Folkestone Invicta manager Jay Saunders' verdict on their 1-1 National League South draw at Maidstone United

Jay Saunders enjoyed Folkestone’s derby draw at Maidstone - even if the game was a little too open for his liking at times.

Invicta’s first away match in National League South ended 1-1 at the Gallagher Stadium on Tuesday night after Adam Lovatt’s early second-half goal for the visitors was swiftly cancelled out by Ken Charles.

The Isthmian Premier champions and their hosts went toe-to-toe in a high-quality match in front of more than 2,800 fans.

“I enjoyed it, especially the first half,” said Folkestone manager Saunders, whose side were back in action after last weekend’s game at Ebbsfleet was postponed.

“I know the goals came in the second half but I thought the first half was really end-to-end, a really open game, a little bit too open for my liking at times.

“We’ve got to learn from that. Last year we outscored a lot of teams and we could go gung-ho and nine times out of 10 come out on the winning side.

“I just felt, especially in the first half, we were too open.

“I think you saw two of the best No.10s in the league in Riley Court and Donell Thomas, two really good No.10s who play it well.

“Donell caused them a few problems, Riley caused us a few problems.

“I thought we were better on the ball in the first half but not great defensively, and in the second half I thought we were better defensively but not as good on the ball.

“But when you get 1-0 up, to concede the soft goal that we did is disappointing. Honestly, I think we’ve got to see it out.

“They had better chances than that and didn’t score and the one we concede is poor from our point of view.

“You come away in this league and you expect teams to have possession and chances because they’ve got good players and they’re full-time teams.

Report: Maidstone 1-1