Maidstone responded to a half-time rocket to thrash Concord and stretch their unbeaten run to 11 games.

Manager Hakan Hayrettin has had nothing but praise for his side over the past few months.

But that didn’t mean he was about to go easy on them after a lacklustre first half which saw the Beachboys take a deserved lead before Joan Luque’s penalty equaliser in added time.

Hayrettin made his point and Maidstone took control in the second half, scoring four times to complete a 5-1 victory.

Christie Pattisson struck three minutes after replacing debutant Mo Bettamer and Joe Ellul gave them breathing space before a late double from Roarie Deacon.

The Stones remain second in National South, three points behind leaders Dorking.

“They were better than us in the first half,” said Hayrettin. “There was a lethargy about us.

“We’ve had them watched twice, we know the pitch is a leveller and they were right up for it and the pitch startled us a bit but that’s no excuse, we’ve still got to work hard and we feel we dropped our standards from what we’ve been used to.

“A few words were said at half-time about what I expect and they turned the tap on second half.

“I told them you’ve got to work harder. Nothing’s going to land at your feet, you’ve got to work harder.

“If you don’t work hard, they’re going to beat you. It was as simple as that.

“We spoke about mindset and being focused and disciplined after the game on Tuesday and I think first half was us being a bit leggy maybe or them startling us or us not being ready to fight as much as what we’re used to.

• Report: Concord 1-5 Maidstone

“They got the message at half-time. I didn’t hold back, I told them what I thought, what’s required of them if they want to sustain what they’ve got.

“Sustainability’s not easy, you’ve got to work. If you don’t work, at anything, you’re not going to get anything, and that was the message.”

Hayrettin had no complaints in the second half, with Maidstone a team transformed and looking more like the side who beat Ebbsfleet 4-0 in midweek.

“This is not an easy place to come,” said the Stones boss.

“Let’s just remind ourselves, they played Dartford, at Dartford, and drew, and we turned the screw second half, like we always do.

“People may say Hak’s always complimentary about other teams but how can you not be complimentary about how they played first half?

“We’re on a perch and everyone’s trying to knock us off, so my job is to make sure we’ve got to stay on that perch or stay in and around it, so we’ve got to keep pushing.

“And if they expect me to take the foot off the pedal and tell them ‘that’s OK’, it’s not.

“First half, they worked harder than us, they wanted it more than us and that message was honed in on at half-time.

“I’m unbelievably proud of the boys second half, everybody to a T followed instructions and worked hard and we got what we deserved. It could have been more.”