Jay Saunders felt it was Maidstone’s destiny to beat Ebbsfleet in the play-off final.

Stones will be playing in the National League next season after a stunning penalty shoot-out victory at Stonebridge Road on Saturday.

Maidstone looked out of it when they trailed 2-1 to a pair of Danny Kedwell penalties but Dumebi Dumaka equalised in the last minute of extra-time.

Kedwell then saw the final spot-kick saved by Lee Worgan as Maidstone won the shoot-out 4-3 to clinch a third promotion in four years.

Boss Saunders said: “It’s still a bit surreal and what we’ve achieved is unbelievable.

“I’m gutted for Daryl McMahon and Ebbsfleet because I’ve got a lot of time for him.

“He’s done a great job here and when they just missed out on the league title like they did, it must be a sickening way to lose it.

“But when it went 2-2 and then penalties I just thought it was going to be our day.

“I just think sometimes in football you get that bit of luck, that bit of destiny if you like, and when I saw it was Kedwell coming up for the last one - I feel for Keds because he’s a great player - I just felt his third penalty might be difficult."

Kedwell gave Fleet an early lead, Bobby-Joe Taylor levelled with a brilliant solo effort but McMahon’s favourites were heading for victory after Kedwell’s second penalty.

But Stones battled on and got their reward.

Saunders said: “I thought we deserved it. I felt very hard done by with the first penalty and I felt we deserved what we got. We never gave up. Even at 2-1 we kept going and full credit to them.

“If Ebbsfleet had kept the pressure on at 2-1 they’d have been all right but all of a sudden they sat off and I think it killed them. But we deserved to take it all the way.

“When we got in the huddle after extra-time I just said to them, ‘do you know what boys, whatever happens, you’ve done yourselves proud’.”