"It just completely changes the entire game," says Lakeland on Harris' red card in defeat at Wealdstone

The striker was given a straight red card for a high footed challenge after a quarter of an hour, with the score at 0-0, after Jamie Cooke had missed an earlier penalty.

"I felt it was unneccessary for him to dismiss him," Lakeland said.

"The game's then completely different to what it was and I think the game's worse for it.

"He's made a genuine attempt to play the ball, the lad's put his head there to win the ball but it's completely spun the game because I felt we started the better team.

"We missed a penalty, which is unbelievably disappointing, and it just completely changes the entire game.

"It's hard enough coming away from home in this league when it's 11 v 11 but when you've got to play 80 minutes with ten, it's incredibly difficult.

"And then on top of that, we're pretty much a new team, but I thought we showed tremendous character and grit, resilience, willingness to work and stay in the game.

"And I'm disappointed for the players that we haven't got something out of it because I absolutely felt we deserved some kind of result, and that's really frustrating."

On whether he would appeal the red card, Lakeland said: "I'll have a look at it first and if we feel like there's any point in appealing it, then we will.

"But my experience of doing that previously, it's just a waste of time so probably not."

Lakeland felt his side would have won the game had they kept 11 men on the pitch.

"We started well, we spoke about our press, we spoke about the risks they take building out from the back, we've won a penalty as a consequence of that," he said.

"We started the game pretty brightly generally.

"We'll never know whether we'd have won it but I was very confident in us coming here, the players have been brilliant all week, responded really well to a difficult result last weekend.

"And started the game incredibly well but then you get a man sent-off and it makes the game all that more difficult.

"But we found a way to come back, get back into it, great for David Kawa to get his first goal for us.

"I'm disappointed with their goal really, we've not moved up to the ball quickly enough.

"But massive credit to the players for sticking at it and keeping going right to the end.

"The supporters stayed behind and clapped them off the pitch, Ithink they recognised that this team have put a right shift in for one another and the fans and we're just disappointed that they're travelling home again with nothing to show for it."

On Cooke's missed penalty, Lakeland said: "I watched Cookie and Will take ten penalties each yesterday in training and I think they scored every one.

"It's the way it is for us at the minute, we're not getting those breaks, that bit of luck you need.

"But if you're getting a free shot from 12 yards, you have to be capitalising on those moments.

"That's two in two games. We should have had four, but not a lot of referees are brave enough to give two in the same game.

"But we'll be changing the taker now."

Substitute David Kawa came off the bench in the first-half and went on to equalise.

"We were 1-0 down and down to ten men but I still felt we could stay in the game and frustrate them, make it hard for them to play through our shape, force them to go round us," said Lakeland, who confirmed defender Dylan Crowe missed the game with a groin injury.

"But they're very open and expansive and I felt getting another striker on the pitch, one, I wanted the players to see that despite us being down to ten men, I still wanted us to try and be positive and there was still an opportunity to get a result, there was a long way to go in the game.

"I felt that by putting a second striker up there, albeit they were playing in a low block, I felt it would give us those release passes and those opportunities to get up the pitch.

"We tried to be brave and bold, even when we were down to ten men, but we've just nothing to show for it, which is frustrating.

"It's taken a centre-half from 30 yards to win the game for them, which is frustrating."

Lakeland said Kawa should also have earned Town a second-half penalty.

"100 per cent, yeah. How that's not a penalty, I'll never know," he said.

"Really disappointed with Peter's performance, really disappointed. It's a difficult job, but that's a stonewall penalty, and it's got to be given.

"And that's at 2-1. It's quite deep in the game and it would have been deserved.

"Obviously you've still got to step up and score it, which we're not doing a great job of at the minute, but yeah, it's a penalty all day long."