The National League end is now nigh for City of Peterborough men, but the ladies enjoy an excellent weekend in the East League

​City really needed to beat St Albans at Bretton Gate to have a realistic chance of survival, but despite heavy late pressure they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

They are now four points from safety with just three games to go, but their final two matches are against top two Nottingham University seconds and Stourport.

Winning at Harleston on Sunday – a team they have already beaten at home – is very possible, but they would then need to find at least a point from those last two games.

City almost scored in the first minute against St Albans, but the visiting goalkeeper denied Joe Finding from a short corner.

But they created very little else before falling behind to a St Albans set piece late in the second quarter.

To their credit City rallied and a short corner routine of their own led to a Matt Porter finish before the break and they bombarded their opponents in the final 10 minutes of the match.

Seasoned umpires watching from the sidelines were baffled when a late penalty corner rather than a penalty stroke was awarded after Zak Scotting was flattened in the ‘D’.

And just to rub it in Gareth Andrew’s set-piece strike was deflected onto a post which rather summed up City’s season – plenty of commitment, but rarely able to translate it into points.

It was a productive weekend for City of Peterborough Ladies who picked up four points from two matches to ease their relegation issues in the East Premier Division.

Tierney Augustine cracked a hat-trick and Hanna Brown scored in a 4-1 win at mid-table Broxbourne, before Augustine, Brown and Sophie Watts were on target in a 3-3 draw at third-placed Bishop’s Stortford.

City are now four points clear of the drop zone with three matches still to play. They entertain Cambridge City 3rds at Bretton Gate on Saturday (4pm).

Other City East League scores.

Men: Cambridge Nomads 1, City 2nds 4 (Barkworth 3, Matthews); City 3rds 5 (Fletcher 2, Astbury 2, Seaton), Cambridge City 0; Long Sutton 4, City 4ths 2 (Petrie, Carlton); City 5ths 2 (Barklay 2), Cambridge University 3; City 6ths 2 (Humphries, Webb), Ely 4; Bourne Deeping 0, City 8ths 2 (Kennedy 2).

Ladies: City 2nds 0, Norwich Dragons 2; Cambridge University 0, City 3rds 1 (Bowtell); City 4ths 2 (Andrew, Hurn), March 3.