St Albans City joint manager James Gray did not hold back after seeing his side surrender an unbeaten home run that stretched back to September 21.

Without the suspended John Frendo or James Comley, City were soundly beaten 3-1 by Truro City at Clarence Park on Saturday, the first home loss in 12 games.

“We deserved what we got, which was absolutely nothing,” Gray told Saintsnet.

“At times it looked like men against boys; we rolled over and got our bellies tickled. It was a massive opportunity to pick up three points and we [perform like] that.

He added: “The way we started was appalling and then we couldn’t get going after that; too many players let us down badly.

“It’s our first defeat since September 21 but to surrender it [like we did] shows a soft underbelly. When you’re trying to get promoted you need people to roll the sleeves up and die for the cause. Sometimes you have to dig in and do something out of your comfort zone, too many didn’t do that.”

Gray went as far to say that eight or nine players were off their game, but he reserved praise for Elliot Bailey. The 18-year-old scored his second goal in two games to level the game in the 54th minute.

“It was a great finish from Ell; he was one of the shining lights,” he said.

“We’re finding a gem in Ell and when Frendo is back we will have a decent partnership.”

St Albans will look to put Saturday’s result behind them on Wednesday when they visit Corby Town.