An entertaining clash saw St Albans Ladies defeat Shambrook Women’s FC by the odd goal in seven to maintain their spot at the top of the table.

The duo played out a tense clash only a matter of weeks ago as City, which saw City denied all three points by a late equaliser.

Their second meeting of the season proved to be similarly close and both sides committed to an attacking approach.

St Albans looked to have taken the lead with just seven minutes played but Sophie Lawrence was denied by the offside flag.

They didn’t have to wait long to go ahead, however, and Ellen Salter broke the deadlock with a fine effort from 18 yards moments later.

St Albans’ fine start almost saw them go two up but it was Shambrook who struck next to level through Emily Clark’s 26th minute free-kick.

Shambrook were growing into the game now and went ahead for the first time in the game thanks to Charlie Mullins 20 yard effort.

They held their advantage until the break before a flying start to the second half had St Albans level through Ellie Lovelock 30 seconds after the restart.

They were back ahead with 52 minutes on the clock and Salter once again played a vital role in the goal.

She raced clear and played a pass into Kiran Reyat who did the rest with a simple finish from close range.

The twists and turns were by no means over and it was 3-3 when Gemma Franklin made no mistake with a well-taken finish.

St Albans would have the final say on proceedings when they scored a decisive fourth goal from a corner.

Jessica Cavaree got free at the set piece and guided a glancing header in to give her side all three points.

Sunday sees St Albans take Shambrook once again as the two face off in the semi-final of the League Cup.