Dean Cracknell attempts to take the ball past Aldershot keeper Nikki Bull
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An instantly forgettable clash, no it was not even that good, at the Recreation Ground saw St Albans City stumble to their 22nd Conference National defeat of the season on Saturday and the gap between themselves and safety rise to a dispiriting eight points with just six games to play. A return to the Conference South we left behind last May is clearly a distinct possibility and against Aldershot Town at the weekend City manager Colin Lippiatt accused his side of accepting what is appearing to be increasingly inevitable.
The verve with which City performed during the recent encounter with Dagenham & Redbridge has not been replicated in the three matches since that game and with the Shots extending the Saints winless run to ten games it is difficult to see how City are suddenly going to start securing the wins that have evaded them for most of the season. That said, Tuesday's visit to Clarence Park by Morecambe should not fill City with fear considering that the Saints gave a good account of themselves when the two sides met recently in Lancashire.
For Saturday's first trip to Aldershot in four years City once again showed a large number of changes with Dean Cracknell, Ram Marwa and Lee Clarke all recalled to the starting line up as Malik Buari, Guy Lopez and John Hastings all stood down. Ironically, it was only when those three joined in the fun at differing times during the second half did City appear remotely capable of unsettling a Shots side facing up to life after the departure of long serving boss Terry Brown. Aldershot, under the temporary control of Martin Kuhl, also made three changes to the side that defeated Weymouth in Brown's final game on Tuesday.
Bright sunshine made for pleasant viewing but a strong wind affected the play with the home side having the stronger gusts to their backs during the first half as they attacked the terrace-less road side of the stadium. Aldershot, looking to become the fifth side to complete a Conference double over the Saints this season, were first to threaten when Darren Barnard collected a loose ball after Matt Hann charged down a Louie Soares cross. But, to City's relief, Barnard's cross proved just too long for John Grant and Ryan Williams. The situation was repeated a few minutes later when a Williams free kick also drifted untouched across the face of the City goal while a second Williams cross saw Grant poke the ball into the side netting.
St Albans held their own during the early stages but a goal was as likely as referee Amy Rayner not being criticised simply for being a woman in the mans game. In fact, she received no lack of complaints from City players throughout the game for the simple reason of a remarkably high number of the marginal decisions going the way of the home side. But to suggest she had an influence on the outcome of the match would be way off the mark.
City's best early efforts saw Gary Elphick glance a header wide from an Ahmed Deen free kick while Deen himself, following good work between Hann, Leon Archer and Clarke, worked the ball onto his less favoured right foot before firing high over Nikki Bull's goal. Goalkeeper Paul Bastock was the next Saint to catch the eye when he flung himself high to his left to tip over the top Soares powerful drive. Bastock's excellent save sparked a rush of four successive corners for the Shots but the closest they came to turning one into a goal was a close range header from Anthony Charles - looking every inch an eccentric professor with a hairdo that would not look out of place on a curled up hedgehog - that deflected wide off Hann.
Just when it appeared that City had weathered the storm they were undone by a decision in the 25th minute that was either harsh or spot on depending upon the colour of ones scarf. Two Aldershot players failed to turn in a cross from the Shots left and as Cracknell sought to bring the ball away it bounced up and struck his left hand. Referee Rayner, upon a signal from her linesman, pointed to the spot and Barnard duly despatched the kick to Bastock's left as the keeper dived to his right. Many City supporters will doubtless recall that Barnard was a member of the Bristol City side that defeated the Saints 9-2 in the 2nd Round of the FA Cup way back in 1996, also in the Bristol side that day was Barnard's new boss Kuhl.
Aldershot looked set to add a quick second only for a magnificently timed tackle by Elphick to save the Saints. On 35 minutes Elphick, dominant as ever in the air, headed away a Barnard cross that Dean Smith seized upon and lashed a powerful 25-yard effort just wide of the target. Elphick's fellow central defender Djoumin Sangare, who had a busy afternoon, sliced an attempted clearance high deep inside the visitors penalty area that Grant was first to reach and send a looping header cross the goal and narrowly wide.
Four minutes from the break a swift Shots move involving Williams and Grant sent Soares away, Bastock parried the strikers shot from the edge of the box and then, quite amazingly, stretched out his left arm to block Grant's follow up when a goal looked to be odds on. City almost found a way through just prior to the break when Tom Davis fed Clarke whose through ball almost freed Cracknell only for Bull to race from his goal to clear.
As Lippiatt stated during the week, a draw was of little use to the Saints so it would have been fair to expect City to come out with all guns blazing after the break. In fact, it took the Saints twelve minutes of the second period to threaten a comeback with former Shot Deen aiming a throw to Chris Seeby and taking the return before crossing into the goalmouth where Archer - experiencing his quietest day yet in a City shirt - completely scuffed his shot but Cracknell battled hard to keep the chance alive before scooping the ball, with his back to goal, over the top.
Aldershot almost added a freak second goal when Davis, deep inside the City penalty area, appeared to leave a Barnard free kick that then bounced and ricocheted goalwards off Jonny Dixon but again Bastock was alert to claw the ball round the post prior to offering some ‘advice' to his colleague.
On 58 minutes Archer was put out of his misery with Hastings sent on to partner Clarke up front and within two minutes the on-loan MK Dons striker should have been given a clear run at goal but Hann, after Cracknell had won the ball well, delayed his pass far too long by which time his team-mate had wandered into an offside position. Another chance went begging when Seeby passed to Deen down the City left and from his first time cross Hastings headed comfortably over. Aldershot responded with a long diagonal pass from Barnard that Williams, just beyond the back post, brought down smartly but was denied a shot on goal by Seeby's swift and well-timed tackle.
Twice within a minute City found themselves in good positions but failed to hit the target on either occasion. From the first effort Davis, collecting a headed clearance from a Deen throw, fired a couple of yards over from 20 yards while on 71 minutes Deen dispossessed Smith and advanced to the edge of the box only to shoot tamely wide of Bull's left hand upright. A minute later and City's faint hope of salvaging as much as a point was all but extinguished as Grant, who scored twice when Aldershot handed City their first defeat of the season back in August, notched his 20th goal of the season. Ricky Newman played a short pass to Williams who clipped a high ball through the middle of the City defence. Sangare looked to be in control of the situation but instead of attacking the ball waited for it to bounce and, under pressure from Grant, then tried to head it back to Bastock but simply left his keeper in no man's land and allowed the Aldershot striker to stab an easy finish to the left of the stranded keeper.
Three minutes later City sent on Buari and his impact was immediate and positive. The Ghanaian put Aldershot under pressure when winning a couple of headers in dangerous positions and put the best through ball of the match up to Cracknell who chose to play a square pass instead of going for goal - in fairness to him his space was limited due to Bull moving quickly to block him - and the chance was lost.
Cracknell, who worked hard throughout, was also involved a few minutes earlier when he tried to turn in Clarke's ball into the box, when he was blocked Hastings took possession and after being forced away from goal twisted and hammered a powerful ball into the goalmouth that was well gathered by Bull.
Ten minutes from time City's last real chance disappeared when Buari did well to win a header that fell kindly to Hastings who, in confined space, succeeded in lifting the ball over the Shots keeper but also wide of his right hand upright. Aldershot almost added to City's woe's during added time when Mark Pritchard and Williams created an opening for Ryan Scott but the youngsters header went softly through to Bastock. |
