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09.11.2013 at 15:00 Clarence Park Attendance : 3251
St Albans City
1 - 8
Mansfield Town
Referee : Mark Heywood (Cheshire) FA Cup 1st Round match

Goalscorers
Darren Locke (8)
Lee Stevenson (44)
Anthony Howell (45)
Colin Daniel (70)
Sam Clucas (74)
Ollie Palmer (77)
Sam Clucas (81)
Sam Clucas (86)
Sam Clucas (90)
Opening squads
Paul Bastock
Lee Chappell
Mark Nwokeji
Ranbir Marwa
Richard Graham
Howard Hall
James Kaloczi
Darren Locke
David Keenleyside
James Comley
John Frendo
Alan Marriott
Colin Daniel
Anthony Howell
George Pilkington
John McCombe
Sam Clucas
Jamie Maguire
James Jennings
Lee Stevenson
Ollie Palmer
Ritchie Sutton
Substitutes
Tom Coulton
Harrison Georgiou
Chris Henry
Chris Watters
Elliott Bailey
Matt Taylor
Danny Green
Matt Rhead
Lindon Meikie
Calvin Andrew
Paul Black
Keiran Murtagh
Godfrey Poku
Ian Deakin
Substitutions
Chris Henry -> Richard Graham (51)
Elliott Bailey -> Mark Nwokeji (78)
Chris Watters -> David Keenleyside (82)
Matt Rhead
Lindon Meikie -> Lee Stevenson (78)
Paul Black -> James Jennings (89)
Godfrey Poku -> Ollie Palmer (90)
Yellow cards
None. Ritchie Sutton (59)
George Pilkington (76)
Red cards
None. None
Match report






Eight-one, it doesn’t sound good. But for 43 minutes there was a whiff of an FA Cup giant-killing in the air at Clarence Park on Saturday as St Albans City led against League Two side Mansfield Town before being struck just before the interval by two goals in a minute and a rather more painful extra six goals late in the second half.

What for such a long time promised to be City’s greatest day for 89 years, when Brentford were knocked out of the FA Cup at the Park, turned, so it felt, in a blink of an eye into a cruel massacre as the Saints plummeted to their second heaviest defeat in the competition and a slaughter that for 70 minutes was unimaginable.

During a fateful final 21 minutes Mansfield were ruthless; the Stags were doing the culling and the victims were crestfallen Saints. The scene was set for an upset. Mansfield were struggling for goals and had gone seven games without a win.

City, three Divisions below their guests, were 11 games unbeaten and possessed an attacking combination of John Frendo and Mark Nwokeji that has appeared capable of unpicking the meanest of defences. And when St Albans took an early lead against a Mansfield side troubled by injuries and suspensions, and that they held that lead for so long, the buzz of the excellent attendance of 3,251 suggested that City were on the verge grabbing centre stage. Instead, that honour went to Mansfield’s summer signing from Hereford United, Sam Clucas as the Stags leading scorer struck four times in 16 minutes, including a nine minute hat trick.

As expected City went into the game without injured captain Ben Martin, while Ryan Wharton and Greg Ngoyi were both suspended.

St Albans lined up with three changes from the midweek FA Trophy tie at Billericay with Darren Locke, John Frendo and Richard Graham replacing Wharton, Elliot Bailey and Chris Watters. Although Mansfield, attacking the York Road end, started brightly City were coping well and even made the first threat on goal when Lee Chappell soared down the left wing and drilled the ball low towards the near post where Stags keeper Alan Marriott collected cleanly. Mansfield responded with a James Jennings corner that led to Anthony Howell seeing his header into the goalmouth charged down. But on eight minutes Clarence Park’s largest attendance for 33 years exploded as City opened the scoring.

Skipper James Comley, an inspirational figure throughout, floated a free kick into the Stags penalty area that Nwokeji challenged for. The ball broke to Chappell whose drive was blocked by team-mate Frendo. Former Saint Ollie Palmer stepped in to clear but his miss-kick went to the in-form David Keenleyside on the right hand side of the penalty area. Spotting Kaloczi and Locke unmarked, Keenleyside clipped a perfect ball to the far post for Locke to power a header past Marriott.

Conceding a goal so early was not a problem for Mansfield but it so nearly became two when a flowing City move through the middle of the pitch involving Comley, Keenleyside and Nwokeji ended with Frendo’s shot being saved by Marriott. A good chance went begging for Mansfield when Palmer sent Colin Daniel through but his rising shot from a tight angle flew across the goal and away from danger.

Mansfield, back in the Football League after five years in the Football Conference, were grateful for two pieces of superb defending by John McCombe that saw him block a threatening ball across the penalty area by Keenleyside, and then tackle the same player as he closed in on goal. A section of the ground believed the Stags had equalised when the talented Sam Clucas fired the ball past Paul Bastock but the net that rippled was the side-netting. The home goal had a remarkable let-off when Palmer broke free and from around 26 yards lifted the ball over Bastock only for it bounce into the keeper’s arms via the face of the crossbar.

