Two goals from the debut making Ben Cogger was the highlight of St Albans City’s delayed despatching of Hoddesdon Town from the Herts Senior Cup on Tuesday night and lifted some of the gloom currently engulfing Clarence Park.
Cogger, scorer of 14 goals so far this season for City’s successful Reserve side, notched one in each half and along with strikes from Jay Murray and Graeme Tomlinson laid the foundation for City’s biggest win for 14 months since beating Ware 6-0 in the same competition.
But City’s win was not achieved without some cost as within the first 26 minutes the Saints lost both Will Davies – on his home debut – and Miguel De Souza through injury. The loss of his central defensive duo forced manager Steve Castle pull Richard Thomas and Murray out of midfield and attack respectively to bolster the back four.
South Midlands League side Hoddesdon could have further added to City’s woes had they not squandered three clear cut opportunities but their finishing was found to be as erratic as it had been during the abandoned encounter the previous week.
On a bone chilling night City were quickly onto the offensive with Jamie Richards getting to the goalline and whipping over a perfect cross which the unmarked Murray headed wide from in front of goal. Two minutes later, the fourth, the same duo repeated the move but this time Murray became the Saints third highest scorer this season, on four, by heading the ball inside keeper Andy Young’s near post.
With a fine piece of skill from Tomlinson City almost went two up only for his shot to fly just over the target. Hoddesdon should have pulled level when Dally Sullivan precisely set up Ashley McAloon with a cushioned header but somehow the Town striker blazed high over the goal as Davies dived in and injured himself in the process.
Another good opportunity went begging on 21minutes when Jackson Gash made space for himself only to slice his shot comfortably wide. That miss was fully punished in the 23rd minute when Cogger seized on a bouncing ball just inside the Town penalty area and neatly clipped it over the advancing Young and a retreating defender on the goalline to claim his first goal in senior football since netting for Oxford City against Barton Rovers in October 2002.
Hoddesdon’s determination not to convert the simplest of chances came to the fore again on 53 minutes when Sullivan and Gash combined well to tee the ball up for Andy Purcell who failed to direct the ball into an open net. Seconds later Young made a fine save high to his left from a Tomlinson header but on 66 minutes the keeper was beaten for a third time as Thomas headed a Tomlinson corner goalwards for Cogger to neatly backheel home from virtually on the Hatfield Road goalline.
The scoring was completed a minute from time when a cross by Andy Oxby struck the raised arm of Robbie Moules, from the resultant spot kick Tomlinson successful put away City’s fifth penalty of the season when he placed his shot high in the middle of Young’s goal.
Report by Dave Tavener |
