Lee Clarke powers a header goalwards
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Morecambe nudged St Albans City another 90 minutes closer to the Conference South on Tuesday night but just a few days after the debacle at Aldershot the Saints left Clarence Park with their pride restored after giving the promotion seeking, and very much in form, Shrimps a tough test before sliding to an unjust 23rd Conference National defeat of the season.
Saints boss Colin Lippiatt made sweeping changes from Saturday's starting XI with Matt Hann, Dean Cracknell and Tom Davis all placed on the bench as Guy Lopez, Malik Buari and Chris Watters all returned to the side. The changes worked a treat as Lopez and Buari, in particular, adding steel to the midfield and problems for the visitors down the City right. Davis, dropped for the first time this season, was given 13 minutes towards the end of the game and used his time well to show just what a quality player he is.
Playing under refurbished floodlights that are now not far short of the lux level required for the Football League - so will be handy in about three seasons time - City looked a far more creative and dangerous side than they have done for a number of weeks, the Dagenham match excepted. Also, a corner count in their favour of 7-2 goes some way towards confirming that City should have got something from the game. Morecambe, on the other hand, seldom got into their rhythm with the Shrimps best spell coming during the eight first half minutes remaining following David McNiven's opening goal. However, credit must go to the Morecambe defence which, although stretched on occasion, restricted the Saints to precious few clear opportunities, indeed St Albans did not have a single on target effort during the second half.
City, attacking the York Road goal, began promisingly with Buari finding Leon Archer with a quite exquisite ball in from the right only for his team-mate to have wandered into an offside position. The same pair combined again moments later with Archer winning the first corner of the game off James Bentley. From Watters set piece Djoumin Sangare met the ball at the back post but headed wide.
All season the Saints have struggled to make good use of free kicks but with Ahmed Deen sending a number of good set plays into the heart of the visitors defence there was always the possibility of City turning one into a goal. That moment almost came on 12 minutes when Morecambe keeper Steven Drench punched weakly Deen's free kick but was relieved to see the danger cleared following a penalty area scramble.
Morecambe's attacking threat was blunted early on by allowing themselves to be caught off side four times in the opening 15 minutes, the one time it looked as though they had stayed onside McNiven shot wastefully straight at Paul Bastock from close in so was probably relieved when he saw that the flag was indeed raised although referee Steve Tomlinson chose to not whistle.
Midway through the half City looked certain to open the scoring when Buari, receiving a short pass from Archer, picked out Clarke with a perfect low cross but the City skipper saw his placed shot from eight yards quite superbly saved right on the goalline by Drench who fell swiftly to his left; just a tad more power and Clarke would have scored only our second goal in 311 minutes. Drench received plaudits for that save and was at it again just two minutes later when Clarke, after the advancing Watters had lost possession, seized on a loose ball and charged forward before striking the ball sweetly with his left foot from 20 yards only for Drench to gather again low to his left.
City, looking anything but a bottom of the table side at this point, maintained the pressure when a Deen free kick was half cleared to Ram Marwa who headed it wide to Clarke. The City captain was clearly enjoying himself and twisted between two defenders into the box but his desire to end a goal drought stretching back over ten games went unfulfilled when his attempted lob drifted gently into Drench's arms.
Several times Morecambe came close to breaking through on the counter attack and McNiven almost benefited when Deen and Bastock successfully confused each other when faced with a long punt before the ball skidded off the advancing keeper and wide of the goal. Morecambe had half hearted appeals for a penalty rejected when Wayne Curtis went down but good fortune was on the Shrimps side on 37 minutes when Matthew Blinkhorn sent McNiven scampering through. The striker appeared to push the ball ahead of himself and Gary Elphick with a hand before he overpowered the City defender and stroked the ball to Bastock's right for the opening goal.
