Fleet made it nine home wins in a row against St Albans City as they put the visitors to the sword in a clinical, unforgiving opening spell – Adam Mekki had two inside the opening half-hour and Dominic Poleon rounded off a fine night with a close-range header.

Pre-match talk was all about the mystery signing, revealed on the teamsheet to be striker Shaquile Coulthirst, formerly of Southend United, Peterborough United and Barnet, who had put pen to paper after leaving Billericay Town. He was joined on his debut by goalkeeper Louie Moulden while injury to the likes of Greg Cundle and Joe Martin forced another couple of changes on Dennis Kutrieb.

If Fleet had been guilty of not taking chances against Dartford last Tuesday, it was an accusation that certainly couldn’t be levelled at them tonight. Within seven minutes they were ahead, but the opener came courtesy of confusion in the St Albans’ box. It arrived on seven minutes, Craig Tanner beating Tom Bender to Ben Chapman’s long ball down the left. Tanner crossed low into the six-yard box and the ball fell into a group of four Saints players, Bayley Brown almost tripping over himself as he scooped it into his own net.

The second goal arrived on 12 minutes and it came via the same route initially, Chapman finding Tanner down the left channel. Tanner effortlessly back-heeled the ball into Poleon’s path and he threaded a pass to Mekki running through, the No.7 finishing coolly by chipping over the keeper and across goal from six yards.

It could have been three on the quarter-hour, Poleon finding Tanner with a neat pass but this time Bender did his job and his tackle was just about enough to take the ball away from the Fleet midfielder who watched it run agonisingly into Michael Johnson’s arms.

There was no keeping Tanner down, however, and he created goal number three on 28 minutes. He won the ball in midfield, brushing aside the 6ft 5in frame of Brown, ran on goal and sprayed a pass wide to Mekki who did much the same as with his first goal, firing in from an angle as he approached the six-yard box and it was 3-0.

Try as they might, St Albans could hardly get a sniff and 20-goal striker Shaun Jeffers barely saw the ball, the best efforts falling to one-time Fleet winger John Goddard who hit a free-kick and then a shot well wide.

After that, Fleet were back on the offensive and on 34 minutes it was 4-0 and game over. Chapman advanced from midfield, touched the ball to the right with the outside of his foot to Will Wood. The Hampton matchwinner took one touch and let fly from the corner of the box and it flew in through Johnson’s despairing grasp.

Wood might have repeated the trick five minutes before half-time from a similar position but this time his effort was blocked and St Albans survived further harm on their goal through to the break.

They made two substitutions for the second half, the luckless Brown sacrificed in defence, and they battened down the hatches for a while as Fleet – still energetic and forward-thinking – seemed content to pick away at the defence for a spell.

Coulthirst glanced a low cross from Mekki behind and out for a corner while at the other end, Moulden was largely a spectator. But when needed, he was quick to come for the ball and after Chris Solly tracked a strong run by Mitchell Weiss to send him wide, the loanee saved the resulting shot.

The impressive Wood was eager to add to his tally and a strong run on 65 minutes won a corner as another firm strike was deflected behind. He had another effort on 71 minutes blocked from Chapman’s delightful long-range lob and in the same moment, Poleon’s follow-up was also hacked away while Tanner sent the third opportunity just wide of the post.

Moulden had another save at the legs of Weiss to make right after that before Michael West threatened to pull off the greatest of first touches off the bench when he attempted a cheeky flick over his own head on the edge of the Saints box.

Fleet kept pressing for that fifth. Mekki’s cross from the byline was hastily cut out and Chapman fired in a first-time shot from a corner before the night was rounded off in great style three minutes from the end. Wood curled a fantastic free-kick towards the top corner that hit the upright, sending goalkeeper Johnson tangling with the net and quick as a flash Poleon reacted to direct a header into the far corner for 5-0!

It was no more than Poleon, Wood and the entire Fleet side deserved against a team who boasted one of the meanest defences in the league last season and were snapping at Kutrieb’s heels in the table before the match. The three points and five-goal spree kept Fleet in fifth place but level on points with the two sides above them – and with the goal difference now the tiniest of margins as well.

EUFC: Moulden, Adebayo-Rowling, Chapman, Solly, N’Guessan (Paxman 61), Monlouis, Wood, Mekki, Tanner (West 79), Coulthirst (Romain 58), Poleon.

Subs: Egan, Haigh

SACFC: Johnson, Bender, Wiltshire, Brown (Mukena 46), Akinola (Dawson 46), Jeffers, Weiss (Sole 79), Adebiyi, Goddard, Jones, Green.

Subs: Sole, Diedhiou, Lankshear.

Attendance: 800