The great escape is still on but results elsewhere in National League South on Saturday ensured that St Albans City’s 1-1 draw with Wealdstone at Grosvenor Vale has done nothing but make City nerves twitch in the run up to the final game of the season next weekend.

For 25 minutes City were coasting to victory. A goal up inside five minutes and pressing hard for a second with only dogged defending and the woodwork denying St Albans the extra goal that would almost certainly have banished lingering relegation worries.

Unfortunately for City though, the game lasted for 90 rather than 25 minutes and their ragged display after the excellent opening could yet cost them a place at this level.

Several players put forward tiredness as a reason for the dramatic falling away and manager Ian Allinson went along with that possibility to a degree, but also praised the effort put in by his players in recent weeks to have put themselves in with a fighting chance of avoiding the drop.

“I felt that we took our foot off the pedal and once we did that we couldn’t switch back on again. We looked a bit tired, a little leggy and second best all over the park.

But I have to give full credit to the players, they stuck in there when they could easily have thrown the towel in. We got a point but we don’t know where that point is going to take us until after next Saturday.

We’ve given ourselves a fighting chance and if 12-14 games ago we’d have said we could take it to Dartford in the last game of the season then we’d have accepted that. But we will have to put on a performance for 90 minutes and not 30 minutes like we did today,” said the City boss.

City were unchanged from the six-goal drubbing of Havant while Wealdstone made four changes to the starting XI defeated in midweek by Bishop’s Stortford.

Victory for St Albans would have virtually secured their survival for another season whereas the Stones required just a point.

For much of the first half it looked as though City would be the ones celebrating come full time.

The game was just ticking into its fifth minute when St Albans opened the scoring.

A Scott Thomas throw down the City right was headed on by Michael Thalassitis and knocked into the path of Harry Anderson by the thigh of Charlie MacDonald.

Anderson rode a tackle from Stones skipper Wes Parker and laid the ball to his left to Louie Theophanous.

The City striker struck his shot first time and although his connection was poor the ball bounced across the dive of the fully extended Jonathan North for his 21st goal in 50 games for the Saints.

The perfect start, and more looked to be in the offing on a pitch that had a remarkably good covering of grass for the final week of the season.

Within the next ten minutes Theophanous tested North with a decent effort from 25 yards while James Kaloczi headed over following a throw by Lee Chappell who previously spent nine years with the home side.

Another Chappell throw caused more problems for the Stones with Thalassitis and then Anderson having shots blocked close to goal before the pressure was relieved.

Wealdstone broke swiftly and good work by James Demetriou led to Bradley Hudson-Odoi having the Stones first shot of the afternoon.

But the attention quickly returned to the home goal where North touched around the post a looping header by Thalassitis following a long free kick by Joe Welch.

The pressure was almost relentless during the opening 20 minutes as Sam Corcoran had a goal-bound effort headed over by Parker and Thalassitis skied a shot somewhere in the direction of Ruislip town centre.

Midway through the half and City ought to have doubled their advantage.

Wealdstone repelled a free kick but back came City again with Kaloczi seizing on a poor clearance by former Saint Elliott Godfrey and touching the ball inside to Anderson.

The on-loan Peterborough United winger danced inside and outside of Tom Hamblin before lashing a drive into the side-netting when he really had to hit the target.

Wealdstone gave warning of what was to come when Scott Davies knocked a ball down the right that went between Ben Martin and Eddie Oshodi for Demetriou to run clear only to wastefully hammer his shot high over the goal.

Still City searched for a second goal and on the half hour Kaloczi met a floated corner by Chappell and headed against the inside of the upright with Dale Binns hooking the ball out for another corner as it bounced along the goalline.

From the next corner the ball dropped to Thalassitis and North had to stretch high to his right to deny the City player his fifth goal in four games.

North then had to deal with a low effort from Corcoran and from then on the game turned dramatically in favour of Gordon Bartlett’s side.

A long kick by North was headed on by Jonathan Wright for Davies to thread a delightful ball through to Hudson-Odoi who came inside before having his low shot from 12-yards blocked by Welch.

It was one of several fine saves by Welch who, throughout the game, continued his excellent late season good form.

In the Stones next attack, on 38 minutes, Martin was penalised for a foul on Wright and from Davies’ crisply struck free kick from the right both Parker and City defender Scott Thomas missed the ball but it struck the unfortunate Kaloczi and looped high to Welch’s left for the equaliser.

In that moment City’s confidence visibly drained while Wealdstone gained a new lease of life and dominated the remainder of the game.

St Albans, playing up a prodigious slope after the interval, struggled to find any cohesion and an early shot wide by Theophanous was as close as they came to regaining the lead.

City were caught out when a North received a back pass and kicked the ball first time to deep inside the Saints half.

Three players sprung a flimsy offside trap and Davies, after taking the ball on his chest, pulled a spectacular save out of Welch when sending a cracking half volley to the keeper’s right.

Tom Bender, on for Charlie MacDonald whose groin strain continues to trouble him, endured an uncomfortable three minutes when accidentally banging his head into a pitch perimeter advertising board before being booked for deliberate handball.

Wealdstone may have been dominating the play and looked the only side likely to collect all three points but Welch was being called upon to make few genuine saves.

The experienced Binns drove a half volley into the side-netting and Davies, from just inside his own half, sent the ball into the face of the covering above the terrace behind Welch’s goal as the Stones sought to avoid as fifth successive game without victory.

But during the final 20 minutes Wealdstone could make few inroads into an improving defensive display by St Albans who, after their highly impressive start to the game, were relieved to head home with a point in the bag to end the away leg of their season with a fifth consecutive away match without defeat.

Prior to next Saturday’s crucial home game with Dartford, St Albans have the small matter of a cup final on Tuesday (26th April) when what is likely to be a weakened side will face Bishop’s Stortford in the Herts Charity Cup at Cheshunt.

Kick off at Theobalds Lane is at 7.45pm.

Wealdstone: J.North, J.Smith, D.Binns, W.Parker, T.Hamblin, E.Godfrey, J.Wright, J.McLeod-Urquhart, J.Demetriou (J.Louis 67), S.Davies, B.Hudson-Odoi (N.Mavila 46), unused subs; S.Lucien, M.Kalenga, S.McGleish.

Booked: Davies.

St Albans City: J.Welch, Sc Thomas, J.Kaloczi (A.Bangura 79), S.Corcoran, E.Oshodi, B.Martin, H.Anderson, M.Thalassitis, L.Theophanous, C.MacDonald (T.Bender 61), L.Chappell, subs not used: D.Locke, B.Gibson, D.Green.

Booked: Bender, Martin.

Goals: 5 0-1 Theophanous, 38 1-1 Own Goal (Kaloczi).

Referee: Adrian Quelch (Reading).

Att: 777.