St Albans City slipped to their first defeat on opposition soil for three months on Saturday when championship chasing Canvey Island put behind them the disappointment of their previous weeks FA Cup defeat by Southend United to complete a Ryman League double over the Saints.
On the balance of play, Jeff King's side probably justified their first Premier Division victory since 7 November but for the Saints the end of their eight match winning away run was disappointing in that errors played a part in all three of the Gulls goals. City's strength during their run of 12 wins in 13 matches has unquestionably been the solidity of the defence but with three relatively soft goals conceded in a crucial game at the weekend and a total of 13 in the past six games it would be fair to state that the Saints are not yet the finished article. Even so, it is clear to see from the evidence of the past couple of months that the young side Kendall is assembling has the potential, over the next couple of years, to be one the Saints most powerful sides for many years.
On a Park Lane pitch heavy in places but generally in good condition considering the amount of rain to have fallen recently, City were pushed back early on but the attacking threat offered by Neil Gregory, Wayne Vaughan and Alex Inglethorpe, supported by the talented Steve Tilson in midfield, was comfortably kept at arms length by the Saints. City, themselves, could make few inroads during the opening exchanges but could have taken the lead on 23 minutes. Gary Ansell, back at the club he played for as a teenager, fought hard to beat two defenders on a charge down the right and cut back from the goalline only to then inadvertently divert over the top a shot from his well positioned teammate Mark Rooney.
Richard Hurst had an anxious moment in the City goal as Tilson curled a free-kick a yard wide and the Gulls dead-ball specialist went even closer from a second half free-kick whilst in between those two incidents Hurst made an excellent full stretch finger tip save from the same player. Hurst, though, had to be quick to deny Gregory after dropping a free-kick from John Kennedy.
The Saints looked particularly menacing on the break and indeed finished the half in the ascendancy. Spencer Knight, fast emerging as one of the most exciting players in the Premier Division, won the ball wide on the left and sent a glorious long angled pass out to Ansell who went down the right before clipping over a cross which eluded home keeper Ashley Harrison and fell to Knight but for once his touch was lacking and the ball bounced harmlessly out for a goalkick.
On the stroke of half time Gary Wraight, who is starting to link well with Chris Piper, forced Harrison to save to his right but all square at the interval was a fair reflection on the opening 45 minutes. City's downfall began in the 61st minute when Moran made a hash of a back pass which allowed Vaughan to nip in and tuck under Hurst his 15th goal of the season.
Ten minutes later Hurst excelled to palm Inglethorpe's shot onto the woodwork and was relieved to see the linesman's flag go up for offside as Craig Davidson knocked home the rebound. City's response was most impressive as they at last rattled a defence superbly marshalled by former Saint Mick Bodley.
Canvey breathed a sigh of relief as referee Andy Legg dismissed City penalty appeals when Steve Ward appeared to hold Moran before shoving him to the ground but two minutes later, the 77th, justice was done as City drew level with a cracking goal. Moran played a short pass down the right to Rooney who found time to slip before composing himself and sending over an exquisite cross which Ansell gratefully headed powerfully past Harrison for his fifth goal in four games.
A minute later Wraight headed the ball onto Piper who beat two players before flashing a drive narrowly over the crossbar. The Saints showed no signs of wanting to settle for just one point but their attacking intentions were undone on 83 minutes when a dubiously awarded free-kick to Canvey was whipped in by Tilson for veteran defender Micky Bennett to score with a diving header without a City challenge to trouble him.
Canvey clinched victory in front of their highest league gate of the season, 805, just prior to the start of six minutes of injury time when Tilson beat Hurst from the penalty spot after Sammy Cooper had been brought down by the City keeper. |
