Wealdstone manager Gordon Bartlett has targeted a repeat of their run to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy two years ago.

The Stones reached the last-four of the competition in 2012 when they lost their two-legged tie against Newport County 3-1.

Bartlett’s side are through to the first round of the FA Trophy where they host Hayes & Yeading United this weekend and the manager has set his sights on another extended cup run.

The Stones boss said: “We got to the semi-final two years ago so we’re no strangers to success in this competition.

“We’re striving again to go as far as we possibly can.”

Wealdstone suffered an early exit in the FA Cup this season and with a reduced schedule, Bartlett would welcome more fixtures during the second half of the campaign.

He said: “We would love to have a good cup run. There has been a lack of games this year after going out of the FA Cup.

“We want to do well in the competition but having more games would also help us because I think we struggled for continuity in the opening months due to lack of games.”

The Stones lost 2-1 at United back in September but Bartlett believes they are more than capable of avenging the defeat on Saturday.

Bartlett said: “We let ourselves down last time after making two elementary mistakes so we owe it to ourselves to give a good performance and get through.”

Wealdstone’s form has improved significantly since then and the side extended their unbeaten run to five games after a 1-0 win at home to Staines Town.

A bright start from the Stones was rewarded with a goal from midfielder Daniel Brown but the hosts increasingly struggled to convince despite claiming maximum points.

Bartlett said: “Having a poor performance and a win is far better than having a good display and a defeat which we have had a few times earlier in the season. The points are imperative for us.

“We had a very good start in the first 15 minutes but then totally lost our momentum. We dropped very deep but it certainly wasn’t inentional.”

The visitors finished the match with nine men after a second booking for Chris M’Boungou and a straight red card for a kick from Bajram Pashaj.

Staines boss Marcus Gayle was also sent off for dissent but Bartlett felt the dismissals did not reflect the overall contest.

He said: “Staines responded much better than we did in the last 15 minutes.

“For a game of two sendings off it just wasn’t that type of match.”