St Albans City missed the chance to return to the National League South play-off places with a defeat away to Concord Rangers - but manager Ian Allinson still had praise for his squad.

A penalty conceded in the opening minutes put them behind and although Zane Banton equalised, a winner from ex-Potters Bar Town manNana Kyei with 10 minutes to go gave the Beach Boys a 2-1 win.

Saints also had skipper Tom Bender sent off for two yellow cards prior to the winner but Allinson said the commitment of his plyers was "outstanding".

He said: "You make your own luck over the course of a season and it evens itself up but Michael Clark has made a silly challenge after two minutes and it is a blatant penalty. 

"Tom Bender then got two silly yellow cards within three minutes of each other and they are the little things that have let us down. 

"We gave them the advantage but apart from 10 minutes in the second half, they didn’t threaten at all. 

"We’ve then had to go and chase the game. 

"I can’t ask for any more commitment from these players, they have been outstanding. 

"This has been a tough season for these boys and we were just unfortunate not to pick up all three points."

The loss was the fourth in a row with only one point gained from the last six games.

And that sequence has dropped Saints out of the play-off places and into eighth in the table, with all their games in hand now gone.

They have just eight games left to rescue something from the season.

Allinson said: "We’re in a poor run and we know that. Have we played poorly? I would say no. 

"The last five defeats have all been by the odd goal but we can improve in our decision making and in the final third."