Saints within four points of retaining their crown

‘Alderney away is always a good battle and it was another close game,’ said Saints boss Leon Meakin, who was unavailable to travel with the squad due to a positive Covid test.

Saints went into the weekend in the knowledge that a victory at Mount Hale could leave them needing just one more win on Tuesday night to secure this season’s title, but North’s 2-0 win away at Rovers means Meakin’s men will have to wait a little longer to secure another championship.

The win was Saints’ first in Alderney since late 2018, although the absence of league football due to the intervention of the pandemic has meant fewer fixtures have taken place between the two.

The hosts displayed their usual resilience out of possession in large parts of Saturday’s affair, although a strike from Louis Hunter 10 minutes into the second-half was enough for Meakin’s side to take home all three points.

‘Alderney worked extremely hard to limit the chances that we got, but thankfully Louis put away one of the opportunities we did work and we never really looked like conceding,’ added the St Martin’s coach.

Saints host Rovers at Blanche Pierre Lane tonight (7.30pm kick off) and a home win over Kevin Gillease’s side will all but seal the 2021-22 Priaulx League title.

The visitors, who have been the second-placed side in the table for most of the campaign, are now mathematically out of the title race after their defeat to North, who can still technically win the league, at the weekend.

‘We know that we are getting closer to the title but we don’t want to take anything for granted and I expect another tough game against Rovers,’ said Meakin

‘This is our fourth game in 11 days so we might make a few changes to keep things fresh.’

Meakin also revealed that his side did have an injury boost, as Danny Hale returns to their squad after a recent knock, with the forward aiming to replicate his heroics against Rovers following his Port Soif hat-trick in January.