St Albans City were reduced to 10 men inside 10 minutes at Maidenhead United but still managed to salvage a draw.

James Comley’s dismissal for an altercation with DJ Campbell left the Saints with an uphill battle to gain anything from their trip to York Road. And their task was made even harder when Dave Tarpey scored from the resulting free-kick.

Michael Malcolm levelled the game before the interval with his second goal in as many games, showing that joint managers James Gray and Graham Golds seem to have finally hit on a striker to partner John Frendo.

Reece Tison-Lascaris’s petulant kick out at James Kaloczi earned him a straight red card and levelled the playing field for the final 30 minutes. After the game, United manager Johnson Hippolyte told the Maidenhead Advertiser that Tison-Lascaris will “never play for me again”.

With 10 men on both sides, neither City nor United could create the opening to steal all three points and the game ended all square.

It was only St Albans’ third draw of the Vanarama Conference South season, the other two coming against Bromley and Hemel Hempstead.