Dartford boss Tony Burman felt his side should have held on to beat Grimsby on Saturday.

Tom Bradbrook put the Darts in front at Princes Park and, thanks to some excellent defensive play, they still led the Vanarama Conference clash with seven minutes left.

But then Lenell John-Lewis snapped up a loose ball, ran into the Dartford box and was fouled by Nathan Collier - who was sent off. John-Lewis scored the penalty to earn Grimsby a 1-1 draw.

Burman said: "I think we should have kept the three points. We went a goal up and we’ve been punished for a mistake. It’s a bitter pill to swallow but I can’t fault the effort, the way the guys played.

"We maybe got a bit tired later on in the second half. We should have controlled the game a little bit better.

"It looked like it (was a red card) from where we were.

"The deflection from the clearance could have gone anywhere and it’s ended up with their player. We got caught flat-footed, even with the mistake. Nathan’s done what he’s done and if it’s a foul, it’s a foul. The referee’s seen it and there’s nothing we can do about it."

Burman also felt Ryan Hayes was fortunate to stay on the pitch after kicking out at Grimsby's Carl Magnay. Hayes, who came on for the injured Lee Burns and was later taken off, tripped Magnay unnecessarily as he was shielding the ball out for a goal kick.

"I’m not sure why he did it," Burman said. "You’d have to ask Ryan.

"I think he was really, really lucky with the way the referee was pulling cards out. I thought it could have been a red. It’s just a reaction that’s happened and it’s not right."

Dartford remain 18th in the table ahead of Tuesday's trip to Bristol Rovers.