In an eventful clash, City clicked into gear after a slow start and were in front after 17 minutes when Patrick Brown got in behind the defence after the ball was helped on its way by Paris Maw.

The home side doubled its advantage just shy of the half hour mark after a piece of individual brilliance from Sajin Majhi, who coolly found the bottom corner after creating space with some clever footwork.

To Myrtleford's credit, the response was almost instant as veteran talisman Nagus Henry took his opportunity after being picked out by a neat ball from Connor Caponecchia to make it 2-1 with 10 to play in the half.

However, the celebrations were short lived as Brown had a brace when his volley snuck under the outstretched arm of Savoy goalkeeper Jacques Simian, to give City a 3-1 lead at the break.

The hosts picked up from where they left off with another tidy finish from Majhi to give him a brace and City a 4-1 lead in the 49th minute.

The contest came back to life when Caponecchia converted a penalty to make it 4-2 with seven minutes to play.

The Savoys won another spot kick just moments later and Caponecchia stepped up again, but this time his strike clattered into the crossbar and was cleared by the City defence.

Vinnie Paglia was denied by a superb save from Lachie James on Myrtleford's next foray and City saw off the remaining time to clinch the three points.

City coach Ricky Piltz described the sliding doors moment for the playing group after a lean run of form.

"We had a team meeting a couple of weeks ago and we really talked about what we want out of the season. The passion felt like it was lacking in the last few weeks and it was great because the players brought a lot of attention to themselves about what was missing," he said.

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"I think we showed a lot of spirit today. We were very tenacious in the midfield and didn't give them time, which was something that we have really been working on and really starting to force other teams into errors."

Myrtleford coach Rob Caponecchia said any side not switched on will get punished by their opponent this season, given the closeness of the competition.

"That was really evident today for us. Albury City were sharp, they were first to the ball and were winning the second balls," he said.

"Silly mistakes crept in and it's something we need to iron out for next week."

Albury United kept top spot with a 4-1 win against St Pats, Wangaratta took down Twin City, 4-0, Boomers were 5-0 victors at home to Melrose, while Albury Hotspurs pipped Wodonga Diamonds, 3-2.

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