Ryan Maxwell says Sittingbourne must find a way to beat sides who set out to frustrate them.

Bourne needed a last-minute penalty from Mitchell May to salvage a 1-1 draw at home to Three Bridges on Saturday.

The visitors led against the run of play through ex-Margate striker Noel Leighton midway through the second half.

Bridges had Tad Bromage sent off in added time, having earlier been lucky to keep 11 men on the park following a cynical handball that stopped a Brickies counter-attack by a player already on a yellow card.

Boss Maxwell felt his team could have dealt better with Three Bridges’ attempts to spoil the game.

“A bit of discipline was the order of the day,” said Maxwell.

“I said to the boys we’re going to have to be really disciplined and focused and not get sucked into these things.

“We have to be better than that and that’s the lesson learned from Saturday.

“Fair play, because we kept plugging away to the very last and got our just rewards with a last-minute penalty, but it’s two points dropped rather than a point gained.

“Certainly at home we’re finding this with teams where they’re coming here for a point.

“It’s no secret that we’re a decent side now and as people become aware of you, they’re happy to come for a point.

“It’s down to us to open the door and make sure we’re totally prepared for that and not get frustrated and start to panic.

“In the main we’ve done that to a reasonable level but this is new to some of the players I might have inherited.

“They need to get the mindset of what is required to win games that are going to be tight.

“It’s a learning curve for some of them and the ones who do already know should be guiding the other lads through it better than what they are.

“I made them fully aware of that on Saturday.

“At the end of the day, if one team want to settle for a point, it means the other team have to go out there and beat them. You’ve got to find a way to break them down.”

The responsibility of securing a draw fell on the shoulders of second-half substitute May.

And he didn’t let anybody down as Sittingbourne moved four points clear of the Isthmian South East bottom four, in 15th place.

“He wasn’t on long,” said Maxwell.

“When we got the penalty, a couple of boys wanted it but I quickly intervened and said Mitchell should have it.

“He’s quite a cool, calm and collected guy and I made sure he took it because I knew he was very capable.

“He’s the one I’d put my money on and he took it with aplomb. I’m pleased for him.”

Sittingbourne visit Littlehampton on Saturday (3pm) with Maxwell still looking over his shoulder despite an impressive record of only two defeats from his 12 games in charge.

His record includes six draws - too many for the manager’s liking.

“Until it’s mathematically impossible to get sucked into it, we’re still looking at that relegation play-off line,” said Maxwell.

“I’ve had 12 games and only lost two but we’ve drawn too many and it’s all kinds of draws.

“Saturday, for instance, was different to Sevenoaks, where we had a man sent off and were hanging on.

“Then we’ve had games where we’ve been by far the better side and not scored the second goal, like Chatham away.

“It’s something we need to address and we’ll be working on that in our two sessions this week and making sure we’re prepared for Littlehampton.

“I wouldn’t be overly shocked if they’re defensively-minded. We’ll be ready for that. There are no excuses.”

It’ll be a happy coach home if Sittingbourne get a result, with a number of Brickies fans set to travel with the team.

“We’ve got about 25 travelling with us on the coach and others going independently,” said Maxwell.

“I’m happy to have the fans on the bus. It’s another example of making sure the fans know how important they are to us.”