Jay Saunders said Maidstone’s breathtaking start against Chester didn’t feel real.

Kevin Lokko, Delano Sam-Yorke and Joe Pigott gave United a three-goal lead inside 13 minutes.

Lokko scored again before half-time and while Chester rallied after the break, the Stones won 4-2.

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Boss Saunders called for a fast start after learning mid-table Chester - who normally stay overnight for away games - had made the 260-mile trip on the day.

He thought United could catch them cold and saw his players deliver some of their best football all season.

Saunders said: “It didn’t feel very real to be honest because I haven’t been in that position for a little while!

“We knew they’d travelled down on the day and we’ve been doing that every week this season.

“I was chatting to one of their players before the game and he said it’s the first time, or one of the first times, they’ve travelled on the day and it makes a difference.

“I just felt if we could start well and get on the front foot, really put them under pressure and press them high up the pitch, then we could cause them problems.

“I thought our midfield three and front three did that. They didn’t give them a minute to settle.”

Maidstone remain in the National League bottom four after Guiseley won but can take confidence from their performance.

Saunders said: “I thought the first-half performance was superb.

“Second half, it’s tough when you’re 4-0 up but first-half performance we were outstanding.

“We worked really hard, created a lot of chances and probably could have gone in a few more up.”

Chester scored a penalty seven minutes after the break and pulled another goal back midway through the half.

There were a couple of nervy moments but Maidstone continued to create chances themselves and could easily have scored more.

Saunders said: “It’s a really hard half-time team-talk because we’ve played so well first half and you want them to keep the tempo up and the intensity and it’s hard because you know in the back of the players’ minds they know really (it should be over) and they take their foot off the gas.

“No matter what you say to them, it’s hard for you to get that out of them but I felt we were well worth the three points.

“I think what it does is give everyone a lift round the club.

“We’ve not been able to take our chances at home and we’ve not been scoring enough goals so you could see the atmosphere.

“Everyone was more happy, there was a buzz around the place.

“It was important we got that win and we’ve managed to do that.”

Read the match report from Maidstone's 4-2 win over Chester