“Proper defending” was the key to St Albans City’s victory over Bath City says Saints boss Ian Allinson.

Goals from Rhys Murrell-Williamson and Charlie Walker saw the West Country club’s visit to Clarence Park end in a 2-0 defeat but it was the nil that pleased Allinson the most.

He said: “We looked comfortable and I felt we controlled the game for long periods and the lead-up to the first goal was outstanding. There must have been close to 15 passes.

“It was just what we wanted before half-time and although I expected the backlash in the second half, I thought we showed a lot of resolve and defended properly.

“I thought the back four were outstanding and the two centre halves had a great game between them but it was a good team performance and from the front to the back, we defended really well.

“It was good to come away with the win and now we can plan and prepare for next week.”

The victory in front of season high crowd of 1,510 pushed Saints up to second in the Vanarama National League South and by the end they could have had more than just the two goals, spurning a number of chances, especially late on.

“That’s the story of our season,” admitted Allinson. “We haven’t punished teams; we haven’t put them to the sword like we did last year.

“We haven’t got the same personnel but we’ve got players who are doing things slightly different off the ball and are creating plenty of chances.

“We just need to put them to bed better.”

There was one new player in the City ranks, Luke Joyce-Dwarika who most recently played for Etoile Carouge in the fourth tier of Swiss football.

Allinson said: “Luke has been with us for about five or six weeks now but we’ve just been waiting for international clearance.

“He’s been training with us and he’s looked sharp and bright, he just hasn’t played much so we’ll have to be careful with the boy.

“But he’s got blistering pace, probably one of the quickest we’ve got at the club.

“So he’ll be a great addition to the club and is perfect for coming off the bench. Someone with his pace can cause problems for teams.”