George Elokobi had concerns from the first minute of Maidstone’s 3-2 defeat at St Albans.

The Stones boss saw a disconnect in his side which ultimately proved their downfall despite recovering from a goal down to lead 2-1 at half-time.

Elokobi tried to address their shortcomings from the touchline and during the interval but a poor performance was punished as Maidstone dropped from third to fifth in National League South.

“We got what we deserved,” said Elokobi.

“You have to analyse it as a team performance.

“The units have to be connected and I didn’t think they were today.

“From the minute the first whistle went it felt like we were on the back foot.

“We didn’t have solutions for the way they played and it’s my job to try and help the team.”

Maidstone looked like they might get away with an off-day after two goals in a minute - Kieran Gauthier’s own goal and a Matt Rush strike - overturned George Hoddle’s opener for St Albans.

But two big chances for top scorer Levi Amantchi went begging after the break and Saints substitute Shaun Jeffers levelled before Jack James scored the winner.

Elokobi, who praised keeper Lucas Covolan for keeping the visitors in the game early on, said: “We showed them visual stuff on the tactics board at half-time but nothing is achieved at half-time in any football match.

“You have to go out and roll your sleeves up.

“Yes, they’ll make substitutions and you have to be ready and make sure you perform as a group but we didn’t quite do it.

“Goals change games and if we’d taken those two chances we created early on in the second half, it’s a whole different ball game.

“You’re looking at the leaders in the team.

“Everyone that starts is a leader and anyone that comes on is a leader, so can we galvanise ourselves as a group and make sure we’re hard to beat?

“When we press, can we do it as a group and with energy and intent and purpose to win the ball back? We didn’t do that.

“We sat off them and we let them play through us.

“We knew these were their strengths and that’s how they got their second and third goals.”

Report: St Albans 3-2 Maidstone

A plus point for Elokobi - aside from Covolan’s efforts - was the performance of new signing Paul Appiah.

The defender, 21, has joined on loan from Championship leaders Leicester until the end of December and made his debut as a second-half substitute, a day after his arrival.

“He’s a good player that we’ve watched and we’ve managed to bring him on board,” said Elokobi.

“We didn’t want to start him straight away because he’s still getting used to the group but he’s a good prospect.

“I know he’s going to be a good addition and the more he gets used to our environment, the more we’ll see of him.

“We do things right at Maidstone United and our job is to make sure we find those players that will add value to our squad.

“Paul certainly does that and he’s come in for his debut and I thought he was terrific. He loves defending.

“It’s never easy when you bring a player in and a day later he’s making his debut.

“He’s a young lad who’s still getting used to how we play and he’s gone out there and given his all. I’m happy with his debut.

“Our scouting team is going to keep working and we’ll try to improve the squad in the areas we need.”