St Albans City were in imperious goalscoring form as they hammered National League South leaders Dartford 4-0 at Clarence Park.

The manner of the win bore similarities to the display which saw City cruise to a resounding 7-2 triumph over East Thurrock United last week.

Sam Merson was the star of the win over Thurrock as he notched four goals and he picked up where he left off with a brace.

His first half double was added to by efforts from Percy Kiangebeni and Rhys Murrell-Williamson in the second period.

It took some time for City to get going and their first goal didn’t arrive until the 39th minute when Kieran Monlouis picked out Merson with a precise clipped cross.

Merson made no mistake from eight yards out and sent a glancing header beyond Deren Ibrahim and in via the underside of the bar.

City’s and Merson’s second came just three minutes later and again the Saints’ number nine showed hos prowess in the air, rising highest to score his 19th of the campaign.

The two goal cushion was no less than City deserved after a first half in which they had the better of the chances.

Ian Allinson’s men were in no mood to let their foot off the gas in the second period and continued to pepper the Dartford goal with efforts.

They all but put the game to bed just before the hour mark when Kiangebeni was given the freedom of Clarence Park to take aim and curl into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Murrell-Williamson enjoyed a fine individual display, en route to being named man of the match and capped his afternoon with a goal of his own.

His strike was a fortunate one in many ways as he took aim and saw his heavily deflected effort fined its was into the net.

From that point on City were comfortable in the extreme and saw out the remainder of the match with relative ease to ensure they claimed the added bonus of a clean sheet.

The results was made all the more impressive given Dartford’s fine recent record which had seen them go unbeaten since the start of December.

Dartford remain top of the table by three points, but St Albans are still firmly in the hunt for the title, sitting just six points adrift of the pace setters.

They currently occupy fourth spot and are two points ahead of eighth place Chelmsford City as the race for the play-offs remains tight.

They will have every confidence of continuing their strong run of form when they travel to Bulpit Lane to take on Hungerford Town on Saturday.

Hungerford have struggled for consistency this term and sit 15th in the table, just six points clear of the relegation zone.

They will be looking over the shoulder heading into the game and have played two games more than 20th-place Gloucester City.

Hungerford have lost two of their last six games, but come into the match on the back of a heavy 4-1 loss against Eastbourne Borough on Saturday.

Victory Could be enough to take City up to second in the table, dependant on Hampton & Richmond and Havant & Waterlooville’s results.