Manager Ben Smith spent little time dwelling on Herne Bay’s derby loss at Faversham.

Bay had beaten Town 2-0 already this month and hammered Lancing 6-1 last weekend, with hat-trick hero Zak Ansah, Rory Smith (2) and Bradley Schafer on target, but they came unstuck at Salters Lane on Tuesday.

It leaves Herne Bay sixth in Isthmian South East, just a point outside the play-offs.

But Smith wasn’t unduly concerned with the loss, ahead of another crucial match at home to fourth-placed Cray Valley this weekend.

He said: “There’s no sour grapes.

"I tell you what they battled, they fought, they deserved three points and you saw what it meant to them at the final whistle.

“That’s another mark of how far we have come as a club. It’s not that long ago Faversham wouldn’t have celebrated like that beating Herne Bay - it would have been the other way round.

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“It’s one we have just got to put to one side and move on. You can’t dwell on it.

“In the past, I have been going mad in the dressing room afterwards. But literally, the de-brief after the game was a minute - if that! It was a case of ‘Right, that’s done and let’s move onto Saturday’ basically.

“We know what we have got to do to get into the play-offs. It’s another thing going and doing it.

“But we know what we have got to do, so dwelling on a game against Faversham, which is going to have no bearing at all on the game on Saturday against Cray, won’t help us.”

Sam Bewick scored the only goal for James Collins’ men.

Smith reflected: “It was always going to be a potential banana skin, and that’s what it proved to be.

“I said to quite a few people it was one of the hardest games that we have left (this season), and it certainly was.

“We beat them 10 days before very comfortably, but I always knew it would be a different game at their place. And it proved to be a more difficult game for us.

“Were we on top in terms of possession and stuff? Yes, we were. I wouldn’t expect us not to be.

“But they scored a good early goal from distance and then we just didn’t have enough on the night to go and take a chance, or even create a chance in the end for all the play we had. Do I think they were amazing? Absolutely not.

“But I tell you what, you have got to give them credit - they were organised, they fought for every ball and what they did do was execute their game-plan brilliantly and they earned three points. Fair play to them.

“I hope they stay up and I'm sure they will.

"There’s some good people at the club and (manager) James Collins, who I get on well with."

Smith has also signed one of his players from his time in charge of Bay’s under-18s - but isn’t sure how much he’ll be available.

Midfielder Elliot Cutts, a former England Schoolboys representative, is registered with the club and may play during a spell back from the United States.

Smith explained: “We have signed someone to add to the squad.

“We don’t know when he will be available to us or how many games he will play. Elliot is a lad I had in my youth team at Herne Bay.

“He is an ex-England Schoolboy who has been playing out in America.

"He has got a scholarship out there and he has been playing to a high standard. He is back for a period of time before he signs pro for a club out there.

“Elliot will come into our squad but it relies on international clearance. We may see him, we may not see him for a month.

“But he is a very talented player and is someone who can add to us.”

Only two points separate Bay and Cray Valley ahead of Saturday’s meeting at Winch’s Field.

"Obviously a win is huge,” Smith admitted. “It’s a great opportunity for us - as it is for them.

“If you were to pick someone’s run-in, you wouldn’t pick Cray Valley’s one. You wouldn’t pick Ramsgate’s one or Haywards Heath’s one.

“So in that respect, there is less pressure on us than them I think, because they’re fighting everyone in the top area of the table.

“But as we saw on Tuesday, football is not won on paper. We are still in a good position.

“We know how many wins we need to get and it’s about going and getting them.”

Bay's match against Cray Valley could see recent arrivals Mike West and Eddie Allsopp make their home bows.