On a chilly Tuesday evening beneath a star-studded sky Whitehawk claimed their biggest home win since March 2020 as Shaun Saunders’ side completed a comprehensive 4-0 rout of Ashford United to book their place in the next round of the Velocity Trophy.

Following the final whistle it was time for Saunders to speak to the media as his side extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches in all competitions.

“I’m buzzing. We played really well tonight [Tuesday], some really good stuff; some of the stuff we played tonight was as good as it’s been since I’ve been here. The supporters were happy so yeah, it was a good night for us.”

“We’ve got that little bit of momentum going, and we want to keep going and asking questions of our opponents. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy tonight; I told them before the game we’re going to have to be decent because they’re [Ashford] a good side. But yeah, to a man they did their jobs and I’m really pleased. I thought the support tonight was fantastic. It’s so important to us, it really is great so yeah, we’ve had a good night.”

It provided a home debut for the Hawks’ latest recruit Kai Brown to shine beneath the floodlights, and he was influential in the 10 position throughout. Speaking upon how impressive the new addition was on Tuesday, Saunders said: “Yeah, he was. He’s going to be a really good player for us. I thought he was superb tonight again, so I’m really excited. I think once he beds in properly, once he settles he’s going to be a good, good player for us.”

The Hawks are back in league action on Saturday with a jaunt to Sheppey United, before switching back to the FA Trophy the following weekend for the coastal voyage to Folkestone Invicta. Whitehawk return to The Enclosed Ground on Tuesday, October 11 by hosting Burgess Hill Town in the league, with kick-off scheduled for 7.45pm.