Jay Saunders felt Maidstone deserved something against North Ferriby - but mistakes were punished again.

Yemi Odubade had three goals ruled out for offside, Jamar Loza hit the bar and Jamie Coyle missed from a yard out in the first half alone.

But Maidstone found themselves two down at the break to Kyle Wootton’s header and a Stephen Brogan penalty - harshly awarded for handball against Vas Karagiannis after a free-kick hit the Stones wall.

Jack Paxman pulled a goal back in the second half as United lost 2-1.

Boss Saunders said: “I don’t think we deserved to lose the game if I’m honest with you.

“The amount of chances we had, we had the ball in the net three times before they’d even scored but we have lost the game and it’s very disappointing.

“First of all, I think the three offsides, I’d love to see them all again. I can’t for the life of me see all three of them offside.

“I might be proved wrong on that but the penalty decision, you won’t see many of them given but it was one of those afternoons from the officials.”

Stones remain 18th in the National League after losing to a Ferriby side whose victory moved them up a place to 22nd.

Saunders says it’s not that his side are finding the division harder than expected after two wins in 13 games - they just keep making errors.

He said: “It’s just individual mistakes. That’s what it comes down to.

"You look at the first goal, Tom Mills doesn’t need to go to ground, he goes to ground, the lad goes round him and puts a cross in and Callum Driver’s picking up the two centre forwards at the back post and you’ve got your two centre-halves not marking.

“Second goal, Callum Driver’s got no need to make that foul, he does, and gives away a free-kick in a dangerous area.

"Individual mistakes are costing us and the difference is, at this level, individual mistakes and mistakes in general you get punished for them.

“It just shows you today, you can play a team down the bottom and I knew we were in for a tough one.

“I think a lot of people thought it was a guaranteed three points but if you look at their last five or six games they’ve had some good results.

“They beat Sutton, Gateshead, us, they’ve had a couple of draws, so they’ve signed some players and they’re on a little run.”

Saunders was encouraged by Karagiannis’ performance on his return from Dulwich Hamlet.

He said: “I feel for him because he feels he’s let us down a little bit with the penalty but, as I say, I think it was very harsh.

“He’s put some great balls in there and people have got to get on the end of them.

“Coyley’s got to score from a great ball he put in.

“He added something different to us. He’s gone away, he’s looked sharp, he’s been scoring goals and he’s come back in training and looked sharp, so he did OK.”

Read the match report from Maidstone's 2-1 defeat