Folkestone Invicta manager Jay Saunders on his side’s FA Cup second qualifying round victory over Maidstone United

Jay Saunders said Folkestone’s FA Cup win over Maidstone was a special night for supporters.

Invicta fans have followed their team to Margate, Ashford and now Chatham for home games in the early weeks of the season while 3G pitch works continue at Cheriton Road.

They’ve seen Folkestone make a flying start in the Isthmian Premier and on Friday night witnessed the best result yet as National League South Maidstone were beaten 2-0 in the FA Cup.

Invicta were comfortably the better side against their higher-league opponents and reached the third qualifying round courtesy of goals from Donell Thomas and Ade Yusuff.

Folkestone fans travelled in their hundreds to Chatham on Friday night and enjoyed every moment.

“Do you know what’s special?” said Saunders. “The supporters at the end.

“That sums it up when you see the players and the supporters celebrating.

“I think that’s the biggest thing I’ll take in.

“And that’s why I sent them straight back out to do their warm-down in front of them, because I thought our support was excellent tonight.

“To get that support, you have to back it up with a performance and I thought we started the game well and carried that on.

“There were a couple of little half-chances for them but, in general, I thought we were worth the win.”

Saunders had described the tie as a free hit before the game but also knew Folkestone were capable of winning.

They had a game plan, and it worked.

“The way Maidstone are, they’re very front-foot, they’re very aggressive in everything they do, and you have to deal with that, first and second balls,” said Saunders.

“We felt if we could do that, there were areas where we could hurt them.

“Obviously, they’ve conceded a few goals lately (nine in their previous three games)