Tom Davis in a race for the ball
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Despite progressing through to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, Bishop’s Stortford have kept more than one eye on the play-offs as impressive wins over Cambridge City and Dorchester Town in the week leading up to their visit to Clarence Park on Saturday testify. And judging by the way Stortford set off at the start of this Nationwide Conference South fixture they were keen to maintain that run and push for a vital top six placing. The Saints, as they were a week earlier at Welling United, were under intense pressure from the off and inside the opening eight minutes Martin Hayes’ side could have built a match winning lead as Paul Hakim had a shot deflected over the bar by Gary Elphick, Dave Rainford headed against the crossbar and Paul Bastock saved from Steve Parmenter.
Gradually City’s defence regained its normal composure and the Bishop’s threat, although present throughout the game, became better contained, that said two penalty decisions – one for handball and one for a foul – both went in favour of the home side and had either been given to Stortford could have changed the destiny of the points.
This is by some distance the best and most entertaining Stortford side to have visited the Park for a number of years yet once over their early problems City went on to more than match the in-form visitors with some enterprising football of their own. Lee Clarke, again in superb form, was the first to cause some anxiety in the Stortford goal with an effort over the top and Matt Hann had a shot comfortably taken by Andrew Young before the right-sided midfielder crossed from in front of the boardroom for Ram Marwa to open the scoring on 31 minutes with a beautifully placed glancing header to Young’s right.
With both sides playing an open attacking game more goals were in the offing but at the interval Marwa’s fourth goal for the Saints, and first at the Park, separated the sides. The second period began in exactly the opposite fashion to the first with this time City putting the Bishop’s under sustained pressure although it was Stortford, through a header by Richard Howell that struck the crossbar, who came closest to altering the scoreline.
That moment aside City were attacking with great confidence and style. The midfield, after being virtually non-existent at Welling, were now in fine fettle as they sprayed the ball across the pitch to Ben Walshe and Hann who were causing problems for Stortford down both flanks while Tom Beech, although it must be said wildly inconsistent, was enjoying his best game since signing from Cambridge United. Clarke and Walshe were both involved in the 71st minute victory-clinching second goal; the former was fouled and from the latter’s free kick the ball was half-cleared to Tom Davis whose cross to the back post evaded two City players and one defender but was collected by Chris Seeby who commemorated his best performance for some weeks by tucking the ball under the diving Young and just inside the keepers right hand post. Young Seebs, despite spending most of the season playing in defence, is now the Saints second highest scorer in the league this season with four goals.
With the cushion of a second goal behind them City proceeded to move the ball about with even greater fluidity and for a while Stortford were on the racks. Dean Hooper, named as man of the match but the award could have gone to one of any number of players, went on a thirty-yard diagonal run that ended with a rare left-footed shot just drifting beyond the target while a chipped cross by Hann was just too high for the towering Beech to nod in
In the closing stages City, as they have been so often in his twenty games for the club, were thankful to the brilliance of Bastock as he made outstanding saves from Mervin Abraham and Rainford to ensure his fifth clean sheet in the past six home league matches.
In between those two saves, just at the start of added time, came the only sour note of a thoroughly enjoyable encounter. Ben Martin and Abraham clashed, accidentally so it appeared from distance, with the ball some twenty-five yards away. Abraham, who only came on at half time, felt that he had been roughly treated by the City defender and unwisely threw a punch after rising to his feet. The sinning Bishop was duly dismissed and that seemed to be the end of the matter until a linesman called referee Ian Scarr across and indicated Martin was to blame for the initial incident thereby earning Martin our ninth red card of the season – ten if one were to include the removal of our former manager from the bench for insulting the referee at Havant. It was unfortunate that Mr Scarr had to take such action but with an assessor in the stand he had no option.
Steve Castle collected 39 points from his 47 league games as manager of St. Albans City; from Colin Lippiatt’s last 13 league games the Saints have collected 28 points, surely it cannot be left much longer before his future with the Saints is secured with the offer of employment for next season.
Report by David Tavener |
