Wealdstone boss David Noble expressed his disappointment as a second-half collapse saw his side plunge back into trouble after a 4-1 loss at Altrincham on Tuesday.

Despite taking the lead through Charlie Barker and controlling large parts of the first half, the Stones seemed to lose authority and succumbed to three strikes from George Wilson, Lewis Banks, and Regan Linney, with the first coming just a couple of minutes after the second half had started.

“The first half was pretty pleasing. We took the lead and we were looking good,” Noble told the club’s website.

“To go in one-all was slightly disappointing and then a bit of a collapse after half time.

“Yes, we’ve got tired bodies, and there’s a lot of tired legs out there, but a minute into the second half - you're not tired then. There were a couple of bits that I didn’t like, but it’s difficult to really go too harsh on the boys because of the effort they’re giving me, but I think we were just a little bit tired mentally.”

Some ill-timed injuries have hampered the Stones’ chances of building any real momentum going into the last few games of the season, and Noble cited the lack of key players available as a reason for their patchy, late-season form.

“You look at tonight. We need those bodies back massively,” he added.

“We’ve missed them. Their coming back will give the boys a lift, as we are literally at our bare bones at the moment. I mean, we can see the difference in the full-time outfit tonight towards the end there.

“Not only is it the bare bones of the squad, but there’s been very little training time, and it showed in that second half.”

The errors leading to the goals conceded in the second half could have been put down to fatigue, but Noble eluded to the individual contributions from certain members of his playing squad.

“Not tracking runners and not running back hard enough. It’s disappointing, but it’s hard to be too harsh,” he said.

“We’ve got games coming, and we don’t need people down, we need them up, and it’s disappointing to see them tonight.

"You’re still tired, after all, and there’s still something to defend. We’ve got a draw at that point, and letting runners go is not good or a good sign, and it hasn’t happened many times this season under me.”

Stones have just three days to recover before a trip to relegated Oxford City on Good Friday, followed by a visit from promotion-chasing Solihull Moors to Grosvenor Vale on Bank Holiday Monday.