Neil Grayson applies the finishing touch for Stafford's third goal
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Any ambition St Albans City held of going unbeaten at Clarence Park for a third consecutive home Conference National match for the first time was shattered by a truly dreadful performance on Saturday that allowed Stafford Rangers to ease their own fears of returning to the Conference North with a comfortable three-goal romp over an out of sorts Saints. The win takes Phil Robinson's side four points clear of their hosts whose goals against figure now stands at a whopping 65 from 33 games - 18 goals more than Stafford's whose defence, prior to today, was the second most generous in the Division.
This was the 17th successive match in which the City line up has shown alterations from the previous game as Malik Buari came in for his debut at the expense of Matt Hann who was relegated to the bench for the first time this season. Leon Archer returned up front after suspension in place of Simon Martin, who has been in talks with a number of other clubs over the past week as he falls down the pecking order at the Park, while Gary Elphick and Chris Watters had both recovered from the cramp that afflicted them the previous week at Rushden & Diamonds.
Stafford showed three changes from a midweek defeat at home to Stevenage Borough with 19-year old Dublin born goalkeeper Robert Duggan, on loan from Stoke City, making his debut. City had six changes from when the two sides met at Marston Road in November while Stafford fielded a remarkable seven changes.
On what was a fine early spring afternoon at Clarence Park - the first butterfly of the year having been spotted in midweek - City opened in a most promising manner, swift in the tackle, passing crisply and moving forward with what appeared genuine menace - by ten minutes past three it had all but fizzled out. Inside 40 seconds City almost broke through when Archer played the ball wide to Chris Watters whose low return ball into the box was cut out as Archer closed in. Two minutes later Buari won the Saints first corner of the day at the Hatfield Road end of the stadium.
Unfortunately for City Watters has yet to find his feet when it comes to set pieces with his cross being easily cleared by the defender at the near post. Later in the half Watters problems persisted as one corner from in front of the boardroom bounced weakly towards the near post before being put behind with his next attempt swinging tamely into the side netting to the bemusement of those standing in the penalty area.
On 11 minutes a good City move saw Lee Clarke switch the ball out to Watters on the left, after working his way to the goalline the former Boreham Wood player cut the ball cross the goal to beyond the far post where Buari launched it into orbit. Clarke was none too pleased having continued his run into the box and was clearly unmarked by the near post.
City's wastefulness from such good positions was fully punished within the next nine minutes as Stafford, untroubled by a relatively late arrival at Clarence Park, sauntered into a two-goal lead. St Albans looked to have cleared the danger from a corner on 15 minutes but when David McNiven crossed the ball in from the Rangers left and the brilliant veteran Neil Grayson applied a flick Craig McAughtrie was able to stretch, unchallenged, to prod the opening goal into the York Road net from close in. It was the tenth time in eleven games that City had conceded the opening goal.
Hopes of a swift response were dashed when Wayne Daniel stepped in smartly to dispossess Clarke as the City captain controlled the ball on his chest in the penalty area and a minute later, the 20th, 42-year old Grayson doubled City's problems. Another cross from the Stafford left, this time from Nathan Talbott, was met with a left-footed volley by Grayson some 12 yards from goal. Although he did not make a clean connection the former Northampton Town striker got just enough on the ball to see it wriggle beyond Paul Bastock's grasp and just inside the left hand upright of his one-time Boston United team-mate.
The game threatened to turn into a rout on 21 minutes as a spell of Stafford pressure looked odds on to end in a third goal only for Bastock to pull off a spectacular save to his left as McAughtrie went for his second of the afternoon. City's strength of late, despite what the record books may say, has been their defence but they were looking decided uneasy against the Rangers attack with Grayson winning a surprising number of high balls and also linking most effectively with those around him.
The visitors continued to offer the main threat with Levi Reid firing over whilst for City Buari was experiencing a most unusual debut. Frequently the Ghanaian-born player worked himself into a good position only for his delivery to be a touch wayward and four times he shot in the general direction of the goal but not once on target. Two of his efforts high over Duggan's goal did suggest that he still has Aussie Rules goals in his mind following his recent stint Down Under with the New Zealand Knights.
City had one of their more decent spells around the half hour mark but when Buari shot well over and Watters' two poor corners came to nothing Stafford escaped unscathed. Rangers had half-hearted penalty appeals rejected when Grayson went down as Djoumin Sangare lunged in while the half ended with the sadly all too familiar sight of City wasting a free kick from a good position close to the edge of the penalty area.
Having resisted what one suspects must have been a strong urge to make changes at the interval Colin Lippiatt would have been looking for an improved performance after the interval as he starts his second century of league games as manager of the Saints- did not get one.
Now attacking the bottom end Hatfield Road goal, Stafford were soon pushing City back with Robin Gibson winning an early corner. Reid swung the ball out, Grayson clipped it goalwards with Watters heading off the goalline and as City struggled to clear their lines Grayson's follow up shot was deflected wide for another corner.
Duggan had little to spoil his debut for Stafford but did distinguish himself with an excellent reflex save to his right following a clever a flick by Ram Marwa and good approach work involving Clarke and Deen; the latter being probably City's best player on the day. Indeed it was Deen who supplied St Albans most dangerous corner of the match although it too was competently dealt with by a Rangers defence that kept its first clean sheet in eight games.
Both goals came under threat just before the hour with Bastock staying alert to cleanly gather a crisply struck cross-cum-shot by Ged Murphy while good work Clarke took him between two defenders with his cut back being knocked back to Duggan by a team-mate who was not penalised for a back pass.
Lippiatt could wait no longer to make chances and on the hour replaced Watters and Marwa with Hann and Dean Cracknell. Several position changes ensued with Clarke dropping into midfield, Buari pushed forward to partner Archer and Deen moving up from left back to the left side of the midfield. Shortly after the changes City's best chance of the day went begging and Buari and Duggan challenged for a Tom Davis cross and when the ball came to ground Elphick, in an unaccustomed attacking position, stabbed the chance wide. Another good opportunity was not accepted when Bastock collected a soft effort from McNiven and sent Hann away down the right. His low cross was missed in front of goal but Deen, coming in from the left, got a clear view of the ball only to show a lack of composure as he sliced his shot into the home terrace.
Stafford were denied a second possible penalty when Ada, booked in the first half for a foul on Anthony Griffiths, appeared to catch the lively Rangers substitute Guy Madjo when attempting a tackle from behind the striker. Madjo, following a Grayson header, went close with a diving header before Davis nipped smartly between two defenders and laid a short pass off to Archer whose snap shot once more failed to test the teenage keeper. Five minutes from time Davis excelled in a defensive role to block Robin Gibson after Madjo got the better of Ada.
After Clarke and Grayson had both fired off target inside the final five minutes it was left to former England semi-pro international Grayson, deep into added time, to complete the scoring when he stooped to nod the ball over the line after Bastock had pulled off an excellent, though ultimately futile, save as Robin Gibson tried to lob the ball over him from inside the penalty area. Unless there was a goal elsewhere in the Division deeper into stoppage time it was the 999th goal scored in the Conference National this season. |
