Sittingbourne manager Ryan Maxwell questioned whether the TV cameras got to his players after they squeezed past Lordswood in the FA Cup.

Henry Sinai scored the only goal as the Brickies won 1-0 at Martyn Grove on Saturday to reach the third qualifying round for the first time since 2013.

The tie was selected for live coverage via the BBC’s red button service and Maxwell wondered whether nerves played a part, with the Brickies not at their best.

“I think you’d have to be inhuman to not feel some kind of enjoyment, excitement, and a little bit of nerves, being on TV,” he said.

“I was trying to push them to enjoy it because life’s too short.

“You’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing or what are we doing it for?

“And it is a game of football at the end of day, albeit an important one, but that’s all it is.

“I tried to alleviate the pressure or tension but I think with the performance I’ve just witnessed, it must have still been there because that’s not us anywhere near our best.”

It was a case of job done, though, for the Brickies with Sinai meeting Richie Hammill’s second-half corner.

The objective was to get through and they await Monday lunchtime’s draw.

“I’m just pleased we got the win,” said Maxwell.

“No, we did not perform particularly well, so let’s be honest about that.

“But I’d rather have won and played average than played well and not won, so today was about the win and we got what we came for.

“We’ve had more chances than they’ve had but nothing super-clear-cut.

“We had a couple of chances in the first half where we didn’t focus on our contact and blazed over and Mitchell May should have had a tap-in at the end but there wasn’t loads in terms of chances.

“We gained most of the territory, yes, we had most of the pressure, yes.

Report: Lordswood 0-1 Sittingbourne

“I felt their only real threat was maybe from throw-ins and set-plays and, strangely, that’s where our goal came from - a set-play.

“Henry’s short but good in the air and I’m actually very lucky to have two wingers who can both head it with Henry and Troy Howard on the other side.

“It’s very rare, particularly at this level, that both of them are good in the air.

“It’s not Henry’s first headed goal from a corner this season, so I wasn’t overly surprised.

“He attacks it well, he has a knack of scoring a goal, which is great, and it’s all different types of goals we get from Henry.”

While Sinai delivered at one end, Maxwell praised the performance of captain Liam Smith at the other.

The summer signing from Hythe was equal to everything Lordswood threw at him, winning numerous headers.

“I’ve word one for Liam - colossal,” said Maxwell. “He was absolutely colossal in the air. He’s been a brilliant signing for us.

“He leads by example rather than voice, he does his job, and it was a super performance again.

“He was absolutely dominant and that’s been his level.”