George Elokobi said Maidstone players were bored without a game last weekend - and they made Dagenham pay.

Stones boss Elokobi saw his side break their run of four defeats with a 2-1 away win in National League South on Saturday.

Teo Kurtaran’s second-half wonder strike earned the points after an own goal from Daggers defender Corey Panter was cancelled out by Ashley Hemmings just before half-time.

Elokobi was keen to get the work-rest balance right during United’s break from competitive action.

They put in the hours on the training ground but the manager insisted they took last weekend off to ensure they were fresh for an important league fixture.

“The players have been working exceptionally well,” said Elokobi.

“They’ve been putting their bodies on the line in terms of being physically ready but also technically and tactically ready.

“They’ve been good as gold and, to be honest, they were bored last week because we gave them the weekend off.

“They wanted to play an in-house game and we told them no, save your energy for us to carry on working during the week.

“It gave us the chance to have the right balance, with the training sessions and making sure they’re ready, but not just that, psychologically, they’re coming to a tough place.

“We needed to win and they wanted that and you could see that in the performance from everyone.

“It was a complete team performance and there were outstanding individual performances from the group.”

Maidstone had gone nearly 400 minutes without a goal before Antony Papadopoulos’ cross was turned into his own net by Panter for a deserved lead.

And while the Daggers levelled, Kurtaran’s 25-yard strike was worthy of winning any game.

Elokobi, whose side have climbed to 14th after a first win in six league games, said: “We know what the boys can do as a group and when we play as a team, and dig really deep for one another and follow the game plan.

“I thought the boys were outstanding.

“There were some magnificent performances and, as a team, we were the better side from start to finish.

“There was a lot of character in terms of how we went about the game plan in difficult conditions.

“It’s not easy with the wind but the boys showed so much quality on the ball and off it.

“Dagenham are a good side and, coming to places like this, we have to make sure we are courageous and brave on the ball.

“Because of the conditions, we didn’t want to play high balls because it’s just going to play into Dagenham’s strengths, and the boys nullified those strengths.

“We saw a lot of patterns that we’ve been working on for the last two weeks and then it’s all about can we put that ball in the back of the net when we haven’t scored for four games?

Report: Dagenham 1-2 Maidstone

“The boys have not been short of confidence, we’ve been working behind closed doors, they’ve been excellent in training in terms of the habits, their behaviours and we’ve seen lots of goals in training.

“We just wanted to recreate that in front of our crowd and the boys gave them something to cheer today.”

There was controversy in first-half stoppage time when Dagenham forward Donovan Wilson, clean through on goal, went down under challenge from goalkeeper Nathan Harness.

The hosts were convinced they should have had a penalty but referee Tom Ellsmore waved away their appeals.

Elokobi agreed with the decision.

“I didn’t think it was a penalty,” said the Stones boss.

“He’s kicked the ball and then gone over Harness’ hands.

“I don’t think there’s any contact there, so I think the right call was made.

“If they want a penalty, it should have been a penalty for us on David Sesay in the first half.”

Maidstone were missing skipper Sam Corne through a dead leg suffered in training on Thursday, while George Fowler came off at half-time with an ankle injury.

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