St Albans City suffered Valentine’s Day heartbreak as a 1-0 defeat to Hitchin Town saw them crash out of the Herts Charity Cup at the semi-final stage.

An evenly contested match produced no goals in the first half, before Hitchin showcased their cup pedigree, which has seen them reach two County Cup Finals this season, in the second period.

The visitors grabbed the only goal of the game with 65 minutes on the clock as Liam Brooks played in Jonny McNamara who clinically fired past James Russell.

The goal seemed to fill Hitchin with greater confidence and they pushed forward in search of a decisive second goal.

McNamara again went close after another accurate through ball sent him clear on the flank.

His strike beat Russell, but a retreating City defender got back well to clear on the lone and keep his side in the game.

The Saints managed to rally and apply late pressure on the Town goal, most notably when Michael Johnson was forced into a fine save from Sam Merson’s strike.

It was the closest City came to finding a leveller and they ultimately missed out on a meeting with Cheshunt in the final.

They will now turn their attention back to their National League South play-off push, which sees them take on Bath City at Clarence Park on Saturday.