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27.01.2007 at 15:00 Clarence Park Attendance : 1009
St Albans City
3 - 2
Halifax Town
Referee : John Hopkins (Essex) Nationwide Conference match

Goalscorers
Lee Clarke (22)
Leon Archer (24)
Tom Davis (58)
Felix Bastians (35)
Darryn Stamp (90)
Opening squads
Paul Bastock
Dean Cracknell
Tom Davis
Gary Elphick
Matt Hann
Paul Hakim
Lee Clarke
Damien Batt
Djoumin Sangare
Leon Archer
Patrick Ada
Craig Mawson
Matt Doughty
Adam Quinn
Tom Kearney
Danny Forrest
Martin Foster
Lewis Killeen
Ryan Toulson
Neal Trotman
Felix Bastians
Lionel Ainsworth
Substitutes
Ranbir Marwa
Simon Martin
Ricky Perks
Lee Flynn
Chris Seeby
Jake Wright
Tyrone Thompson
Gus Uhlenbeek
Lee Butler
Darryn Stamp
Substitutions
Ranbir Marwa -> Paul Hakim (84)
Chris Seeby -> Damien Batt (88)
Darryn Stamp -> Danny Forrest (46)
Gus Uhlenbeek -> Lionel Ainsworth (72)
Tyrone Thompson -> Matt Doughty (80)
Yellow cards
Lee Clarke (33)
Dean Cracknell (33)
Neal Trotman (16)
Red cards
Dean Cracknell (90)
None
Other statistics
10 Shots 10
6 Shots on goal 3
6 Offsides 7
2 Corner kicks 4
15 Free kicks 19
0 Penalties 0
Match report

Leon Archer scores his first goal for the Saints

Anyone mind if we use the report from the away game for this match, maybe we lost that time out but it was a far more entertaining affair. However, putting entertainment value to one side, Saturday was an important day for the Saints as Colin Lippiatt's boys, on the back of goals from Lee Clarke, Leon Archer (pictured) and Tom Davis, recorded two consecutive Nationwide Conference victories for the first time, and, more importantly, climbed out of the relegation positions to a far healthier 16th place.

Sadly though, whatever joy there was to be gained from the three points was soured by the performance of referee John Hopkins whose injury time dismissal of Dean Cracknell was as nonsensical as anything one is likely to see on a football field.

City's joy was further dented moments after the final whistle when Lippiatt disclosed that defender Damian Batt has accepted an offer to return to the full time game with Stevenage Borough, he was previously with Barnet, who were clearly impressed with his performance during our win at Broadhall Way in midweek.

Anyhow, enough of the gloom, Saturday, at least for the Saints, was a day of celebration. Our future, on the pitch at least, has looked rocky on occasion, to out it mildly, so for once it was nice to listen to the post match comments with the opposition manager looking uncomfortable. That said, Halifax Town boss Chris Wilder is a genuinely nice guy so it was not impossible to feel sorry for the Town manager as he tried to explain a record that shows 11 defeats in 13 away league matches. It's the sort of good form the England Cricket team aspire to.

The starting City line up contained no surprises with Paul Hakim coming in on the left of the midfield in place of the injured Chris Watters. Halifax also showed just one change from a midweek draw at The Shay with York City as Felix Bastians, on loan from Nottingham Forest, came in for his debut. The 18 year-old Germany Youth international took just 35 minutes to open his account and showed enough to suggest that he can help put right an away record that quite appalling and fast sucking the Yorkshire club into serious trouble.

The meeting of the two sides at The Shay in November was fast and attack minded, when Lionel Ainsworth burst down the Town left in the opening minute it suggested that more of the same was in store. Instead, party-pooper Batt strolled across to dispossess the on loan Derby County striker and from that moment on, despite the five goals, defences dominated. A fine flicked header by Lewis Killeen created on opening for Bastians that he fired well wide of Paul Bastock's left hand upright as Town maintained their positive start.

On nine minutes City midfielder Cracknell was ordered by Mr Hopkins to remove a blue top he had under his yellow City shirt as it clashed with Town's blue shirts. Any chill Cracknell may have felt at that action was later forgotten as he boiled with rage and vented his spleen to anyone in earshot following his sending off in injury time. But the first player to receive a yellow card was Town defender Neal Trotman for a late tackle on Davis some 25 yards from the visitors goal, he was finally cautioned the best part of a minute later when the ball went out of play close to the City goalline.

The opening 21 minutes had been as dire as anything witnessed so far this season but with two goals in three minutes the Saints, who didn't win their first corner until the second half, took a firm grip on proceedings. The opening goal on 22 minutes was beautifully constructed and finished in a somewhat unusual fashion. Archer, starting a match at Clarence Park for the first time, played a short ball to Matt Hann in front of the boardroom and moved between two defenders to collect the return pass. As The Shaymen screamed for offside Archer took precise aim before crossing low in front of Craig Mawson's goal for Clarke to score his 10th goal of the season with the ball appearing to bounce in via his shin.

Slow to learn their lesson, Halifax were caught fast asleep again two minutes later when Hann clipped a good low free kick through the left side of the central area of the visitors defence. Archer was first to react although Mawson was quick to spot the danger and rushed from his line to successfully block the strikers shot. Unfortunately for the keeper his block thudded into Archer who watched with unbridled joy as the ball looped into the Hatfield Road net for his first Conference goal.

With just seven away goals to their name prior to the game, this match was fast slipping way from Wilders' boys. An opening went begging for Halifax on 29 minutes when Gary Elphick ran wide to cut off a Matthew Doughty throw but the imposing defender lost his footing on what was a surprisingly good surface given the recent inclement weather. While Elphick sampled a worms-eye view of the match Ainsworth raced towards the penalty area only to be hustled away from danger by the excellent Djoumin Sangare and Tom Davis.

