RALSTON Gabriel stole the show as he scored four goals to help St Albans City to a 4-2 win over Chelmsford City on Saturday.

The forward's quartet of strikes were enough to ensure goals from Amos Nasha and Rhys Murphy were merely mathematical as Ian Allinson's men battled back from two down to win.

The visitors could not have wished for a more inauspicious start to the game and they were behind with just nine minutes on the clock.

Having already seen an effort cannon back off the crossbar from a corner, Chelmsford took the lead when a poor headed clearance fell to Nasha on the edge of the box.

He controlled smartly on his left foot before rifling a volley into the far corner to leave Dean Snedker with no chance.

Things got even worse for St Albans two minutes later when a Chelmsford man was allowed to dance through the heart of the defence and play in Murphy who clipped a finish beyond Snedker.

It was all one way traffic at this point and St Albans were unable to get to grips with a fluid attack which continuously looked to work the goal.

The half-time interval arrived at a good time for St Albans and they were handed a route back into the game just a matter of moments after the restart when Anthony Church brought down Khale Da Costa in the box.

Gabriel stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, firing home despite the Chelmsford keeper guessing correctly as he dived to his right.

He would hold his nerve once more with 52 minutes on the clock when Solomon Sambou raced clear and was brought down as he closed in on goal.

On this occasion Gabriel went low to the keepers left as the Chelmsford man once again opted to dive right.

A miraculous comeback was complete just after the hour as Gabriel again took the headlines in spite of his third owing plenty to the excellence of Sambou.

The home side's captain took aim from all of 30 yards and saw his fierce drive crash off the underside of the bar.

Gabriel reacted the quickest and nodded into the empty net from a matter of yards.

Far from being satisfied with a hat-trick, Gabriel added to his haul after being slipped in by the excellent Sambou as he made no mistake from the one-on-one chance.

The forward's fourth goal completed the scoring for the day and saw the Saints record their fourth straight National League South win.

The success leaves St Albans sixth in the table after 11 league games this season and they are four points adrift of league leaders Billericay Town.

City are now preparing to take on Corinthian Casuals in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup on Tuesday night.

They follow that game with a return to league action against Bath City on Saturday afternoon.

The game promises to be a tough test for Allinson's men as they take on a side sitting eighth in the table and a point outside the play-offs.

Victory could see St Albans climb to third in the table, but defeat would see Bath move above them in the table.