Goalkeeper Ryan Sandford says Maidstone must move on quickly from their heavy defeat at Eastleigh as they prepare for a bottom-four scrap.

The Stones were 2-1 up on Tuesday night until skipper Gavin Hoyte was harshly sent off after conceding a penalty, and went on to lose 5-2.

But with a trip to Scunthorpe coming up this Saturday (3pm), Millwall loanee Sandford says Maidstone can’t afford to dwell on what happened.

“It’s tough to take but we’ve got to move on as quickly as possible,” he said.

“A result like that should hurt all of us, and it does, but there’s no point dwelling on it.

“You don’t want to come to places like Eastleigh and get results like that but if you let it play on your mind, ultimately it will affect your performance on Saturday.

“We have to put it to the back of our minds, focus on the next game and move on quickly.

“Football changes all the time. We’ve lost here but if go to Scunthorpe and get a result, everyone’s morale is back up, and then we might win the next game.

“In two or three results, football changes all the time.

“We’ve got a big game on Saturday and we’ve got to do the right things and hopefully get a result.”

Sandford had the perfect view of the incident leading to Hoyte’s dismissal and felt referee Sam Mulhall got it wrong.

Down to 10 men, it was a tough evening.

“I thought we looked the better side in the first half, we were winning the game and I’m thinking, ‘This is going well’,” said Sandford.

“The penalty has changed the game, we’ve gone down to 10 men and Eastleigh moved the ball really well.

“I don’t think it’s a red card. I don’t think it’s a clear goalscoring opportunity.

“The ball’s wide, the ref’s probably made the wrong decision to send Gav off and it’s changed the game massively.

“They score the penalty, their tails are up and they score again quickly.

“Before you know it, you’re penned in and you’re trying to defend, defend, defend, and it’s hard to get out.”

Sandford has played the last three games since rejoining Maidstone on loan from Millwall.

That’s the same number of appearances he reached last season before an ankle injury curtailed his stay.

He jumped at the chance to return to the Gallagher.

“I’ve really enjoyed being back,” said Sandford, who made several fine saves to prevent a heavier defeat at Eastleigh.

“I loved it last year. It was annoying to get injured when I did and I always thought I’d love to come back.

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"I love the club, the fans are brilliant, the manager’s brilliant and the lads are brilliant, so when it came up, I couldn’t wait to come back.

“When I went back to Millwall last year, I kept an eye on results and I was buzzing to see the lads winning every week.

“It’s a massive club and it’s back where it should be in the National League.

“I was so pleased to see them win the league, because that is not an easy thing to do.

“Hopefully, we can kick on and get some results in this league.

“I just think it’s generally a tougher league. Things you might get away with last season, you get punished this season. Teams are very clinical.”