St Albans City boss Ian Allinson bemoaned his side’s first half display at Chelmsford City on Saturday as they left it late to rescue a 1-1 National League South draw.

Saints striker Louie Theophanous ended a barron run with his first goal in 14 games as he struck the equaliser with five minutes to go

Elliott Buchanan had put the Essex hosts ahead on 13 minutes, but was guilty of missing further chances which would have put his side out of sight.

Following the clash, Allinson said: “We have to earn the right to be in a game of football and we didn’t in the first half.

“They were stronger than us, quicker to the ball, better to the ball, they retained possession better than us and we struggled.”

A strong team-talk at the break brought a reaction from the Saints and further tactical chances saw a chance in fortunes.

“It took a few harsh words at half-time just to get us a little bit lively,” added Allinson.

“We changed the shape slightly in the second half which seemed to get us back in the game a little bit.

“We went a bit more attacking, we had nothing to lose, in the last 20 minutes, threw on three or four real attackers and we managed to get something out of it and could have gone on and nicked it in the last 10-15 minutes.

“It wasn’t good enough, the first 45 minutes was very poor, one of the worst we have been for a long time and we have got to improve, got to do things slightly different in terms of earning the right to win a game of football.”

Tuesday night Saints host the Southern League Premier Division’s third-placed side Hitchin Town in the Herts Charity Cup semi-final, kick-off 7.45pm.