Another misunderstanding in the City defence on 42 minutes led to Bastock hitting a high rushed clearance towards Garry Thompson who struck a glorious speculative drive from 40 yards over the retreating keeper but, just, also over the target. With 90 seconds of added time already played the fourth official, bizarrely, indicated there would be just one extra minute of added time. Nonetheless, the game continued and there was just sufficient time for Deen to cause some concern in the Shrimps defence from a well placed free kick.
Watters, struggling with injury, was replaced at half time but with Buari doing well down the right Watters replacement, Hann, had to take an unaccustomed position wide on the left. Within three minutes of the restart Hann really ought to have pulled St Albans level when Clarke's stunning angled pass cut out Adam Yates and gave Hann a clear sight of goal, albeit from an angle, but the wingers first touch was pretty dreadful and the ball bounced off his foot and out for a goalkick.
In front of their smallest - 613 - and quietest crowd of the season City had Morecambe penned back in their own penalty area with three successive corners. It should really have been four but referee Tomlinson incorrectly awarded Morecambe a goal kick when a Sangare header bounced out of play off the back of a defenders head.
Moments after Bastock and Blinkhorn exchanged a few pleasantries - sort of - the on loan Blackpool striker freed Thompson whose shot was last seen clearing the trees behind the York Road goal. That wild effort typified a period of play that was scrappy with City appearing to adopt a more direct approach, possibly to utilise the speed of Hann and the increasingly quiet Archer. With Lopez winning a lot of the ball in midfield City were still looking useful when spraying the ball around and on 62 minutes a good pass from Lopez enabled Deen to cross for Clarke to glance a header just wide.
Bastock was called upon to make a save from Curtis whose shot followed an undignified battle for possession around the edge of the City penalty area. Morecambe's mop-haired defender, Chris Blackburn, sliced a clearance out for a corner when under pressure from Clarke but the opportunity was squandered when Hann's first effort was headed away at the near post while his follow up proved to be equally unsuccessful. When the ball was knocked away for a second time it was left to Marwa to get the sphere into the danger area where Drench, in some discomfort, gathered.
A grand chance went begging for City on 72 minutes when Chris Seeby, enjoying a fine return to form, won the ball well and crossed to the back post where Archer missed his header. Morecambe, by this time, were looking increasingly dangerous on the counter attack but were again grateful for more swift action by Drench to smother the ball as Archer sought to pounce on Buari's clever low diagonal pass into the box. Ten minutes from time the Shrimps finally ended the Saints hopes of salvaging a fully deserved point with a second goal that fell somewhere between soft and top quality poaching. A long free kick was headed towards the six yard box by Bentley and as Bastock and his defence discussed who should deal with the approaching threat Blinkhorn, much to the delight of the 95 visiting supporters, nipped in to claim the sixth goal of his loan spell and his second against the Saints.
Three minutes later Blinkhorn, sent clear by Thompson, had the ball expertly whipped off his toes by the sprawling Bastock who then flung him himself on top of the ball as Jamie Burns prepared to stroke home the loose ball.
Unlike Saturday's tame surrender to Aldershot, the Saints deserve credit for battling to the end against Sammy McIlroy's side and only more good work by Drench in blocking Buari close to goal after Clarke headed down a Cracknell cross, denied the Citizens and consolation goal. Still City were not finished and with the aid of Drench maybe should have reduced the deficit. Receiving a back pass from Craig Stanley the Shrimps custodian tried to tee the ball up before launching it down the pitch but only succeeded in looking bit of a Charlie as the ball skewed away to his right off the outside of his boot. Archer quickly set up Hann but his shot caused more problems for the 9.21 from St Pancras than it did to Morecambe's number one.
As City pushed forward Morecambe caught their hosts once more on the break but Curtis wanted far too long on the ball and the Saints were able to retreat and avoid any further damage.
The final attacking intent came from Elphick who, with a mixture of determination and frustration, sent a thunderous effort from 45 yards whistling a few yards wide of Drench's right hand upright. All in all, a decent yet unrewarded showing by the Saints, five more performances such as this will allow Colin Lippiatt's boys to bow out with their heads held high. |