Entertainment was in short supply at Berkley Road on Saturday but St Albans City were quite happy to take the Southern League points with a 1-0 win and complete a double over Frome Town through Simon Martin’s excellent early strike.
Maybe a sloping and undulating pitch with countless divots hidden by a good covering of grass made close control and passing difficult for both sides but this match made for torturous viewing with one City supporter moved to call from the main stand, ‘you get better games down the lake'.
Few would argue with that brutal assessment but for City a push towards the play-off places has gathered momentum with 16 points in seven games since the turn of the year.
David Howell’s side are now just five points outside the top five and victory at third placed AFC Totton this coming Tuesday would make City serious contenders.
Having fielded a settled side in recent weeks Howell was forced into making some changes for City’s first visit to this Somerset town.
Illness ruled out defender Nerada Bernard while Howard Newton was called up for international duty with Guyana while leading scorer Sakho Bakare was restricted to a seat on the bench.
Ryan Watts filled in effectively at left-back and Danny Hart, after almost two months out of the side, came in on the right of the midfield, Chris Henry had his first start on the left with Paul Furlong joining Martin in attack.
Frome made one change from the side that drew with Hitchin Town the previous week – the Robins fourth successive draw – with on-loan Portsmouth player Carl Walshe replacing top goal scorer Ricky Hulbert.
The game kicked off in glorious sunshine but the piercing rays of the sun shone straight into the eyes of the goalkeeper at the car park end of the ground and as the sun sank low in the sky during the second half Frome did appear surprisingly reluctant to try their luck from distance.
City began well with home keeper Darren Chitty tipping over a Watts free kick and David Ijaha having a penalty appeal rejected when Michael Reaney appeared to use an arm to block his ball into the box.
But the visitors only had to wait until the fifth minute for the deciding goal.
Henry laid the ball inside to Micah Hyde who in turn found Martin with his back to goal on the edge of the penalty area. With a slick twist Martin spun way from Ryan Bennett and shot low across the diving keeper to cement his position as the clubs eighth highest goal scorer.
The rest of the game came nowhere near to matching that lively start with far too many rushed and wild punts sending the ball aimlessly to all corners of the stadium.
Although not stylish, the two City players to emerge with most credit were the central defensive duo of Cedric Ngakam and skipper James Gray.
The closest the home side came to pulling level before the break was from a speculative volley by skipper Dean Evans that Nick Jupp saved with little fuss.
Frome applied some pressure midway through the half with Jupp punching away an Alex Lapham cross that Hyde partially headed clear to Frome midfielder Mike Perrott whose scuffed shot bounced through a crowded penalty area and just wide of the goal.
City almost added a fortuitous second goal when Martin won a free kick for doing nothing more than stumbling accidentally on the edge of the penalty area.
Watts’s free kick was well beaten away by a fully extended Chitty with the keeper doing well to regain his footing and use a leg to block Martin’s close range follow up.
Furlong’s comeback ended on 40 minutes due to a hip injury, something that allowed Bakare to make a swift return to the side.
Frome applied greater pressure on St Albans after the break but the quality of the football on show was not pleasing to the eye.
Ten minutes after the restart Jupp was given a taster of what should have been in store for him throughout the half, but was not, as he did well to parry over the bar Walshe’s rising effort that would have been difficult to track in the sunlight.
City replied with an attack down the left that ended with Chitty reacting smartly to catch Hart’s well controlled volley from Watts’ cross.
Hart, who struggled as much as anyone in supplying decent crosses – two corners by Henry failed to reach the near post before going out of play – played the ball back to Chris Seeby whose shot from distance drifted away from the goal.
Jupp pulled off a flying tip over following Hulbert’s glancing header to one of a series of Perrot long throw-ins.
Five substitutions failed to raise the tone of the game but the Robins so nearly snatched a late equaliser when Aaron Ledgister whipped over a good cross that led to Tom Evans heading against the woodwork with Jupp beaten.
But the final chance of the day fell to the Saints with Martin leading a counter-attacked through the middle before sending Bakare away.
The Frenchman shimmied past a couple of defenders before drilling his shot from 20 yards just wide of the home goal. |
