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Hakan Hayrettin couldn’t stop smiling after Maidstone’s opening-day draw at Altrincham.
The Stones boss hailed a “wonderful day” for the club after their first game back in the National League.
A 1-1 draw was achieved despite playing the last 30 minutes with 10 men following Hady Ghandour’s dismissal.
The visitors led with Liam Brockbank’s fourth-minute own goal and saw Jack Barham’s effort in a one-on-one touched on to the post by Robins keeper Matt Gould soon after.
But with Altrincham levelling through Chris Conn-Clarke before half-time and relentless in their search for a winner after Ghandour picked up a second yellow card, the Stones showed their fighting qualities.
“I’m chuffed to bits,” said Hayrettin. “To go down to 10 men and to get a point is good - very good.
“What a wonderful day for the football club, we’re back in the National League, and we got a point, with 10 men, away from home. What could be better?
“We’ve had a couple of hundred fans come up, it’s a long way and I made sure I showed my appreciation.”
Maidstone’s performance - both the dominant opening against a strong side and the resilience they showed with 10 men - reinforced Hayrettin’s belief his side will hold their own this season.
It’s a tough division but one the National South champions will take in their stride.
“Altrincham probably moved the ball a bit quicker than we saw in our league last season, but we will be OK, I’ve got no doubt about that,” said Hayrettin.
“Why would I, or my players, or the club be intimidated by this level? We’re not here just to make the numbers up, we’re here to push.
“As I was walking off, one of their supporters said ‘relegation’, and I said, ‘see you when you come to Maidstone, we’re talk about it then’.
“They’re a very good team, with a good manager, and they played some good stuff.
“We couldn’t show everyone what we’re capable of, in an attacking sense, because we went down to 10 men, but we will only get better. I’m happy with the point.
“When you go down to 10 men, against a good footballing side, it’s always going to be tough, but I thought the players were fantastic.”
Hayrettin had a big decision to make in goal, eventually picking Yusuf Mersin over Tom Hadler.
The manager was torn who to go with but Mersin performed well, making several excellent saves.
“I’ve got to make those decisions,” said Hayrettin.
“There’s nothing between them, absolutely nothing between them.
“We’ve still got to remember we let in the least amount of goals last season, 38 goals, and we had both these lads at our disposal.
“I know we had Ryan Sandford for two or three games but both these guys did an excellent job for the football club and I thought Yus was good value today.”
