Saints may have left it late but ultimately they scored the goals their dominant performance merited to ensure they stay in the promotion chase with a 3-0 victory over Uxbridge

In a first half in which Carl Dennison had a single save to make in the Saints goal, McCarthy was constantly under pressure as Jake Cass might easily have had a hat-trick to his name but only had a shot off the bar to look back on.

Victor Osobu, full of running and threat, but nervous as a kitten in front of goal, Saints went into the break with the score goalless but knowing it should have been so uch more one-sided.

Having spurned so many chances, there was always the risk of a banana skin for Saints but a breakaway on the hour finally saw Jake Cass finish superbly to open the scoring.

Late substitutions had the effect to mixing things up as Saints pushed to extend their lead. New signing Brian Haule immediately caused problems with his more direct style and obvious presence and Frankie Jones slipped nicely into midfield.

In the last minutes, Louis Stead broke into the Uxbridge area and was brought down to win a penalty. Cass’ spot kick was pushed on to the post by McCarthy but Jones was quickly in and netted the loose ball from close range.

Within seconds, Haule justified his signing with a snatch finish to put the cherry on top of another excellent Saints performance.

With confidence buoyed by excellent recent performances, Saints can look forward to an important game on Saturday when Hayes & Yeading visit Mill Meadow.