Kingstonian coaches Graham Harper and Matt Lovett have more reason than most to get one over on Eastbourne Borough on Sunday.

Ks welcome the Conference South side to Kingsmeadow in the FA Cup third qualifying round having suffered their first home defeat of the season against Leiston on Saturday.

Lovett and Harper were in the Hampton & Richmond Borough side beaten 2-0 by the Sports in the 2008 Conference South play-off final under former manager Alan Devonshire.

It was the first of two final defeats for the Beavers that twice saw them on the brink of reaching the top flight of non-League football.

A period in his career that Lovett remembers well.

“We were the better side for 85 minutes ,and should have been a goal or two up,” he said.

“But they scored twice in the last five minutes and that was it.

“Yaks [Lawrence Yaku] missed a few chances – as he often did.

“We had a good side under Alan Devonshire and I have some excellent memories.

“We were so close to getting to the Conference Premier, but in hindsight I don’t think the club would have been able to cope at that level.

“It was probably a good thing.”

The following season Hampton again lost in heartbreaking fashion in the play-off final – going down 3-2 having lead 2-1 in the closing stages of the match with Lovett allowing one goal – from a deep cross – to loop past him into the far post.

“Looking back, I did not have my best game that night,” he said.

“It wasn’t a shocker but I could probably have done better.

“That goal was supposed to be a cross and I stepped off my line in anticipation and it ended up going over me.

“On another day it goes over, slices into the crowd or goes past the post.

“That day it went in.”

The FA Cup third qualifying round is the furthest Ks have gone in the cup for some time with former boss Alan Dowson, now at Hampton, enduring a lamentable record in the competition.

Lovett reached the first round proper with the Beavers where his side were beaten by then-League Two Dagenham & Redbridge.

Ks stand two more wins from that stage and the former Staines Town shotstopper admitted extending the run would be a welcome distraction from the league.

“It does create a good atmosphere around the club if you can get a good cup run going,” he added.

“Players just want to keep playing.

“We are not far away. If you get there you want to get an away game at a good league ground.

“We did not that time, but it was a great day and again it was a game we had chances to have done better.”