By David Tavener
Jonathan Hunt’s successfully converted first half penalty at a chilly Park View Road on Tuesday night cemented St Albans City’s place in the top ten of Blue Square South and clinched a fourth successive league win for the Saints – their best run for almost three years.
Welling United, beaten 1-0, are City’s most prized scalp in their recent surge up the table and this third successive away victory was achieved with an impressive attacking performance during the latter stages of the opening 45 minutes and dogged determination after the break by one of the meanest defences in the Division.
Steve Castle is fully aware that once again the attack fired blanks but the City manager was full of praise for strikers Simon Martin and Gary Cohen; with those two leading the attack Paul Hakim had to be content with a seat on the bench.
Following the weekend win over lowly Bognor Castle made just one change with Lee Clarke’s hardworking performance after replacing Hakim during the second half on Saturday earning a deserved recall to the midfield, a position from which he looked most comfortable.
Overall this match was hardly a thriller but after the tedium of the previous three games it had some welcome moments of high drama. Welling were impressive and determined in the early stages. Playing at a high tempo and attacking mode it was clear that City were in for a far sterner test than in recent matches.
But whatever problems City may have in locating the target is being overshadowed at the present time by an outstanding defence as Welling became the fifth side in the past eight league games to fail to find the back of Paul Bastock’s goal. With Ryan Frater back from injury to partner Ben Martin, that statistic could well be extended although City did lose Frater on 74 minutes with an injured right ankle.
Despite the Wings bright opening, it was City that should have drawn first blood when Cohen seized upon a loose back pass by Adam Gross on 80 seconds. But after storming into the penalty area Cohen seemed to lose some composure and instead of going for goal drove a curious ball across the face of the goal that Simon Martin had little hope of reaching.
Most of the action, though, was centred around the City goal with a powerfully struck Tony Sinclair corner causing near pandemonium in Bastock’s six-yard box. As the pressure mounted City, with a tremendous block by Ben Martin and superb tackle in the penalty area by Luke Thurlbourne, demonstrated why only Chelmsford have conceded fewer goals than them so far this season.
Bastock made the first of several fine saves on 11 minutes when using his legs well to thwart one-time Saint Jerome Anderson from close range, with Ryan Johnson’s effort moments later drifting just wide of the target. Anderson, who made one 78-minute undistinguished appearance for the Saints last season, was denied by the legs of Bastock for a second time before a deadly counter-attack led to the only goal of the game.
As Welling pushed forward City broke swiftly down their right with Cohen getting goal-side of Matthew McEntegart before the Wings central defender clumsily sent the City striker tumbling inside the penalty area. Hunt calmly slotted the ball low to Jamie Turner’s left as the keeper headed in the opposite direction to join Hakim as City’s leading scorer on four.
In that instance the whole balance of the game changed and with a modicum of good fortune City could well have had the points in the bag by half time.
Turner stretched to tip over a Hunt free kick after the lively Cohen had again been impeded, and a desperate block was required to deny Hunt after Turner’s wayward clearance – under pressure from Cohen following Ben Martin’s teasing through ball – was collected by the experienced midfielder.
The pressure on the home goal was maintained when a half cleared corner was gathered by Scott Cousins who, after evading one challenge, drove in a left-footed shot from 25 yards that bounced awkwardly for the keeper who just managed to push it high and narrowly wide of his right hand upright.
On 32 minutes City had very strong appeals for a second spot kick rejected. Hunt and Cohen exchanged short passes down the right and from Hunt’s cross to the back post Clarke headed the ball down to Simon Martin whose shot appeared to strike the fist of a Wings defender. As the play went on Martin, from no more than eight yards, drove another low effort goalwards that Turner did well to smother.
After a spell of relative inactivity Bastock had to scamper across his goal to clutch an Ellis Green free kick that threatened to bounce inside his far post after missing a mass of players in a crowded penalty area. But it was City who ended the half very much in the ascendancy with Sam Hurrell, after a quiet start, coming to life with a series of dangerous runs at the home defence.
Although City were unable to capitalise on the growing threat of Hurrell he lit up a bitterly cold night with one stunning sprint past right back Graeme Andrews after giving the Wings defender a two-yard start.
United boss Andy Ford gambled on a double substitution at the start of the second half with the nomadic James Baker coming in to the attack along with the far more impressive and threatening Sanchez Ming.
Within minutes of the restart Ming gave warning as to his capabilities with a blistering drive that Bastock punched away after James Fisher had headed away a Lee Blackburn free kick. As City sought to nullify Ming’s contribution Hunt became the first of three second half bookings for the visitors.
Hunt was quite superb before the break and despite being much quieter in a scrappy though breathless second half went close when stretching to reach a cut back from Simon Martin after a throw by Fisher had sent the Brookmans Park school teacher away down the right.
Although on top Welling were struggling to test Bastock and Frater, not the most mobile of central defenders, epitomised City’s determination when getting back to block a cross from Anderson at the expense of a corner. It was to be Frater’s final serious slice of the action before an ankle injury curtailed his involvement.
Prior to substitute James Quilter replacing his stricken team-mate Clarke filled in alongside Ben Martin. The return of the reliable Quilter did little to upset the Saints defensive solidity although City were thankful to Bastock’s iron-like fists for twice repelling the hosts on 82 minutes.
Baker, a City trialist from two summers ago, hammered in a cracking drive from 20 yards that the on-looking Teddy Sheringham would have been proud of, only for Bastock to stand firm and beat the ball away. A split second later and the Bostonian keeper used his fists to great effect for a third time in the match as Ming sought to level the scores from inside the box.
With those saves Bastock had clipped Welling’s wings and it was the Kent side that had some anxious moments in the closing minutes as Hakim, three times, unsettled the home defence. With a point to prove, Hakim’s late flurry was understandable and another substitute who did his cause no harm was Hector Mackie.
Mackie’s last Appearance for the Saints had been during the home defeat to Welling just over a year ago but with several useful touches and interceptions the one-time Tottenham trialist will remember this game with greater affection. |