A third win on the bounce came with arguably the best performance of the season for Colney Heath.
Goals from Ollie Lawford and George Sippetts, the latter with eight minutes remaining, gave the Magpies a 2-1 home win over Biggleswade United and lifted them up to 12th in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division table.
The first half saw a lot of chances, mostly from the hosts.
Sippetts fired a shot just over the bar from 10 yards and had more that were generally stopped by the excellent Tom Wyant in the Biggleswade net.
United did create some attempts of their own but Connor Sansom and his defenders were equal to most of them.
It wasn't all plain sailing for Colney though and they lost both Harley Fonti and Jack McShane to potential hamstring injuries.
The goal that the home side had been threatening finally arrived in first-half stoppage time.
It came from route one, Sansom sending a goal kick up the field and Sippetts getting the flick on.
That allowed Lawford to scamper in behind a bend a shot round the for once, static Wyant.
The Biggleswade keeper denied Bradley Dixon-Smith and Billy Owen at the start of the second half and then the visitors shocked Heath by grabbing an equaliser, a long throw getting all the way across to the back post for Markel Cousins to apply the easy finish.
Colney raised their game with Owen, Sippetts and Lawford all going close but the game eventually swung back their way when Cousins picked up a second yellow card on 78 minutes and headed back to the dressing rooms.
The advantage was taken four minutes later.
Jamie Fulton floating a free-kick into the area and Sippetts racing onto it for his seventh goal since rejoining the Magpies.
United then went down to nine men, Jaiden Irish sent to the sin-bin, but the Magpies would finish with 10, a second yellow card for Fulton late on ending his game slightly early.
Harpenden Town ladies head into their Christmas break top of the Eastern Region Division One North table after a crushing 5-1 win at home to Wootton Blue Cross Lionesses.
Both teams attacked from the kick-off with the hosts going close through Sophia Amanor twice, Belle Shannon and Rebecca McShane, the latter hitting the crossbar with a curling shot.
At the other end Sophie Harris came up trumps saving a Holly Tyrrell free-kick and and Estelle Klausner shot while Wootton also hit the woodwork, Klausner again the unlucky party.
The next Harpenden attack brought the opening goal though.
Amanor was brought down just inside the area and Mel Jones drilled home the penalty.
Both sides had chances just before half-time but it was the minutes after the break that settled the contest in favour of Harpenden.
They scored three in the opening eight minutes, confusing anyone late back from their half-time cuppa.
Shannon set up Amanor three minutes in and then two minutes later a Jones corner fell invitingly for Louisa Ransom to tuck home.
The fourth came after a low drive from Shannon was saved by Hannah Payne, although she didn't push it far enough away and Amanor scored after Ransom had pounced on the rebound.
Wootton got one back when Daisy Moore got between the central defenders and they were only denied a second by the quick-thinking of Rebecca Dowdall, who cleared off the line.
And Harpenden made sure that the comeback was nipped in the bud when a neat pass from Jones was drilled home by Amanor for her hat-trick.
Their first match of 2024 will be a belated Christmas cracker too as they go to Dussindale & Hellesdon Rovers on January 7, the side two points behind them in the standings and their main challengers for the title.
It wasn't such a jolly time for Harpenden's men though as they lost 1-0 at home to Cockfosters back in the SSML.
A Harrison Rookard goal midway through the first-half from was enough to settle the contest, Archie McClelland's second-half effort ruled out for offside the closest Harps came to an equaliser.
St Albans City ladies enjoyed a 1-0 win at home to Royston Town in the Eastern Region League Cup.
A goal in the first half by Terri Harvey was enough to send them into the quarter-finals.
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