The half-time message paid off as Tonbridge continued their fine form at home to St Albans on Tuesday night.

Angels moved up to fourth in National League South, two points behind leaders Hemel Hempstead, after a 2-0 victory.

Both goals came in the second half, Trevan Robinson and Timmy Abraham the scorers, as Jay Saunders’ unbeaten side reeled off a third straight victory at a lively Longmead.

After a fast start to the match, boss Saunders felt Tonbridge’s intensity dropped.

He was keen to change that and get more belief into his players that the goals would come.

Robinson broke the deadlock in the 69th minute and substitute Abraham clinched the points a minute from time.

“I’m really pleased,” said Saunders.

“We asked at half-time for a little bit more intensity, a little bit more aggression and a little bit more belief because it looked like we weren’t convinced we were going to score.

“We were putting crosses in but our runs weren’t fully committed to them and we wanted to improve that.

“Once we got the first goal I thought we overran them, we had more legs than them and we looked fitter than them.

“We knocked the stuffing out of them with that first one.

“It’s a great ball in by Jeremy Santos, the keeper’s missed it and it’s hit Trevan but you’ve got to be there to score them and I thought his work rate deserved a goal and I’m delighted for him.

“Once we got that, we blocked the next two kicks from the keeper and you could just see everyone lifted, and then Timmy came on and scored at the end.

“I’m pleased for him and Santos who I thought both had a real positive impact coming off the bench.

“It’s important we’ve got more of a squad this season.

“Tonight, we’re missing Sean Shields, Scott Wagstaff, Tariq Hinds, Noel Leighton and Ben Swift, yet we’re still having a positive impact from the bench, whereas last year, no disrespect, we would probably have struggled to make subs who would have made a difference.

“We miss those players and I’d love to have them fit but at the moment we’ve got a group that believe in each other and work hard for each other.”

Five-goal top scorer Shields was ruled out with a tight groin but Tonbridge showed they could win without their talisman.

Report: Tonbridge 2-0 St Albans

Saunders added: “He felt it after the game on Saturday.

“He’s old enough to know his body, he’s honest and he spoke to Ben the physio and kind of said he wouldn’t be able to get through Tuesday.

“It’s a blow, anyone’s going to miss Shieldsy, he’s been excellent for us.

“If he’d come out and we’d not scored, everyone’s like ‘Oh God’, so it’s good for us that we still got the win.”

It’s been a busy start to the season with seven matches played in the opening four weeks.

But the fitness levels are good and that showed in the way Tonbridge finished against St Albans.

“We’re very young, so we’ve got a lot of energy and, to be fair, you don’t feel tired when you’re doing well,” said Saunders.

“I’m a big believer in that. If you’re on a good run, like we are, you don’t feel tired.

“If things are going against you, it’s different.

“They’re a really good group, they want to learn, they train hard, there’s a buzz and it’s a good place to be around.”