St Albans City lost ground on Conference South leaders Weymouth on Saturday as relegation threatened Eastbourne Borough, and an entertainment-destroying gale, blew the Saints off course in a dire encounter at Priory Lane.
Fears that game would not go ahead due to a flooded pitch abated during the week but the fierce wind which improved the surface to that of ‘heavy’ ensured that decent football would be nigh on impossible down on the south coast. Whilst it is true that the conditions ruled out any chance of a flowing game it is also true that City didn’t help themselves with some unusually poor ball control and passing.
St Albans preparations were far from ideal with Simon Martin’s knee injury ruling him out while central defender Ben Lewis failed a pre-match test on a back problem. City took to the field with just three substitutes and not a striker amongst them.
The strength of the wind was highlighted within two minutes of the kick off as a wind assisted Paul Bastock free kick went out of play at the opposite end of the ground while home keeper Lee Hook’s goal kick drifted backwards before landing.
A spell of City pressure ended with Tom Davis flashing the ball across the face of the goal, but on ten minutes there was a shock in store for the visitors when Patrick Ada sent Loui Fazakerly tumbling to the ground as he attempted to latch onto Scott Ramsay’s flick from an Anthony Storey free kick. From the resulting penalty Storey fired low to Bastock’s right to open the scoring.
Unsurprisingly the ball was stationed at the Eastbourne end for much of the remainder of the half but for once the free-scoring Saints looked completely inept around the penalty area as the whole side failed to get to grips with the awkward conditions.
Davis, after chesting down the ball, cracked another effort over the top while Matt Hann, somewhat out of sorts, was sent clear by Chris Seeby only to shoot straight at the advancing Hook. Eastbourne, through Matt Smart, mustered just one other first half threat to the City goal but it was still a surprise when St Albans drew level in the 45th minute with a glorious Seeby strike from 25 yards, after good work involving Davis and Nick Burton, that seemed to gather pace at it flew high across Hook into the roof of the net.
Borough went straight onto the offensive after the restart but generally City coped better into the wind than Eastbourne did but to suggest Colin Lippiatt’s side were threatening would be misleading. A promising move between Lee Clarke and Ben Walshe saw Hann win a corner before Borough hit back with Joe Keehan heading over.
The ease with which City conceded possession was never better illustrated than when Anton Robinson robbed Hann and fed Fazakerly before surging forward to take a return pass and force Bastock into a rare save. Robinson forced Bastock into another save on 78 minutes but City’s title hopes received a boost on 82 minutes when Hann chased a Clarke pass down the right only to be pushed to the ground by Stuart Tuck.
Referee Colin Lymer, on the advice of the linesman on that side of the pitch, awarded his second penalty of the afternoon but Clarke was denied his 20th goal of the season as Hook dived to his right to tip the ball round the post.
Eastbourne, winners of one of their previous nine games, finished the match strongly and thrice went close to snatching the points with Tuck sending a diving header over the bar, Storey slicing an good opening well wide and Matt Crabb whipping in a dangerous low cross that City struggled to clear. |
