St Albans City slithered to a first Blue Square South home defeat in almost three months on Saturday as Worcester City, courtesy of a 2-0 victory at a damp and cold Clarence Park, recorded their first double of the season.
Saints manager Steve Castle has been concerned at the loss of form by his side over the past two weeks and Saturday’s dismal display will have done little to put his mind at rest as City’s recent seven match winning run fades into history.
Excluding two successes in the County Cup, City went into Saturday’s first home meeting with Worcester without a win in four matches and although goal chances were scarce a shot count in St Albans’ favour of six to one suggested that a return to winning ways could be imminent.
Instead, it was the visitors who took the second half honours as Richard Dryden’s side ended a dismal run of five defeats in six Blue Square matches.
City showed two changes from the side beaten at Braintree the previous Saturday with Scott Cousins returning at left back in place of Adam Everitt and Paul Hakim stepping in up front in place of Bradley Gray. The visitors made one alteration from the team beaten by league leaders Chelmsford last weekend with striker Matthew Dinsmore coming in for Mick McGrath.
Attacking the Hatfield Road goal St Albans made a promising start with Hassan Sulaiman stretching to poke a shot through to keeper Daniel McDonnell from the edge of the penalty area in the first minute. With the Saints mustering just three other on-target efforts during the remaining 89 minutes it was something of a false dawn
But City almost forged ahead on 16 minutes when a Cousins cross from the left was met just outside the penalty area by Hakim who rose well to head the ball square to Gary Cohen. Facing away from goal Cohen let the ball run across him before twisting and firing in a fine left footed drive that went just wide of the diving McDonnell’s right hand post.
The pace of both sides during the opening 45 minutes suggested that something good was about to happen but poor passing and excessive use of the long ball made for a dour encounter, indeed the game became littered with tedious spells of ‘head-tennis football’.
A swift counter-attack following a corner by the visitors Graham Ward almost led to a breakthrough when Sulaiman picked the ball up just outside his own penalty area and ran deep into Worcester territory before playing a pass inside to James Quilter. The midfielder helped the ball on its path across the pitch to Hakim who cut inside only to shoot tamely through to McDonnell.
The persistence of Cohen won the Saints their first corner of the match on 38 minutes. A routine between Jonathan Hunt and Luke Thurlbourne was ineffective although City did win a second corner that Hunt knocked long. The ball was partially cleared with Hakim returning it into the goalmouth where Ryan Frater sent a looping header onto the roof of the net.
Worcester had failed to trouble Paul Bastock throughout the half but right on half time Marc Adaggio went close with an overhead effort into the side netting.
Having shaded the play of an uneventful first half the Saints completely failed to get going after the break and that an excellent tackle by Ben Martin was required to stop the marauding Adaggio in his tracks, as the Worcester striker burst into the penalty area immediately after the restart, gave notice of what was to follow.
Seven minutes after the interval Worcester, through midfielder David Bampton’s effort from 25 yards, finally got a shot on target but Bastock saved with ease. There was little doubt that the tide was turning and on 55 minutes Worcester became only the second visiting side this season to score at the Hatfield Road end.
The goal, a breakaway, came at the end of a spell of sustained pressure – mostly toothless - by St Albans but with Martin lending a hand to the attack there was a gaping hole in the City defence.
A long clearance by Gary Walker exposed that gap for Dinsmore to race clear and slip the ball wide of Bastock who may well regret retreating back to his goal rather than moving towards the diminutive Worcester goalscorer.
On the hour Castle shuffled his pack with Simon Martin replacing Sulaiman for his first league appearance in five weeks, while one-time Worcester defender Jon Munday replaced Frater for his home league debut.
But just two minutes later and the visitors had the points in the bag. Adaggio was unable to control the ball just wide of the penalty area but it broke kindly to Craig Wilding whose shot from 20 yards clipped Munday leaving Bastock flat-footed as the ball looped inside the keeper’s left hand post.
Within a minute St Albans threatened a fightback as Hunt, from the City left, and Hakim worked the ball across to Munday whose shot produced a diving fingertip save from McDonnell. City maintained the pressure and when an attack was half cleared Cousins picked out the surprisingly unmarked Quilter who, from 12 yards, shot into the side netting.
Adaggio put two headers over the home goal as chances to add to St Albans misery were not accepted but any hope that City may reduce the deficit evaporated when McDonnell saved smartly low to his left as Quilter fired in a half volley from 16 yards following good approach play be Thurlbourne, Cousins and Hunt. |
