Farnham Town manager Paul Johnson was in a philosophical mood after his side exited the FA Cup with a 4-2 defeat at home to Sittingbourne.

Town had Jordan Stepney sent off at 1-1 for a foul, with Mitchell May scoring the resulting penalty, and Johnson admitted that was a key moment in the game.

“It didn't help the cause,” said Johnson. “In the second half we were comfortable – we looked in control. That moment changed it a little bit – a penalty and we're chasing the game. I think we got better as the game went on. Maybe it was just ten minutes too much at the end.

“If you were watching it you would have thought we had 11 and they had ten, but there was a bit of naivety on our behalf. Some of the players called upon probably didn't do themselves justice but we got sucked into their games. We know what Kent sides are like and it was exactly what we said. We got sucked in at the end and it dampened a little bit of our performance.

“Sittingbourne were physical, chirpy and kept going down all the time. Their bench were running the game – the referee was weak.

“There was no quality in the first half. It was all a bit huff and puff and 100 miles an hour, so we needed to relax on the ball and move it around a little bit, especially in the heat. I thought we did that a lot more in the second half. It’s just unfortunate the incident for the penalty and the red card.

“Both keepers didn't really have anything to do. We were better with the ball and played in their half in front of them. It's a little bit disappointing but it's not the end of the world. We showed good togetherness with ten men and were fighting for each other. We move on.”

Key player Darryl Sanders was on the bench for Saturday’s game, and Johnson was pleased with his impact off the bench.

“He felt a little bit of stiffness in his knee and we thought it wasn't a game to risk him from the start, knowing the physical side that they've got,” said Johnson. “He showed in the second half when he came on what a player he is for us. Everything came through him in the end. If he started the game it may have been different.”

Next up for Farnham is a home game against Erith Town in the FA Trophy on Saturday (3pm).