St Albans City’s desire to make a late-season surge towards the Southern League play-off places was given a boost on Bank Holiday Monday as three players scored their first goal for the club during a 4-0 romp at relegation threatened Hemel Hempstead Town.
Having played more games than any other side in the Division the Saints will need other clubs to do them the odd favour along the way but with their third win in five games by three clear goals or more St Albans do at last look to have put their mid-season slump behind them.
For neighbours Hemel though mid winter looks a good deal bleaker although results have picked up since the appointment of Tommy Widdrington and this was the Tudors first reverse in three games.
City showed four changes from the defeat at Weymouth two days earlier, three of the alterations were forced upon manager David Howell.
Injury ruled out Paul Furlong and Danny Hart while Matt Cutchey was unavailable due to work commitments. Central defender Tobi Jinadu was rested as Cedric Ngakam, a 29-year-old recently signed from Aveley, came in for his debut.
Sakho Bakare was recalled to lead attack and forged a troublesome partnership with the experienced Simon Martin.
Ryan Watts shook off a hamstring injury to play on the right of the midfield while the influential James Gray gave another dominant display alongside Ngakam.
The outcome may have been so different had Hemel accepted their best chance of the match, as it came within the opening minute when Alieu Jallow sent Lewis Toomey clear but City keeper Nick Jupp got down quickly to parry the ball away to his right with Ngakam completing the clearance.
It was to be well over another hour until Jupp had a second direct shot to deal with.
St Albans were soon on top and Hemel’s biggest crowd of the season had to wait just five minutes until Bakare restated his claim for a regular place in the starting line up with his eighth goal of the season.
Michael Harriman played the ball down the right to Dewayne Clarke and from his low cross Bakare twisted on the edge of the penalty area and beat home keeper Ross Kitteridge with a cracking left-footed drive.
Although it has been two months since his last goal this was Bakare’s fifth goal in his last six starts and the Frenchman must be wondering what more he has to do to be granted a run in the side.
Hemel applied a spell of pressure on the City goal but the Saints defence snuffed out any hint of conceding a goal with strength in the air some crisp tackling on the ground. The Tudors task was also not helped by far too many loose passes deep inside the City half.
Martin was denied a headed goal against the side he turned out for earlier in the season when Kitteridge made an excellent save to his left but City did increase their lead on 17 minutes from the ensuing corner.
Hemel failed to clear their lines and allowed Ijaha, on the edge of the penalty area, to play the ball back towards the goal-line to Clarke who fired home from the tightest of angles possibly with the aid of a deflection off Kitteridge who had sought to close down the angle.
City could have doubled their advantage by the interval but Bakare blasted well wide from 18 yards and Ngakam stabbed the ball wide after Martin drove it back into goalmouth following a deep Watts corner.
Hemel, having already lost Jake Gilbert to an early injury, had striker Toomey carried off on a stretcher on 38 minutes following an innocent collision with Jupp as the duo attacked a loose ball on the edge of the City penalty area.
St Albans started the second half pushing forward positively up the Vauxhall Road slope into a bone-chilling wind but the play soon became scrappy with both sides showing little composure and conceding possession with tedious frequency.
Almost 24 second half minutes had passed before a genuine opening was created and even then it was only a generously not-awarded offside – against Jallow - that allowed Hemel substitute Ryan Blake to burst through but be superbly thwarted by the diving Jupp.
City hit back swiftly with Martin heading on a Narada Bernard free kick for Bakare to send a volley into Kitteridge’s right hand upright with the rebound going straight into the keeper’s arms.
Bakare then fired over the bar after Ngakam had a close range effort charged down but City’s late flurry was rewarded with two late goals.
Micah Hyde opened his account when sending Kitteridge the wrong way from his 80th minute penalty, won by Bakare following a shove by Marquin Smith.
Hemel’s Luke Gambin almost claimed a freak goal when his driven corner crashed against the outside of the near post while Kitteridge made a fine save low down from Clarke and was relieved to see Bakare carelessly hammer the rebound high over the target.
Martin’s afternoon of selfless toil earned City their fourth goal in the second minute of added time when he shrugged off Matt McEntegart when battling for Hyde’s chipped forward pass and helped it into the path of Aaron Lansiquot who calmly, with his first touch of the game, steered the ball low to Kitteridge’s left from 20 yards for his first goal for the club.
Victory secured City's first league double of the season and a return to 11th place in the Premier Division. |
