Hakan Hayrettin was hurting after Maidstone’s FA Cup defeat by Kent rivals Dartford.

Hayrettin felt Darts deserved to win but the manner of United’s third qualifying round exit got to the Stones boss.

Mistakes were punished by a clinical away side while the Stones lacked their usual spark in attack.

“This defeat’s hurt me more than what most people think,” said Hayrettin, following the 3-0 home loss.

“I don’t like losing at the best of times but losing the way we lost (hurts me) because it’s out of character for the team.

“We pride ourselves on doing things the right way and that’s what’s hurt me most of all.

“I can’t wait to play again, it’s highlighted to me a few things but we’ll go again.”

Hayrettin wasn’t convinced Darts should have been awarded the free-kick that led to Noor Husin’s opener towards the end of the first half.

He felt the other goals were avoidable but praised the visitors’ finishing.

He said: “We had a lot of the ball but we didn’t hurt them as much as I thought we could have done and that’s because our players maybe some of them didn’t perform to their capabilities but that’s normal, we accept that with dignity and we go again.

“It doesn’t mean we’ve become a bad team overnight but we’ve made some bad errors at the back there which cost us.

“We didn’t move the ball quick enough in the final third to hurt them and that’s my honest opinion, and well done to them, because they did that to us, they hurt us, and we should have done that to them.

“Even in the second half we’ve enough of the ball but we just didn’t get going today, not because they were better than us, but we didn’t do the right things in the right areas to hurt them and when we did, the keeper’s made a couple of good saves.”

Just two points separate Dartford and Maidstone at the top of National South.

And while 3-0 looks a convincing defeat, Hayrettin is adamant there’s little between the sides.

“I don’t think there’s much between the teams,” he said.

“Listen, we’ve got some good players here who can turn up and win you a game of football and we need to keep practising and reminding them what’s required.

“They don’t have to like me, they don’t have to be my mate, but we’ve got to get the job done, haven’t we? And we didn’t today.

“It’s a yardstick but it’s not a league game, there’s a long way to go in the league and we need to regroup and go again.

“I just said to them, this isn’t the time for me to go ranting an raving because they don’t deserve that. What they deserve is to be reminded of what’s required.”

• Report: Maidstone 0-3 Dartford

• 'A proper away performance'

Read more: The latest sports news in Kent