St Albans City’s National League South play-off hopes took a blow on Tuesday night as they fell to a 1-0 defeat on the road against Poole Town.

In a closely contested match, Marvin Brooks made the telling contribution, scoring the only goal of the game in the 68th minute.

The result sees Poole leapfrog Saints in the table and they are now two points clear of the Clarence Park club who occupy seventh spot in the table.

Having ended a seven game winless run with a 3-2 defeat of Welling United on Saturday, City will be keen to ensure the loss is just a blip in their play-off pursuit.

They have the chance to return to winning ways against Chelmsford at the Melbourne Stadium on Saturday.

The match represents another testing encounter for City, with Chelmsford also in contention for a top five spot.

Saturday’s hosts are level on points with City, but sit one place above them in the table by virtue of their superior goal difference.