Maidstone boss George Elokobi defended his players following a full-time scuffle at Hemel - accusing the hosts’ bench of trying to get Gavin Hoyte sent off.

Skipper Hoyte - unhappy at an incident on the touchline during the game - made a beeline for the dugout as the final whistle went in yesterday’s 1-1 National League South draw.

Hemel player and former Stones team-mate Reece Grant did a sterling job of keeping Hoyte away but Elokobi felt the home bench were looking to goad Hoyte into a second yellow card.

A melee involving players from both sides followed before calm was restored.

“I won’t go into details but what I will not condone is the opposition trying to disrespect my team,” said Elokobi after United extended their unbeaten run to three games despite Bivesh Gurung’s second-half red card.

“They’re forgetting they’ve got to come back to ours and I’m sending it out there - they tried to get our captain sent off on purpose and I love the fact we were together on this.

“I back my team 100% and I make this clear to the league because the game is about respect.

“We compete fairly on the pitch but once the game is finished, people - management - they need to start understanding what respect is about.

“What happened is not a good advert for the National League.

“There’s a lot of young people - female and male - that were here watching this game and that’s not how a game should finish.

“Reece Grant was a peacemaker, he was trying to get Gavin away.

“When I walked over, I saw a few of their management team were after Gavin, to try and wind him up even more, because the referee was standing there watching.

“They wanted to try and get him sent off after the final whistle and what’s the point of it?

“I’m all for being hard on the pitch but once the final whistle is gone, we’ve all got to show some respect.

“Credit to Gavin for keeping his calm and moving away from the situation but we shouldn’t be talking about this.

“We should be talking about the performance and how good our players were on the day and how much energy they put into it.”

Report: Hemel 1-1 Maidstone

Razzaq Coleman De-Graft’s first Maidstone goal - a neat finish from Devonte Aransibia’s cross - gave the visitors a second-half lead.

Joe Re levelled with a superb strike from a short corner before Gurung was sent off on 70 minutes for putting his hand in an opponent’s face.

Elokobi said: “A point, three points, they don’t come easily.

“Tactically, we got it spot on today.

“It’s good to go three games unbeaten at this stage of the season.

“We have to look at the positives. We’ve been on the road for four games now and it takes some doing.

“All credit to them. They’ve just got on with it and it’s a tough place to come and get a result.

“Down to 10 men, they’ve dug deep for each other and we’ve come away with a valuable point.

“On another day, we had the better chances and should have won it in my opinion.

“However, we take the point and move on to the next game.”

Coleman De-Graft marked his first start in style with the opener, as United’s work on the training ground paid off.

“We’ve worked all week on the tactical shape, in and out of possession, especially our three wide forwards,” said Elokobi.

“Where they needed to be based on where the ball is in terms of being effective and getting themselves into pockets of space.

“They’ve taken that on board and I’m so thrilled for him scoring his first goal. There’s many to come from Razzaq.”

Elokobi, who described Hemel’s equaliser as a great hit, said Gurung would learn from his red card.

“I’ll have a look at it and if it’s a deserved red card then it’s a lesson to him,” said the Stones boss.

“Let’s not forget, he’s still very young and he’s learning his trade, and these things do happen.

“But credit to the group because the unity in the camp, the team spirit, it’s immense and the players have stuck to the task and they’ve helped their team-mate.”