Joint manager James Gray, once again, thanked the St Albans City faithful for their vocal support during the team’s 1-1 draw with Bideford on Monday.

St Albans were reduced to nine men when James Comley and John Frendo were sent off within five minutes of one another at the end of the first half with the score at 1-1. In the second period the fans sung, shouted and cheered City on to a remarkable point that looked unlikely when they faced 50 minutes with nine men against a play-off contender.

“The crowd were surperb again tonight,” said Gray in his post-match interview.

“It’s probably the loudest I’ve ever heard them; they were sucking us into [the Bideford] goal at the end of the game.”

Paul Bastock added: “The fans pulled us through the later stages of the game. The fans have been a great addition to our season and they kept us going against Bideford; they played a massive part in the result.”

The Saints have a home record to envy, having not lost a Clarence Park in the league since the 1-0 defeat to Stourbridge on September 21.

City are unbeaten in the last 10 games at home and have just one loss in last 20 league matches.

“We’re making Clarence Park a fortress,” said Gray.

“Our last results have been 5-0, 3-0 [and 1-1] so we have to keep it up but also keep our feet on the ground.”