Maidstone United manager Craig Fagan’s reaction after National League South leaders see five-match winning streak end with 2-1 defeat at Braintree Town

Craig Fagan felt Maidstone’s status as National League South leaders gave Braintree added motivation to beat them.

The Stones saw their five-match winning streak halted as a fired-up home side, starting the day just outside the bottom four, won 2-1.

Fagan’s men remain top, despite the defeat, sitting two points clear of Weston-super-Mare, who moved above Dagenham into second spot.

But while it’s nice to be up there, Maidstone have a target on their backs, as boss Fagan knows only too well.

He said: “At the end of the day, we lost the game and well done to Braintree. They were more combative, they wanted it more.

“It’s a team that’s fighting for their lives, a team that’s buoyed to prove people wrong, playing against a team that’s top of the league, and I said this to the players. I said it’s motivation for everybody.

“When we were younger, when I was playing against the big teams in the Premier League, it was, ‘Right, let’s show these today’. It’s just natural. It’s human nature.

“People gain that extra yard, they try harder. It’s just the way it is. We need to match that and we didn’t do so. Fair play to them but we need to do better ourselves.”

Report: Braintree 2-1 Maidstone

All the goals came in the second half, with Alfie Matthews’ double - his second a penalty - giving Braintree a 2-0 lead before Tom Leahy converted an injury-time spot-kick for Maidstone.

But the tone was set for Fagan in a disappointing first half against a home team who battled for everything.

“I just don’t think we started the game how I wanted us to,” said Fagan.

“Myself and Rob (Tuvey, assistant manager) watched their last three or four games, so we knew what it was going to be about. We just didn’t start.

“It could have been about Tuesday