St Neots Men’s 1sts could be forgiven for not wanting the season to end.

They powered to a third successive Division Three North-West victory in the East Men’s League last Saturday.

Two Joe Darby goals helped them to a 3-2 success in a thriller at Ely City 1sts as the third and fourth-placed teams in the standings did battle.

Dan Sutton fired St Neots ahead when mopping up a rebound after his initial effort had been saved, but the advantage proved to be shortlived as the higher-placed hosts levelled within minutes.

St Neots regained the lead when Darby deflected in an exquisite Garth Mooney pass, but they squandered the chance to go further clear when Iain Moor missed a penalty stroke.

They did succeed in extending their cushion when Darby struck again early in the second half following a slick move involving Adam Maltby, Mooney and Sutton.

Ely hit back with 10 minutes to play, but Saints stood strong to ensure they didn’t manage an equaliser to repeat the scoreline of the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

A solitary strike kept St Neots Men’s 2nds’ bid for a perfect season on course.

The Division Five North-West champions edged to a 1-0 success against Alford & District 1sts in their penultimate fixture of the campaign.

An in-house clash in Division Six North-West went with rank as St Neots Men’s 4ths got the better of their 5ths stablemates 2-1. The 3rds triumphed 2-0 at Cambridge Nomads 3rds at the same level.