By Daniel Campos(@francisfields)

Sunshine George Cross was left heartbroken after succumbing to a late goal in St Albans’ 1-0 win at Chaplin Reserve on Saturday.

In a tight encounter which saw both goalkeepers regularly called into action, it was Ajak Panek who struck the decisive blow when he capitalised on St Albans’ counter-attack to seal the three points.

The first 15 minutes saw Sunshine with just the one shot on target.

Neither side appeared settled in the wintry conditions, and the game really only sprung into life when Sunshine’s Anthony Cassar was brought down on the edge on the penalty box midway through the second half.

Cassar’s shouts for a penalty were waved away however.

Barely a minute later, a dreadful back pass from Eddie Cetkin caught goalkeeper Robert Santilli unawares, but the latter managed to clear any danger in what was an early scare for Sunshine.

A fantastic through-ball to Sunshine’s Delfin Mosibe looked like opening the scoring, but some desperate defending on the goal line denied the home side.

St Albans’ Craig Sweeney then followed up with two long-range shots within centimetres of a goal inside a minute, bringing Santilli into action, whose solid hands denied the Saints four clear-cut scoring chances.

The Saints kept piling on the pressure at the hour mark but it was Sunshine which almost scored against the run of play, with Mosibe’s free-kick slamming into the post.

In the 77th minutes, Sunshine goalkeeper Robert Santilli came out in front of goal to make yet another save which left him with a foot injury, with Nabi Tuna his substitute.

With just six minutes of regulation time remaining, Ross Wallis had the chance to nail a free-kick for Sunshine just outside the 18-yard box, but it was saved brilliantly by Stepjan Gal.

Minutes later, Mosibe had the chance to break the deadlock but his volley went flying over the crossbar.

With injury time approaching, St Albans had the chance to go up with defender Barry Devlin heading in from a corner that also went over the crossbar.

It looked like neither side was confident in front of goal, though the second half played host to some open, counter-attacking football.

Right on 90 minutes, Panek scored for St Albans with a blistering run on the counter to ensure a 1-0 last-minute victory for the visitors.

Tempers flared up a little on injury time and another chance went begging for Sunshine courtesy of Wallis, but it wasn’t to be for the home side.

Saints coach Toby Paterson was pleased with his team's performance.

"It's a great result, terrific and I said at halftime, today will be a tight match so let's look for the solitary 1-0 win and that is exactly what they have done,” Paterson said.

"We always knew it was going to be a tough task to grab three points. Sunshine are in the top end of the table but the boys stuck to my game plan.

“I asked for three wins on the trot after Round 2 against Bulleen and we've done it. I also want to make special mention for Ajak Panek who made the most of his opportunity for a young lad.”

MATCH DETAILS

Sunshine George Cross 0 lost to St Albans Saints 1 (Ajak Panek 90’+2) at Chaplin Reserve

Sunshine George Cross: Robert Santilli (77' Nabi Tuna), Jacob Attard, Nejdet Sahin, Eddie Cetkin, Christopher Dib, Ross Wallis, Adrian Logozzo, Delfin Mosibe, Manuell Sadik (70' Sami Nour), Muhamad Chawk, Anthony Cassar.

Yellow Cards: Nejdet Sahin

Red Cards: Nil

St Albans Saints: Stepjan Gal, Barry Devlin, Felix Rosman, Adam Nakic, Nick Cullen (79' Ryan Baldacchino), Konrad Dobraszienck, Brodie Paterson, Craig Sweeney, Marty Mason, Juso Jolardzija (79' Ajak Panek), Sean McIlroy.

Yellow Cards: Brodie Paterson, Craig Sweeney, Sean McIlroy

Red Cards: Nil