Eastleigh prepared for their big FA Cup tie against Halifax with a second defeat in four days.

Manager Ronnie Moore fumed after his side conceded two poor goals either side of a Mikael Mandron penalty.

He said: “One or two think they’re better than they are and that’s got to change.

“Everyone wants to beat us but we need to have the best team not just the best individual players.

“We seem to think it’s going to be easy against the so-called lesser teams.

“Too many think they can just turn up - they have to look in the mirror.”

Eastleigh trailed after only five minutes to Dan Sweeney’s near-post finish but were level after a drab first half when Mandron scored his sixth goal in seven games.

Mandron’s 48th-minute penalty, rolled down the middle of the goal after new signing Bondz N’Gala was fouled, should have been the moment the Spitfires took control of the game.

But on-loan goalkeeper Scott Brown produced two excellent saves in the next five minutes to keep Eastleigh level on Maidstone’s 3G surface.

First he denied Sweeney a second by keeping out a powerful strike and three minutes later he flicked another effort on to the post.

Eastleigh new boy Ross Stearn beat his man and delivered an excellent cross that was cleared before Mandron was denied another when the keeper got down quickly to keep out his header.

Then, just before the hour, Joe Partington gave away a penalty for a foul on former Eastleigh forward Yemi Odubade - and midfielder Bobby-Joe Taylor made no mistake.

Eastleigh midfielder Andy Drury kept his side in the game when he cleared another Sweeney effort off the line.

Conor Essam was booked for a foul on Odubade, who lobbed over the bar after Luke Coulson went close for the visitors with a cheeky 30-yarder.

Midfielder Jason Taylor fired straight at the keeper from 25 yards and from his pass sub James Constable failed to hit the target with an excellent opportunity to rescue a point.

“That was disappointing again,” said Moore, who made two changes to the team that lost 3-0 at home to Chester on Saturday, with Jamie Cureton replacing Scott Wilson and Essam coming in for the injured Reda Johnson.

“The goals we give away - the first one was unbelievable.

“We get back in it and then give away a stupid pen. You can’t legislate for that. You do all the work with your back four in training and then we go and do that.

“How we missed that chance at the end when Beano (Constable) put the ball past the post...you have to take your chances when they come but it’s not going for us in front of goal.

“It’s back to the drawing board. We’ve got a lot to work on to get a play-off spot.

“Our better players are having a wobble, which happens, but they have to give more than that. It wasn’t good enough. How many teams from the top seven come here and get beat? Not many.”

Eastleigh: Brown, Partington, N’Gala, Essam, Green, Stearn (Santos 75), Taylor, Drury, Coulson, Mandron (Constable 84), Cureton (Wilson 67). Subs not used: Pipe, Reason.

Attendance: 1,714