Striker Jay May is delighted he will be free to play for Maidstone United in their FA Cup 2nd Round tie at Wrexham this weekend.

Probably the most relieved man in the Maidstone team is May. Following his controversial dismissal in the FA Trophy defeat against AFC Sudbury, it had looked as though the striker would miss the Stones’ big day out in Wales.

But, an appeal to the FA heard last week has seen that card rescinded, and the big forward is now looking forward to the next step on the FA Cup adventure.

He told Kent Sports News, “the thought of missing Wrexham has been a bit of a cloud over my head, but then I hate missing any game. If people come in and do well, I’m going to be out of the side, and I certainly don’t want to be missing league games with where we are now.”

“I’m so pleased that the FA agreed to look at the footage and rescinded the red card. I hoped that it would be, but am so relieved that it has gone through.”

“I can’t wait for the Wrexham game now, it’s going to be another big game. It looks like a nice ground and they are sure to be a tough opposition.”

Now in his 2nd spell with Maidstone, 28-year old May believes that this current club is very different to the one he joined at the end of the 2010/11 season.

He said that it is “a totally different club now. No disrespect to where the club was at Ashford, but we were struggling when Andy Ford brought me in, in a relegation battle.”

“When Jay (Saunders) replaced Andy, you could see the morale start to change and we started picking up a few results, almost avoiding relegation. Now you look at the ground; the fans that are coming in, the general feel of the place is different. This is a club that is going places.”

Maidstone have benefited from his understanding with Frannie Collin this season, and it was from May’s run and shot, saved by Chris Day, that Collin opened the scoring against Stevenage.

“I enjoy being the target man”, May added, “and from playing with Frannie at Tonbridge, we’ve done quite well together. We know how each other plays, and you know what he brings to a team. He’s always going to score goals, and if I can notch one or two as well, it’s all great.”

Looking back on his FA Cup memories, as a lifelong Liverpool fan, May was quick to select the 2006 Cup Final at Cardiff with West Ham, as being a highlight. But from the current run, his thoughts turned to the events in the First Round Replay, explaining “the game here against Stevenage has to run it close. At their place, it was a great day out and the fans were brilliant, but getting a result here, live on TV was something else. The noise was unbelievable.”

“Their defence had big, strong, fit lads, but I think that all over the park we gave them a run for their money. Over the two games I think we fully deserved the result. It’s nice to test yourself against League opposition, and it was a good day.”

“I really appreciate the support on the pitch, and you really notice it when we go away. Up at Stevenage, the crowd was terrific. Normally when we are away there’s a lot fewer than here at the Gallagher, but here you can get the families, the kids in and it’s a fantastic atmosphere.”

“The togetherness of this bunch is probably as good as I’ve experienced anywhere. The year I won the Ryman Premier with Billericay, we had a similar sort of dressing room with a good spirit, and that is key.”

“We weren’t the best footballing side then, but we had a way of winning games, and I see the same spirit in the dressing room here.”