Dartford coach Martin Tyler reacts to 2-1 National League South defeat at Maidstone United

Dartford coach Martin Tyler admitted they had only themselves to blame after derby defeat at Maidstone on Tuesday night.

The Darts missed the chance to move into the top half of National League South after two goals in five second-half minutes proved decisive.

Luke Coulson’s penalty put Dartford ahead at the break but they were undone by two set-piece goals.

“A lot of good things from a Dartford point of view but what was decisive was an inability to defend two set-pieces which is pretty basic football,” bemoaned Tyler.

“We should be doing it better. A lot of the defending was good but you can’t switch off for crucial moments.

“The difference is that Maidstone, even though they made quite a few changes from their cup tie, they had that extra edge of discipline and they gave us very little in return.

“We have lost the game by our own shortcomings rather than being beaten by a football club that is obviously bubbling at the moment and congratulations to them on what they’ve done.

“We feel that we’ve thrown it away, we were in there with a good chance, we played well in the first half.”

Report: Maidstone 2-1 Dartford

Dartford twice led at Weston-super-Mare last Saturday before returning with a point after a last-gasp equaliser from the hosts.

Tyler admitted they can’t keep conceding two goals per game on the road.

“I feel that we had a chance to make a headline tonight as Maidstone have been in the news and to have beaten them would have been a nice statement,” he added.

“But it hasn’t happened. We’ve done okay but we need to get better and we’re not trying to disguise that. We can’t come away and concede two goals in every game, and that’s what we’ve been doing.

“To get three to win any match is tough, in an away match