Frenchman Sakho Bakare, St Albans City’s man of the moment, was once again the Saints saviour on Saturday as his controversially awarded added time penalty kick clinched a 2-1 Southern League victory over a hard done by bottom of the table Swindon Supermarine at Clarence Park.
With seven defeats and a draw from their previous eight games the Wiltshire side looked ripe opposition for David Howell’s City side to continue their recent impressive run of form but instead the Saints gave a laboured unconvincing performance.
But just when it looked that two points had slipped away eagle-eyed referee Colin Reeve deemed Danny Allen to have used his left arm to control a Ryan Watts cross as the ball bounced up off the turf and duly presented City with their get out of jail card.
In a split second what had been an undistinguished 90 minutes exploded and while the Marine players lined up to question the decision Bakare composed himself before notching his 11th goal of the season and fourth in three games.
City were unchanged from their previous run out two weeks earlier while Swindon made two changes from their most recent league match and gave a debut to goalkeeper Ashley Harrison.
The match began in mild though windy conditions but quickly the temperature dropped to match the colourless of the football.
However, things could hardly have started better for St Albans as they opened the scoring inside six minutes.
A Watts free kick into the penalty area was cleared only as far as David Ijaha who played the ball out to the City left to Bakare.
Faced with beating Marine defender Tom Cole, Bakare switched the ball onto his left foot and clipped a pass across the penalty area to James Gray whose first time right-footed shot from around 14 yards squirmed, with the aid of a deflection, just to the right of the diving Harrison for his third goal of the season.
It was to be another hour before City contrived to get a second shot on target.
Marine had half hearted penalty appeals for a foul by Gray on Nick Stanley rejected before Stanley skipped past Nerada Bernard and crossed into the goalmouth where Cedric Ngakam cleared for a corner.
The lowly visitors continued to press but a good opening was squandered when Rob Dean blazed high over the top from close in.
City responded with a couple of wild, off-target, efforts from Bakare but generally the Saints attack of the Frenchman and Simon Martin was tightly shackled by a well organised Swindon defence.
The visitors also held the upper hand in midfield as Micah Hyde endured his quietest game since joining the club and Ijaha seldom came close to matching his surging displays that have played such a major part in City’s revival.
Out on the right Dewayne Clarke made little impact while the left-sided Watts was one of few players to be praised by his manager.
Swindon, who came from behind to beat City in September, drew level on 36 minutes with a smartly executed goal.
Ngakam fouled Matt Wright some from 25 yards from goal and the striker exacted full revenge from Ben Wells’ free kick as he glanced the ball to the right of the diving Jupp for his first goal for the club.
Two minutes later a clever back-heel by Nick Stanley would have teed up Wright but for Hyde’s timely interception.
St Albans, albeit briefly, began the second half in better shape but despite having a good share of the possession were comfortably kept away from the York Road goal by the visitors.
The better chances were still being created by player-manager Gary Horgan’s side with Jupp easily collecting a volley by skipper Dave Bampton before the midfielder had a beautifully controlled chip acrobatically tipped over the crossbar by the back-peddling Jupp.
City were not too upset when the troublesome Wright was replaced by Max Etheridge but the substitute soon made his presence felt when seizing on an error by Bernard and shooting low to Jupp’s right.
The fully extended City custodian somehow pushed the ball up and just over the bar.
St Albans had to wait until the 74th minute before winning their first corner and from Watt’s deep cross Bakare rose well at the back post but was unable to keep his header down.
The game, under the watchful eyes of City favourites from the 1980’s and ‘90’s Martin Gurney and Peter Risley (who made a combined total of 742 appearances for the Saints) looked to be petering out for a draw when, in the second minute of added time, City were handed their controversial winner.
Watts lifted a cross into the penalty area that sailed over both Martin and Horgan before bouncing up onto the arm of Allen. Once the arguments had subsided Bakare coolly slotted home City’s fifth penalty of the season.
City chairman Ian Ridley was not fooled by the manner of St Albans victory, which took the Saints recent points tally to 16 from a possible 21, and commented, “We didn’t so much get out of jail as get out of Alcatraz.” |