Halifax squandered another opening when skipper Martin Foster picked up on a loose pass by Hann and sent a diagonal ball into the box that Bastock was beaten to by Trotman only for his toe-poke to bounce a couple of yards wide. Referee Hopkins had already been derided by a disappointing crowd of 1,009 for a succession of curious decisions but he surpassed himself on 35 minutes in the run up to the first Halifax goal. The Shaymen attempted a routine involving a short free kick but took the expression to its extreme by not moving the ball its circumference. As soon as it moved Cracknell showed a burst of speed that would have secured him a motorbike or two down on the Devon coast but the referee was unimpressed and gave the City player a completely unjust yellow card for encroachment. Fears of Mr Hopkins allowing Halifax to keep practicing until they got it right were banished seconds later when Tom Kearney and Killeen tapped the ball short to Bastians whose excellent left-footed shot curled around the City wall and came to rest just inside Bastock's right hand post.

City took the blow badly and for a while conceded possession even more freely than they had thus far with a number of dreadful attempted passes that simply allowed an equally disjointed Town side to do likewise. City, though, did apply some pressure following a Hann free kick before the ball was knocked away only as far as the edge of the penalty area to Cracknell whose shot, in the good ol' days, would have been prevented from completing its journey into the public park by the sadly felled oak tee.

Davis, who at times really seemed to be enjoying himself - perhaps the game looked better on the pitch - clipped a fine ball over the Town defence that Mawson gathered just before Hann could pounce but the half ended with Halifax almost pulling level when Bastians controlled on his knee a ball into the box by Killeen before twisting sharply and shooting narrowly wide of the target.

Wilders sought to strengthen his goalscoring options during the interval by replacing Danny Forrest with Darryn Stamp, the move almost paid off as Town went off in search of their first league win since beating the Saints on 9 December. Four minutes after the restart Stamp rally ought to have levelled the scores with a close range header from a Bastians cross that he somehow planted across the goal and wide of the home goal. Even before that miss hopes had risen for a more entertaining 45 minutes when Archer, freed by Clarke's flick from Bastock's long punt, got clear only to warm the hands of those spectators standing behind Mawson's goal. During these early exchanges Halifax looked a completely different proposition from the one witnessed prior to the interval with Ainsworth and Stamp causing the Saints serious problems but the struggle for goals went on with Ryan Toulson being thwarted by Bastock after Elphick and Davis got tangled up.

Cool thinking by Bastock on 57 minutes saved a certain goal as Ainsworth attacked down the Town right. The City keeper came hurtling out of his penalty area, but concerned that a belted clearance could ricochet goalwards via the diminutive striker, Bastock simply slid along the ground before planting the ball into touch. A minute later and St Albans notched the vital third goal. Hann's slightly over hit through ball forced Mawson into a poor clear clearance as Archer closed in. Grateful for the keepers return pass Hann quickly played the ball back up to Archer who slipped it inside from the cricket pitch side of the ground for Davis to mark his 100th game for the Saints with a perfect finish to Mawson's left in the York Road goal. It was the midfielders 14th goal for the club and his ninth in open play.

Davis was clearly in heaven with that strike and moments later he also saw stars as a clash of heads with Adam Quinn led to both players requiring treatment. Over the course if the next ten minutes Halifax should have been handed an even larger headache as huge gaps began to appear in the Shaymen's defence. On 65 minutes Hann put Archer away with his pace leaving Doughty struggling. Archer placed his shot well, low to Mawson's left but the keeper did equally well to block the effort with his arm. From the ensuing corner, swung outwards by Hann, Clarke headed over by a yard.

One of the best exchanges of the entire game saw Hakim, a virtual spectator compared to the brilliant performance he gave at Stevenage, and Davis exchange passes not once but twice before breaking into the box from the City left. Hakim's ball into Clarke was blocked with Hakim's follow up volley being blocked for a corner; compared to what had gone before City were now rampant and the positive intent continued with Hann's corner being knocked away to Batt whose shot from the best part of 30 yards clipped Trotman but was smothered on the line by the relieved Mawson.

Forward came City once more with Archer feeding Hakim who, coming in from the right, fired the ball into a crowded goalmouth. After a couple of deflections the ball came to Hann whose angled drive was saved by Mawson high to his left. Having failed to make the game completely safe City found themselves on the back foot in the closing stages as Halifax hit back but still the Shaymen could not create clear openings. Twice in quick succession the ball disappeared out of the ground, the second one courtesy of Batt and it was a sad sight as it became impaled on a branch and jerked around uncontrollably as the air seeped out of it.

Down at ground level Halifax had two penalty appeals rejected in quick succession although neither was overly convincing. On 88 minutes the limping Batt was substituted for Chris Seeby, little did City supporters know it was to be their final glimpse of the brilliant Batt in a City shirt.

As the game limped into its first minute of added time Stamp, looking suspiciously offside although City complaints were tame, ran through the middle to collect Martin Foster's long ball before smartly lifting it over the advancing Bastock and dramatically sinking to his knees in front of the 140 Halifax supporters who made the journey to head the ball home as Elphick came charging back to no avail.

City almost cut short the Halifax revival only for Hann's through ball to prove too long for Archer. Almost six minutes of added time had been played - the Fourth Official had earlier indicated four - when City suffered a wicked blow with Cracknell being shown second yellow card for a foul on Killeen. One day, maybe, match officials will accept that not all mistimed tackles are worthy of a booking. Mawson added his substantial frame to the Town attack but following a goalmouth scramble, with Trotman and Quinn both involved, Mawson had a shot charged down and Mr Hopkins blew for time. At last, in the eyes of the locals, he got something right.