The points were shared on Saturday following a 1-1 draw between us and St Albans City at the Bob Lucas Stadium.
The draw was, once again, rescued by one of our defenders when Calvin Brooks bundled home from the far-corner with four minutes of regular time remaining.
Before our versatile defender equalised, we were trailing courtesy of Ken Charles’ opener in the 68th minute.
But Calv’s crucial goal not only now puts him as our highest goalscorer, with three this season, but also puts us just three points away from safety following Bath City’s 2-0 loss to table-toppers Weston-super-Mare.
Though our next league game is not for another eight days, facing Welling United at Park View Road [19.45 MGT], we may soon find ourselves above the relegation zone for the first time since August, should other results go our way.
Bottom-of-table battle
Before Saturday, both sides sat near the foot of the National League South table with very little separating the two supposed strugglers.
Such was their proximity that only a +3 goal difference kept them apart, The Saints being the ones with the ever-so slightly better league campaign so far.
After the weekend, the gap, if one could refer to it as such, remains exactly the same, both teams gradually creeping up behind Bath.
Mark Molesley said in our pre-match preview that he felt David Noble’s side hadn’t “quite got the rub of the green”, in relation to the “talented squad” that make up the Hertfordshire outfit.
Mark appeared to be right, as the visitors started the game unlike a side near the foot of the table.
It took them just four minutes to threaten Busey’s goal, when Dom Hutchinson found space between our defence and played Josh Castiglione through on goal, the midfielder’s effort luckily heading wide of the post.
However, the following 20 minutes after The Saints’ first sight at goal saw intensity slow down, with chances few and far between.
Though this isn’t to suggest we didn’t react positively after our early close-call, experienced defender Jor Partington being the strongest forcefield at the back as he cleared away our crosses.
We also held firm during this time, particularly when Hutchinson weaved his way through our backline, before we managed to block his lay-off to a teammate.
It wouldn’t be long before the next opening came, again Noble’s side being the ones on the front foot.
Castiglione was a handful for us once more, this time being the creator as he picked out Zane Banton with a cross in the 25th minute.
Although the former Luton Town striker scored a 95th-minute equaliser at the Bob Lucas Stadium last season, this time he sent his header wide.
But if that was a let-off for our players, we appeared less fortunate five minutes later when Busey went down outside his goal, feeling discomfort in his hamstring.
Thankfully, though, our goalie was able to continue.
How vital his presence would soon be.
But first, our closest chance came approx. 10 minutes before the break, when Christie’s edge-of-box strike fizzed just past the post, with Saints shot-stopper Michael Johnson appearing to just reach his fingertips to the ball.
Then, just two minutes later, Busey would be called into action not once but twice!
First keeping out Matthew Lench’s strike, he then impressively denied Charles’ low shot on the turn just a minute later.
We did attack back shortly before the break when Ben Greenwood’s sight at goal was deflected behind, preceding his corner-kick finding Calv, who headed just wide.
But neither of the two teams could find an opener before the break, as we headed down the tunnel goalless.
Calv to the rescue
Much like the first, the second half took a while to get going.
Perhaps unsurprising, given the magnitude of three points against a team in the exact same position.
Though this time we would be ones close to scoring first, after Jaiden Bartolo raced through on goal just over 10 minutes in.
The Gibraltar international, playing for his country this week, may have given us the lead had Johnson not kept the ball out with his foot.
There were even more reasons to cheer six minutes after the hour-mark, when Jake McCarthy was introduced off the bench, following his arrival from Poole Town just one day before the game.
With 29 goals, 23 assists and two successive promotions (as captain, by the way) during his first spell as a Terra, his return was as well-received as one might expect.
However, those cheers were soon cut out barely two minutes later.
Once more it was Castiglione that was causing havoc, laying the ball off to Charles, whose first-time strike flew past Busey to give The Saints a 1-0 lead.
Now a goal behind with 22 minutes left to play, there was a sudden mountain to climb.
But, as Mark told us last week, “this group never stays down and out.”
This was shown once more with just four minutes of regular time remaining.
We earned ourselves a corner when Calv found Brandon Goodship, whose strike was deflected behind.
With set-piece specialist Jordan Maguire-Drew on the subsequent corner-kick, his delivery was initially kept out by Johnson, but only in the path of Calv who bundled home at the near-post to get us back into the game.
