Steve Wales’ two goals in his home debut capped an impressive 5-2 win for St Albans City against Burnham at Clarence Park on Saturday.

The former Chesham United midfielder finished off a swift passing move involving Lee Chappell and Chris Watters on the left before firing in from 25 yards to complete the scoring.

Joint manager James Gray called his performance ‘outstanding’.

“He went wide, came inside and took his two goals. That’s why we brought him in, to score goals from midfield,” he said before adding that he was relieved to see City score three goals in the final 10 minutes.

“It’s difficult when you’re creating chances and not taking them so to score three goals in the last 10 minutes is a relief, which made the scoreline as convincing as the game.

“This is the tough part of the season and nerves and pressure played a part but the scoreline probably reflected the game. To go a goal behind, come back and then pull away showed character, which we need at this stage of the season.”

“Overall, performance-wise, we scored good goals and in parts played the ball well. We’ll take heart from that but there’s still a lot to work on.

The result boosts City’s third-placed credentials and puts them six points ahead of Stourbridge, who beat Frome Town.

“We don’t want to slip up; we want to go into the play-offs full of confidence,” said Gray.

“We have got a chance in the week to work on things on the training ground. Things have worked for us that we focussed on during the week and we have another week where we can work on things.

“Today I’m pleased with performance, to score five goals in front of home fans and three points. This was the last of three games which we targeted nine points and we’ve done that; it’s all happy in the camp at the moment.”