Matt Taylor expressed his frustrations after his 10-man Wealdstone side twice surrendered a lead to draw 2-2 with National League rivals Halifax Town on Saturday.

The Stones were pegged back just seven minutes into the second half after Sam Ashford’s penalty had given them the lead, before Micah Obiero’s tidy finish was cancelled out late on by Halifax’s Tom Pugh.

Taylor’s side were reduced to ten men in the 72nd minute when former Watford defender Adrian Mariappa was sent off for a second bookable offence, which was followed by Jaydn Mundle-Smith’s red card for dissent after the full-time whistle had blown.

"It should've been three points - that's what is so frustrating,” said the Stones boss.

"The players have given everything and not gotten what they deserved. The decisions are what have cost us, not anything my players have done on the ball.

"Off the ball, we didn't get decisions we thought we would, and we'll review that. The players have spoken after the game about how harsh they thought the decisions were."

On the red cards, Taylor pointed to his players’ passion as the reason as to why they went a man down.

"Adrian looks as though he's going to be suspended. Jaydn has also been sent off for something he said to the referee after the game, which tells you how passionate they are,” he told the club website.

"Jaydn has just gotten back to fitness and put in a monster performance; his effort was outstanding, and it shows his frustrations at the end.

"I don't know what Adrian is supposed to do other than stand still and put his arms by his side.”

Despite the late collapse, Taylor lauded the efforts of his players in an attempt to galvanise the group after another disappointing result.

"The performance was very good, especially in the first half where we dominated. The players have put in an extreme amount of effort. I don't know what more we can do to win a game of football," he added.

"The quality was there - we scored two really good goals. I thought Elliot Thorpe's delivery was excellent. Micah (Obiero) goes and finishes, and I thought we were comfortable."

After their National League Cup fixture with Southampton U-21s was called off in midweek, Taylor’s men facer a tricky test at Gateshead on Saturday (3pm).

Stones have been handed a home tie against Gosport Borough in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday week (October 12).