A win and a clean sheet brought a smile to the face of Ian Allinson as St Albans City won 2-0 at home to Dartford.
It brought an end to a run of four games without a win and also gave Dean Snedker and his defence their first nil since March.
The boss was especially pleased for the players, who drew praise for their attitude over the last week or so.
He said: “It was nice to get a win, that was the first thing, and the clean sheet was a bonus.
“The players have put in a shift today and they have put in a shift all week to be fair so it’s been a good 10 days in terms of improving.
“But there’s still lots to do and we spoke at half-time about our shape which wasn’t right in the first half.
“So it was pleasing to get the goal straight after with someone breaking from midfield, which was the first time we’d done that in the game.”
Solomon Sambou got that goal, only his second for the club and the first for over 12 months.
And despite his undoubted talent, goal-scoring is not something he is known for, although Allinson thinks it is something he can do.
He said: “It’s something I’ve always said to Solomon. the way he breaks from midfield, I’m surprised he hasn’t had more chances and scored goals.
“I felt the midfield were a bit flat at half-time but Solomon did it. Young Ben [Wyatt] has done a great job to slip him through and he’s finished with aplomb to be fair.
“It was something we needed to get our noses in front because chances weren’t flowing. They were few and fair between and the game was a little bit stretched.”
The last goal came at the end, a wonderfully-weighted free-kick from Khale Da Costa who has had a stop-start opening to his Saints career.
“It’ll be great for him and he’s been excellent when he has come one and played for us,” said Allinson.
“He’s got blistering pace, he does cross a good football but it’s been frustrating for him.
“He does understand that and we had a good chat in midweek about the progress he wants to make, and he wants to make it with us.
“It’s got to be a squad game though because there will be games where we need to change things around.
“Zane Banton for example has done nothing round to be fair to him. He came in and scored two goals at Weston but he hasn’t had as many opportunities as he did last year.
“But they will all get an opportunity over the next 35 weeks and if the squad sticks together, we’ve got every chance of improving.
“We’ve got to try and take this season forward.”
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