Jack Steventon’s decision to rejoin Sittingbourne has been vindicated.

Steventon was named man-of-the-match as the Brickies upset Salisbury 2-1 in the FA Trophy fourth round on Saturday.

He also finds himself part of a side fighting for the Isthmian South East title.

The defender started the campaign at Hythe but eventually followed ex-Cannons team-mate Liam Smith to Sittingbourne.

“I’ll be honest, it’s a complete turnaround from how my season started,” said Steventon.

“I was at Hythe for two or three years and when the opportunity came up to come here, there was no way I could turn it down.

“It was too good an opportunity.

“I spoke to Liam who said how strong the squad was, how good the management team are, and it’s the best thing I’ve done.”

Sittingbourne, then managed by Nick Davis, gave Steventon his break in senior football as a teenager in 2016.

He returned after a spell at Faversham but was on the move again, this time joining Herne Bay.

If Brickies fans weren’t happy at the time, he’s restored his relationship with them in his latest spell.

“I was 17/18 when I was first here,” said Steventon.

“It was my first year of men’s football and I left a couple of times. I was very young.

“Looking back, it wasn’t the right decision. I do regret that.

“The fans weren’t too happy with me when I left but I’m glad we’ve put that behind us. They’re absolutely amazing.

“We play for them and they get us over the line.”

Steventon excelled at centre-half alongside Chris Arthur in Sittingbourne’s Trophy win over Salisbury.

The visitors, who play two levels above Sittingbourne in National League South, came on strong after falling behind to Richie Hamill’s early second-half strike.

But the Brickies defended magnificently before killing off the tie with Henry Sinai’s goal.

Salisbury scored a penalty deep into added time but it was Sittingbourne’s day, setting up a fifth-round tie at ex-Football League club Southend next month.

“It’s amazing,” said Steventon.

“It’s what we play for here and it’s what we’ve set out to do.

“It’s why people come here, to try and win the league, but to get as far as we can in competitions like this.

“We’re absolutely buzzing. I can’t believe it. To beat two teams two steps above us, it’s amazing.

“I didn’t actually feel I played that well.

“But the one thing I spoke to Liam Smith about was winning headers and I think we controlled them that way.

“We dominated everything in the air and physically we matched them and were stronger than them. That was a massive thing.

“They couldn’t bully us and we took the game to them.

“We’re not scared of anyone.

“We showed so much heart out there.

“I say this every week - I don’t think anyone can stop our forwards.

“As a defender, we just do our job, defend, win our headers and we can try and control the game from there.

“Big props to our forwards, they’re amazing and they’re going to get us far.”