Manager Sammy Moore felt Faversham were unlucky not to win their Swale derby at Sheppey on Saturday.

Michael Ademiluyi’s second-minute strike, followed by a fortunate Kieron Campbell goal, had put the Lilywhites 2-0 up in front of a crowd of 462 at Holm Park inside the first five minutes.

But the home side extended their unbeaten run to seven fixtures through Josh Wisson’s header and then equalised courtesy of a penalty by skipper Richie Hamill before a goalless second half in Isthmian South East.

Town’s boss explained midfielder Bode Anidugbe had lost Wisson for the Ites’ first goal while he was unhappy with referee Billy Woods’ decision to award the hosts a penalty for an adjudged foul by Faversham defender Darren Phillips on Sheppey player-manager Jack Midson.

Moore said: “We started well. We were on the front foot and scored a great goal from Michael.

“Then we got a little bit of help with the second one but, actually, I thought we dominated the first 20 minutes. They didn’t look like they were at the races and we started well.

“We were on the front foot, put balls in good areas and we had a bit of movement. Then we kill ourselves, really, with a free header in our box from a set-piece.

• Report: Sheppey 2-2 Faversham

“Bode has put his hand up. We’ve talked about how important set-pieces are in this league and we haven’t done our jobs so we’ve shot ourselves in the foot there.

“Then, their second one is soft. It’s never a penalty.

“We’ve watched it back on Veo [the video technology they use] and Mids has done that for 30 years. I’ve played with Mids and he’s been my assistant.

“He’s clever at how he’s gone to ground and the ref’s bought it. It’s frustrating because it’s never a penalty, but we can’t control the man in the middle.

“All we can control is my team’s performance and I thought our performance deserved three points today.”

But Town, who on Tuesday are at East Grinstead, have finally gathered some kind of momentum, earning a point to build on their midweek victory at Littlehampton.

“It’s a positive that we’re now two unbeaten - four points out of six,” said Moore, who had already set a seven-point target from the three matches. “It’s about putting points on the board.

"We’ve got another game on Tuesday where we’ll try to get another three points. If we can get another three, then it’s a great week.”

Former Football League midfielder Moore, 35, himself made a playing return against Littlehampton but failed a fitness test ahead of their clash with Sheppey.

He said: “I had a fitness test before the game, but my calf… I hadn’t played for three years [before Tuesday] so, obviously, I need to manage myself and manage the games.

"The goals don’t come down to shape or anything like that.

“It’s come down to a set-piece where somebody isn’t doing their job and, like I say, the penalty is a joke, really. It wasn’t a penalty.”

Positive results have, at least, allowed the basement boys to close the gap on those above them. They’re four points behind second-bottom Corinthian and nine adrift of rivals Sittingbourne, who are third-bottom.

Moore said: “We’re getting there and we’re only going to finish the season strongly in the last 10 games with the more we train together, the more we play together.

“We’ve got quality. Teams are going to be worried about what we’ve got. It’s just a shame we didn’t see this out today, but the boys showed character.

“They [Sheppey] had the momentum, going in at half-time, but I actually thought we started the second half really well.

“We’ll take a point, dust ourselves down and keep moving forward.”

East Grinstead, who are 16th, won 1-0 against Corinthian on Saturday ahead of their fixture against Faversham.