If Maidstone players need any inspiration before facing Boreham Wood, look no further than the club’s previous National League South play-off final.

It was nine years on Wednesday since that remarkable afternoon at Stonebridge Road when United upset Ebbsfleet in one of the all-time classic promotion deciders.

Fleet, leading 2-1 through a pair of Danny Kedwell penalties, were seconds from victory and a place in the National League, when Dumebi Dumaka equalised in added time at the end of extra time.

Jay Saunders’ side went on to win 4-3 on penalties with Lee Worgan making the decisive save from Kedwell in the shoot-out.

Maidstone gave their annual nod this week to what quickly became known as ‘Lee Worgan Day’ in recognition of their former keeper.

He was so caught up in the intensity of the shoot-out, he only realised United had won when he saw team-mates charging towards him.

“I’ve watched the clip back, weirdly, quite a lot more in the last 12 months than I have done in the previous eight years or so,” said Worgan, 41.

“When players reflect, they have a moment where that’s your pinnacle, the moment in your career you always look back on as your time, and that was definitely mine, with that group, that club, at that time.

“Moments like that, that game, that day, will always be my finest time.

“I lived off it for a few years. It was a great time and one I do look back on at times and rewatch the clips.

“It’s a special club now, and it would have been before, but for me personally and the players who were there at the time, it just felt like such a special four or five years.

“The club had moved to the new stadium and we had the promotions and there just seemed to be a lot of success in a short space of time, which culminated in reaching the National League.

“My first game was against Wealdstone and three years later we were going away to Tranmere. It was a crazy few years.”

Few gave Maidstone a chance of beating big-spending Ebbsfleet in their own backyard that May 14 afternoon in 2016.

But Fleet boss Daryl McMahon knew better than to write off Saunders’ men and his words, as Worgan later learned, proved eerily accurate given the circumstances of Maidstone’s success.

“That particular day, the odds were stacked against us,” said Worgan.

“I’ve said it before but it was a David v Goliath situation.

“Us winning it in that manner just meant so much more.

“It’s funny when you reflect back on stuff like this because information starts to come out that you didn’t know before.

“I had a chat with Daryl McMahon about it and in the changing room before the game, his words were, ‘This team, they’re not brilliant but you have to beat them, they won’t let you win the game, they won’t lie down, they’ll keep going and going’.

“It’s weird how the game finished because that’s what happened.

“We kept plugging away, kept pushing.

“I thought that summed up quite well what we were at the time, it was that culture Jay Saunders created.

“It was just Jay at the time. His management, his decisions, he got everything bang on. There was no luck in any of that.

“It was all unbelievable strategy that he managed to put into place, him and Nicky Southall (assistant manager), so hats off to them.”

Worgan sees that same togetherness in the current Maidstone squad under George Elokobi.

It’s played a huge part in beating Worthing and Eastbourne in this season’s play-offs and Boreham Wood await at Meadow Park in Sunday’s final.

The former Stones skipper, who played 247 consecutive league games in his five years at the Gallagher, knows his old side will be ready.

“When you play at a club like Maidstone, you’re already prepared to play in big occasions because every week is a big occasion,” said Worgan.

“It’ll be a difficult game because Boreham Wood have been there and done it.

“On paper, I always thought they would be the most difficult opponents.

“The teams that are going to go at each other physically are going to be these two teams, whereas I think the others are a bit more pretty, but these two have got a bit of both.

“It’ll be a brilliant encounter but I think Boreham Wood will be equally concerned about playing Maidstone as vice-versa.

“I knew Maidstone would beat Eastbourne in the semi-finals.

“I’ve got a lot of friends who went to the game and even when Eastbourne equalised and Maidstone had a player sent off, I said they’ll only need one chance.

“I think Eastbourne thought they were going to win the game.

“It was a bit like the Ebbsfleet situation, they thought they were going to win but I say this to anyone, never write Maidstone off, regardless of who’s the manager, who plays there now, there’s something special there that you can never write them off in any situation.”