Hakan Hayrettin took responsibility for Maidstone’s defeat by Eastbourne.

Boss Hayrettin questioned his decision to switch formation as the Stones lost their unbeaten record in National South.

They remain second after eight games but have fallen five points behind leaders Dartford after a 2-0 home defeat.

Maidstone were denied by the woodwork three times in the first half, with the visitors scoring twice after the break.

“We should have been in front in the first half and for 20 minutes in the second half we lost our discipline maybe,” said Hayrettin.

“We didn’t stick to the script and they deservedly went ahead.

“We had plenty of the ball, I don’t think we moved it quick enough in the final third to hurt them.

“Fair play to them, they stuck to their jobs and defended well but we weren’t at the races second half.

“I don’t usually do this, maybe it was down to me because I changed the formation in the game just to get a bit more of an attacking emphasis on the team.

“It worked first half, but second half it didn’t and we had to change it two or three times and then you’re chasing it.

“We’ve got to be more clinical, it’s as simple as that. We didn’t move the ball quick enough in the second half in my opinion.

“We didn’t have that clinical pass or that final shot or something like that to get a result and ultimately that’s what it’s about.

“But I’ll probably take responsibility today because I changed the formation.

“I’ll have to look at myself and ask myself did I need to change it? That’s a question I’ve got to ask myself over the weekend.

"There’s no panic here. I think the boys are more upset than me but we know we’ve got to do better, especially at home.

“Biggest crowd of the season, I think we let ourselves down. We didn’t let ourselves down last week. I think today we did.”

Hayrettin said after last week’s FA Cup exit against Dartford he was confident fans would see a different team against Eastbourne.

He could point to a dominant first half but his side unravelled after the break.

“It was a different team,” he said. “We’ve hit the post and crossbar three times, we didn’t take our chances.

“Second half, we were sloppy coming out and because of that they got the better of us. We can’t accept that.

“It wasn’t a game where anyone played particularly bad, it was a game where they stretched us a bit more, they moved the ball quicker than us, things like that.

“I’ve got to look at team selection today and and go again. We should have won this game but we didn’t take our chances first half.

“Anyone who knows me knows I tell it how it is.

“They defended deep, they defended well and when we did put the ball into areas we could hurt them, they won the first phase and the second phase, and that was the disappointing thing.”

The unbeaten record has gone and, with no game next week, Maidstone have time to work on things on the training ground.

Hayrettin said: “First thing you do when you lose is evaluate yourself and you evaluate the performance.

“If I come out here and say to our supporters we were better than them and deserved to win, I’d by lying.

“On that second-half performance, for 20 minutes they shaded it. Thereafter, it was all us but the horse has bolted by then.

“Forget Dartford last week, I don’t think that was an area of concern because it was just mistakes, but this week we didn’t move the ball quick enough to hurt them.”

• Report: Maidstone 0-2 Eastbourne

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