Former K’s striker Daniel Ajakaiye helped Step 4 Hastings United dump his old club out of the FA Cup on Saturday.

The pacy forward, who departed to the south coast in the summer in search of first-team football, opened the scoring in the 16th minute, nimbly turning Sean Francis before slotting the ball past Rob Tolfrey for his tenth goal of the season.

The away team did manage an equaliser within five minutes. Manolis Gogonas surged forward to blast home his first competitive goal for the club from the edge of the box after Greg Cundle's shot was blocked.

But more poor defending allowed Hastings, top of the Bostik League South East, another lead before half-time, this time the failure to adequately clear a corner allowed Sinn'kaye Christie to put the hosts back in front. For all Ks' huffing and puffing - and two disallowed goals - a second-half equaliser proved elusive.

Defeat in the First Qualifying Round cost Kingstonian £6000 in prize money but the impact on the season may extended further than lost revenue as manager Leigh Dynan comes under renewed pressure.

“Teams go through spells,” Dynan said of his side’s sixth defeat of the season. “Whether it’s the middle of the season, end of the season, over the Christmas period when there’s too many games, there are spells so I just have to put it down to that. These boys haven’t lost their quality overnight. I’m really really annoyed with the result but the performance was there to see. There’s nothing more I can do when we’re creating that many chances.”

K’s arrived for the game with only one outfield substitute, a decision which Dynan defended. “I could easily have brought in another 10 players this week, easily, but at the end of the day, I’ve got a couple of long-term injuries, but the other two will be available for next Saturday. So I know it’s the FA Cup and it’s a hard pill to swallow but I wasn’t going to bring more players in”.

K’s host Bishop’s Stortford at King George’s Field this Saturday.