It's a general rule that luck needs to be on your side to cause an FA Cup upset and Ian Allinson believes fortune deserted his side against Boreham Wood on Saturday.

St Albans City went down to a 3-1 defeat to their local rivals at Clarence Park as they were knocked out in the fourth qualifying round of football’s oldest club knockout competition.

The Saints boss felt City were unfortunate to concede a 13th minute penalty and felt there was a foul in the build-up to the Wood’s second.

The goals left City facing a 2-0 deficit at the break - a mountain Allinson accepts was always going to be a challenge to climb.

“Unfortunately [refereeing decisions] led to two goals and that was probably the difference in the first half,” Allinson said.

“You do rely on decisions to go your way and unfortunately we didn’t get then today and it led to them being 2-0 up at half-time.

“We didn’t get the decisions and that is tough to take at times and is frustrating. You can’t express your opinions about those decisions because all that happens is you get reported to the FA.”

If Allinson had issues with the first two Wood goals, he could have little complaint about the third as Bruno Andrade races clear and rounded Dean Snedeker to finish smartly.

The third goal came with four minutes of the second period played and effectively ended the game as a contest.

Zane Banton hit back for City with 66 minutes played as he fired home from the centre of the box.

The goal was no less than City deserved for a committed performance, but Allinson ultimately felt the Wood’s greater experience told.

“If we had got the second goal with seven or eight minutes to go, who knows what would have happened,” he said.

“Boreham Wood have a lot of experience in their side and saw the game out really well, kept the ball and made it difficult focus. In the end, they deserved to win the game.”

For Allinson, the defeat carried an extra significance as it came against a club he managed for two separate spells. most recently between 2008-2015.

He enjoyed a prosperous spell with the Meadow Park club, but was the subject of some unsavoury chants from the away end on Saturday.

The 60-year-old was disappointed by the manner in which some Wood fans opted to voice their opinion, but accepted it is part and parcel of football management.

“That is football at the end of the day and I know what I did there. There club are where they are because of the work we did with the chairman,” he said.

“At the end of the day, they are going to taunt me for being manager of St Albans and I have to live with things like that.

“I can’t do anything about it if that is how supporters want to behave, but I have a bit more respect than that.”

With their FA Cup commitments over for another season, City’s focus turns back to the National League South on Saturday.

They face a trip to Hungerford on Saturday, which starts a busy week for the club.

The Hungerford match is followed by and away days at Hampton and Hadley.