St Albans 3, Thurrock 2

THURROCK suffered their seventh straight defeat on Tuesday night and also suffered the indignity of seeing Steve Heffer sent off.

However there was some small consolation for Fleet fans as Kris Lee led a fightback that saw him net a brace to end a club goal drought that stretched back more than ten hours.

St Albans, who moved top of the Conference South with victory, stamped their early authority on the match with a goal after just three minutes, Ben Walsh scoring a 25 yard free kick.

And the Clarence Park side doubled their advantage just before half time when Ram Marwa scored his fifth goal in four matches from a Walsh corner.

Things looked bleak for Thurrock when Simon Martin headed in a third from a Matt Hann free kick ten minutes into the second half but the moment Fleet have been waiting an interminable age for finally arrived on 61 minutes when Lee sparked a fightback by netting.

The impetus created by his goal was lost somewhat when Heffer saw red after raising a hand into the face of Tom Davis but to their credit Fleet's ten men raised their game and pulled another goal back.

Hopes were raised of salvaging a point in the 89th minute when Lee struck again but in the end time ran out but at least Thurrock now have some momentum going into Saturday's game at Ship Lane against second-placed Weymouth.