If St Albans City sole a victory over Bath six days earlier then the 2-1 success over East Thurrock United was armed robbery with a hint of espionage and treason – but manager Ian Allinson was full of praise for his “heroes” at the final whistle.

Saints trailed 1-0 with five minutes to go but Clovis Kamdjo equalised and then after a feisty stoppage time period that saw two players sent off, Tom Bender the City man given his marching orders, the former York City man pounced to bag the winner eight minutes after the 90 had passed.

It was smash and grab at its very best but Allinson was delighted.

He said: “We threw caution to the wind as we had nothing to lose. We’re a long way from where we want to be but we’ve got a bunch of players who will run through brick walls and try their hardest.

“I asked them to not be fearful at half-time and to go and make themselves heroes.

“It took a long time but that’s what they did in that last 15 minutes.

“Today will sit with a lot of people for a long time.”

It certainly wasn’t Saints’ best performance this season and even the most ardent of fans will admit they definitely rode their luck.

Allinson certainly believed that was the case.

He said: “We looked nervous, we struggled to get to grips with the pitch and our passing was awful.

“And their shape and system was effective and it caused us lots of problems, especially in the first half.

“I was over the moon to get back in at 0-0 and I felt we could go out in the second half we could play with a bit more composure.

“But we still struggled in the second half and we were poor today.

“We have to take it with how late the goals were but the players kept going and going and luckily enough we’ve managed to get something out of it.

“That’s great from the players’ point of view and great for the supporters too because we hadn’t given them anything to get behind.

“Those last five minutes were fantastic and it was a great atmosphere.

“We didn’t deserve to win the game but we got the three points and that’s the most important thing.”