Maidstone’s win over Barrow to advance to the third round of the FA Cup was celebrated everywhere from Kent to Kathmandu. The winning goal came from Bivesh Gurung, a local lad who was born to Nepali parents, making him a hometown hero and increasing his popularity 4,500 miles away.
Gurung suffered disappointment after scoring a superb win against Stevenage when he missed the next tie through suspension, but will be back for the fourth round trip to Championship side Ipswich, who will be watched with interest in Nepal at lunchtime on Saturday.
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“When I signed for Crystal Palace as a 16-year-old, my aunt in Nepal called and said she had seen me on TV just signing for the academy – and that was just the academy,” says Gurung. The same was true for the FA Cup: they [my family] They kept saying that they saw my face on TV screens and that I was the talk of the town. “It’s all a little surreal, but surprising at the same time.”
Gurung’s family settled in Kent after his father served as a Gurkha in the British army. An estimated 50,000 Nepalis are in the UK, but Gurung has yet to encounter any of them in the field; yet his fellow British-born Kiban Rai, also the son of a Gurkha, became the first player of Nepali origin to sign a professional contract. After progressing through the ranks in the EFL, League Two Newport.
Gurung has international ambitions and is in contact with Nepalese football authorities but has yet to make that connection. It is not currently possible to become a dual citizen, but this may change this year. “I feel really proud to represent the people of Nepal and young people like my cousins who look up to me as a role model, because I see that this is not the traditional path for someone to follow in our culture,” Gurung says. “I try to show them that you follow what you love to do.”
According to Gurung, who has an A level in mathematics and economics, parents from Southeast Asian families often do not see a career in football. “My parents and the whole family were amazing,” she says. “They see how much effort I put into this, how important it is to me, and when they see their children, they think: ‘How can we take football away from him?’ They tried to encourage and support me in any way they could to help my career. They also told me that during GCSE and scholarship periods at Crystal Palace you should always have a back-up plan.
Gurung started his youth career at Maidstone before joining Palace. When he was released by Palace, he traveled to Scandinavia to play in the lower tiers of Norway and Sweden for two seasons to help his development as a full-time professional on his way back home.
Maidstone are the lowest team remaining in the FA Cup. They sit fourth in the National League South under the guidance of former Wolves defender George Elokobi, who started his playing career at Dulwich Hamlet before promotion to the Premier League and knows what it’s like to progress outside the league. Elokobi is in his first managerial role and needed some luck and help from Gurung to progress into this tie.
“I saw my number coming up against Barrow, I was applauding the fans and walking towards the bench, then suddenly our striker Sol [Wanjau-Smith] He was struggling with his ankle, so I stayed on the field,” says Gurung. “He was lucky; Everything was arranged so that I could experience that moment in 10 minutes. After the match he [Elokobi] He was buzzing and laughing with me.
Gurung is not a prolific scorer and needs words of encouragement from his mother. “My family always gives me some tips in the car when I get dropped off for a match; one of the most important is always to shoot more,” Gurung says. “If you don’t shoot, you don’t score and I kept that in mind, especially in that game I didn’t shoot.”
There is experience in Maidstone’s ranks such as Gavin Hoyte, who played one Premier League game for Arsenal and came face to face with Lionel Messi for Trinidad and Tobago, Reiss Greenidge, who played for Norway, and former Brazil National Team goalkeeper Lucas Covolan. 20 international. An eclectic bunch for a sixth-tier side.
The Ipswich match was Maidstone’s seventh match of the tournament. It will be a difficult task against a side aiming for back-to-back promotion but Maidstone have already eliminated two EFL teams.
“Nobody expected us to make it to the fourth round, but we believed in the camp,” says Gurung. “There’s real excitement around. One of the pre-match gathering points on the Saturday was the ground and you could see all the people queuing to buy tickets for the Ipswich game; the queue didn’t seem to stop. The support was surreal. Our away section sold out within a few hours which meant everyone was really excited about it It shows that it is.”
There will be 4,480 people at the away end of Portman Road but potentially another 30 million thousands of miles away We hope Maidstone can do the unthinkable again.