Jay Saunders praised Maidstone’s character after they fought back to draw at promotion contenders Dover.

Stones trailed to Ricky Miller’s disputed penalty at Crabble on Boxing Day but earned a point through Jamar Loza’s lovely lob.

They edged two points clear of the National League relegation zone but still dropped a place to 19.

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Manager Saunders said: “I’m pleased with that performance. I suppose if you’d offered me a point before the game, you’d take it.

“They’re obviously a side that are doing very well, we knew it would be tough but I thought for the majority we did well, we probably had the better chances.

“It was a good point and we showed good character because going a goal down with the run we’ve been on, it would have been easy to crumble. We didn’t, we kept going and I thought got a deserved point.”

Saunders felt Miller was fortunate to earn the 16-minute penalty that gave Dover the lead – going down under challenge from Tom Mills.

He added: “It was very harsh. Their players were saying it wasn’t a penalty. The ref I suppose has got to make split-second decisions and I think he’s got it wrong there.

“There was one just before the penalty, in front of the dugout, that Miller went down easy and we said to the ref about it.

“He’s bought it and fair play to him but that’s our luck at the moment as well.

“Like I say, we kept going, I thought we should have got back into the game earlier but it’s taken a very good goal from Jamar and then I thought at that point we would go on and win it and the keeper’s had to pull off some good saves.”

There seemed little on when Loza picked up possession out on the right but a stunning lob caught out Whites keeper Steve Arnold and went in off the post.

Saunders said: “The boys are giving him a bit of stick, saying he didn’t mean it.

“To be fair, it was a great finish. He’s got in the channel and I think at that point he’s got a hell of a lot to do but he’s lobbed the keeper and it couldn’t have gone anywhere else, it had go in that corner and he’s done it.

“To be fair, Jamar’s capable of that and I thought he caused them a lot of problems today.”

Read the match report from Maidstone's 1-1 draw at Dover