You've come a long way baby may have have been the title of Fatboy Slim album but it also applies to Colney Heath's charge up the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division according to skipper Connor Sansom.

The Magpies had been in trouble after seven defeats in eight games from September into November.

However, a 2-1 win over Tring Athletic on November 25 halted the rot and started a sequence that has now moved to five wins in six, the latest a last-gasp 1-0 victory over third-placed St Panteleimon on Saturday.

That has lifted them to seventh and Sansom believes that is down to the squad finding their rhythm.

The skipper said: "We started the season really well and I think that was the new team buzz. Everyone's getting used to each other, it was new, it was fresh and we had a few results. 

"And then you go through that period where you're trying to settle the squad down and we played some good sides but we didn’t lose too many [heavily].  

"We looked good for a point here and there or we got unlucky. 

"But that’s five wins in six games now and we lost narrowly to Harpenden [on Wednesday] and we looked good for a point there. 

"So we're not looking too bad over the last six games and we're probably right up there in the form table.

"To take the scalps of Leverstock Green last week, who are top five, beating these guys who are third and then narrowly losing to Harpenden who are sixth, it is testament to the boys and how far we've come in a short space of time." 

The victory over St Panteleimon saw a Billy Owen cross turned into the net by Jamie Lunnis six minutes into stoppage time.

And it was deserved according to the captain.

Sansom said: "I think we looked good for a goal in the second-half, we did look better than we did in the first half where we had to ride our luck.

"To score that late one up the hill, it’s massive for us. They almost annihilated us at their place, they are a very good side. 

"First half they were lively but we kept it tight at the back.

"And there was a great bit of trickery on the right [for the goal] and Lunnis was there at the back post and just tapped it in. 

"It’s good for the team and a fantastic result to end the year."

The points also came with a fourth clean sheet of the campaign, something that Sansom the goalkeeper will never not be happy with.

He put the praise on the rest of the team though.

He said: "We’ve not had many but we've sort of nailed down a starting back four and we've still got Chad King who wasn’t here this week and Mikey Shuttlewood who isn’t here this week.

"It's always a tough task [for manager Matt Day] to find out the back four, but the way the guys have been performing the last few weeks, they're just immense really. 

"And it's not just them, it starts from the front. Sippo chasing down every little ball and lost cause, the guys in the middle ratting, [Ibrahim Camara] starting the press. 

"It's not just me and the four guys in front of me, it’s all of us." 

And this year has also seen him handing the extra responsibility of the captain's armband.

But it is something he is actually enjoying.

Sansom said: "When I was first here under [Ryan Thompson], I think I was one of the youngest in the squad and nowhere near any sort of leadership group or anything like that.  

"And now, since I’ve come back, I'm probably the oldest and I'm not that old yet but I feel old with some of the boys in there.  

"But it’s easy for me. I'm loud, I'll talk, I wear my heart on my sleeve and so I just try to guide the boys through a game. 

"And I think we managed the game [with St Panteleimon] really well. That's where we were lacking a month or so ago. We didn't really see games out, game management wasn't really there. 

"[Being captain] is a bit of commitment but it’s enjoyable. 

"I've been down here for a few years now and I know what the club means to the people that are around it and who are involved in it. 

"It’s good to have that responsibility."