Faversham boss Ray Turner praises his team’s character after their FA Cup win over Tonbridge on Saturday.

The Lilywhites were humbled 3-0 at home by Herne Bay in Bostik South on Bank Holiday Monday but bounced back just five days later to knock out higher-league Tonbridge in an entertaining Kent derby.

“You wouldn’t have put us down (for a giantkilling) after the Bank Holiday we had,” admitted Turner.

“We were particularly bad, we needed a response and we got one.

“It was a fantastic game, a big crowd and it’s a nice feeling. The boys really stood up and showed what they are all about.

“I just wanted a response. If you look at it on paper we’ve had pretty much the hardest draw we could get with teams around us and below us still in the competition.

“When you look at it on a professional basis it was a really tough ask but when you get a performance and result like that you hopefully take that into the league programme.”

Turner praised two-goal Mark Lovell who returned from injury with a brace inside the opening half-hour, along with Danny Walder – who set up all three Faversham goals, most notably a stunning 70-yard pass for Lovell’s second strike.

“Danny Walder has set them all up so he deserves some credit,” said Turner. “He was excellent.

Read the match report from Faversham's FA Cup win here

“There’s a lot of debate about long balls but when you see a pass like that, it has split the defence completely. (Lovell) has not broken stride, he has run onto it and put it in the corner with the outside of his foot. When you see passes like that they are top drawer.”

On Lovell’s return to the side, Turner added: “What it shows is that you miss someone who is clinical in front of goal so it’s a welcome return.

“We needed that experience. We’ve had to manage him for a while.

“It’s easy for a manager to think short term because you need him out on the pitch but we need him right. He might suffer a bit on Sunday but he’s got a free week now.

“We needed that bit of experience and those players are important for how we’re going to do this season.”