score and I took that into account, especially because I didn’t have a shot in that game.”
There is experience within the Maidstone ranks in Gavin Hoyte, who played one Premier League game for Arsenal and faced Lionel Messi with Trinidad and Tobago, Reiss Greenidge, who spent time playing in Norway, and the goalkeeper Lucas Covolan, former Brazil Under-. 20 international. It is an eclectic base for the sixth series.
Ipswich’s game is Maidstone’s seventh in the competition. It will be a difficult task against a side aiming for back-to-back promotion but Maidstone have already eliminated two EFL teams.
“No one would have expected us to reach the fourth round but we believed in the camp,” says Gurung. “There’s a real buzz going around the place. On Saturday one of the pre-match pick-up points was open and you could see people queuing to buy their tickets for the Ipswich game – the queue never seemed to stop. The support was surreal. Our away section sold out within a few hours, which shows that everyone is excited about it.”
There will be 4,480 in the away leg at Portman Road but there could be an extra 30 million thousands of miles away hoping Maidstone can do the unthinkable again.
