Sometimes football can swing on just 90 minutes and St Albans City delivered the best possible present to their long-suffering supporters with a 1-0 success away to Weymouth turning no wins in five into four without defeat.

And there was no doubting that Saints deserved all three points at Radipole Lane in what was arguably their best performance of the season.

It lifted them off the bottom of the National League South table too, above Hungerford Town and onto the shirt-tails of safety.

Manager Ian Allinson was certainly in a happier mood post-match as he heaped praise on his players.

He said: "The team have to take full credit for their performance because Chris [Winton] and I can only tell them what we want. They are the ones who have to execute it and they did that superbly.

"I'm immensely proud of what we've done and 1-0 probably flattered Weymouth.

"Their keeper has made two or three really good saves but overall picking up three points was the most important thing at this stage of the season.

"We've allowed ourselves to be dragged into a relegation battle and we've accepted that.

"At some stage our season has to start. This is massive but I go back to the Charity Cup game with Hemel in October when we changed one or two things and things started to look brighter.

"And we've now picked up points in the last four games."

The pivotal moment came on the stroke of half-time, initially credited to Zane Banton but he was happy to concede that the deflected shot, thanks to an intervention from Joe Iaciofano, was rightfully the striker's 11th league goal of the campaign.

The victory also banished the memory of two 4-1 defeats to the Terras earlier in the season and Allinson was happy with his side's willingness to adapt and grow.

He said: "Chris has brought in some rules about what they have to do when we win the ball back and in the first-half there was a five-minute spell where we gave the ball away too much.

"But for the rest of the time we kept it, we were composed with it and we passed it and played to our strengths.

"There are things we still have to work on but it's really pleasing to come away to a tough place like Weymouth, they taught us a lesson in the two other games this season, and pick up three points."