St Albans attacks became less potent as the half wore on although Locke, scorer of only one goal this season before this game, headed over from a Comley free kick. After Bastock saved low down from Clucas City broke quickly from the ensuing corner with Frendo sending Nwokeji away and seemingly clear. But just as the striker went for his shot Daniel made a stunning sliding tackle and nudged the ball just enough to force Nwokeji to slice his shot well wide.

For a second City looked to be heading for a two-goal lead but in a dramatic twist that had not been on the cards, Mansfield took control with two goals in a minute. On 44 minutes Comley broke up a Mansfield attack and played the ball to Howard Hall who attempted to find Frendo on the halfway line. A good tackle by McCombe led to the ball breaking to Jamie Maguire and with a deadly through ball the midfielder cut City open and sent Lee Stevenson clear. With a composed left-footed shot Stevenson beat Bastock to awaken the 500 or so Mansfield supporters present.

A minute later and the Stags were positively roaring as the tie swung decisively in their favour with a second goal. Palmer, out on the Stags right, played a short pass to Jennings before surging towards the edge of the penalty area and helping the return pass on its path to Howell who just avoided being offside to score from close in. To say City were stunned would be to understate their emotions to the nth degree; the tide had turned.

After the interval Comley’s influence was not as great as it had been before the break while Keenleyside was offered precious few opportunities to pick open the Stags defence. Nwokeji and Frendo were also well shackled and the on-target shot count after the break of nine-to-one in Mansfield’s favour tells its own story. But that one City shot came just three minutes after the restart and Marriott required two attempts to safely collect Chappell’s well-struck effort. City midfielder Richard Graham retired with a slight hamstring pull on 51 minutes and the introduction of Chris Henry on the left flank promised to increase the Saints attacking threat. But, as joint manager James Gray later admitted, City struggled to get Henry into the game.

Bastock was tested soon after the restart with a long range effort from Jennings and the 43-year-old keeper also had to contend with a header by Palmer that was smartly pushed over the crossbar. While the arrears was still just one goal St Albans remained in with a chance of retaining the unbeaten record the club had at home to Football League clubs in the FA Cup. Frendo, who had scored in each of City’s four previous FA Cup ties this season, had a sniff of adding to that tally when Ritchie Sutton’s poor clearance to a Keenleyside corner fell straight to the feet of the London cabbie who sliced his rushed shot well wide.

Frendo was more decisive with his next effort as he volleyed the ball into the back of the net from 18 yards after Locke had picked him out with a spectacular overhead kick; unfortunately for City linesman Darren Blunden ruled that the ball was out of play before Locke had carried out his acrobatics. Still there was no hint of the slaughter that was about to unfold although warning was served when, in quick succession, Stevenson and Clucas flashed shots across the face of the home goal.

As the game reached the 70th minute Mansfield’s progress through to the 2nd Round was far from assured, within the next seven minutes it was cast in stone. As fatigue began to gnaw into the home side Clucas stepped up a gear to devastating effect. On 70 minutes Clucas, attacking down the Town right, cut back inside Chappell and crossed from the edge of the penalty area with his left foot for Daniel to blast a thunderous volley past Bastock. Locke, with another header from a Comley free kick, almost reduced the deficit before a cross-field pass picked out Clucas. Again he cut inside to the right of Chappell and beat Bastock with a left-footed curling shot inside the diving keeper’s right hand post.

The outcome was starting to look bleak for City and on 77 minutes Palmer scored his first goal at the Park since November 2010 – when he scored for City against Staines – with a crisp drive to the right of Bastock at the end of a long run. St Albans could have looked to shore up the defence in an act of damage limitation but opted to carry on as they were and Frendo almost pulled one back with a deflected shot that only just went wide. On 81 minutes Marriott caught a Keenleyside corner and launched the ball towards the Hatfield Road goal. Palmer glanced the ball on for Lindon Meikle, on the town right, to clip a pass to the back post for the unmarked Clucas to tuck away the sixth Mansfield goal.

The Stags were now rampaging through the Park with embarrassing ease and on 86 minutes a swift move involving Meikle and Jennings combined to free Clucas who completed his hat-trick with a delicate chip over the again exposed Bastock. Meikle should have added his name to growing list of goals when clean through but Bastock stood his ground well and beat away the substitutes shot. Mansfield, though, had not yet declared and in the 90th minute did strike for the eighth time when City waited for an offside flag and allowed the onside Meikle to move forward and tee up Clucas for a superb chip over the stranded Bastock for his fourth and the final Mansfield goal. While Mansfield’s supporters celebrated St Albans followers caught a brief glimpse of another of their old boys as Godfrey Poku replaced Palmer for the final few seconds.

The defeat is City’s largest at home in the FA Cup, their second largest in the competition overall and brings to a shuddering halt their 11 match unbeaten run in all competitions, as well as an 11 match undefeated run in cup competitions. The attendance is the highest since the visit of Torquay United in the 2nd Round of the FA Cup in 1980.

It was probably not quite how joint City manager Graham Golds had planned on spending his 44th birthday.