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21.10.2006 at 15:00 Clarence Park Attendance : 1045
St Albans City
0 - 6
Grays Athletic
Referee : A Watts (Kidderminster) Nationwide Conference match

Goalscorers
None. Michael Kightly (41, 90)
Adam Green (56)
Aaron McLean (58)
Glenn Poole (64, 65)
Opening squads
Paul Bastock
Dean Cracknell
Tom Davis
Paul Hakim
David Theobald
Warren McBean
Elliot Benyon
Damien Batt
Nathan Simpson
Alexis Nicolas
Chris Seeby
Ashley Bayes
Andy Sambrook
Adam Green
Jamie Stuart ©
Dennis Oli
John Martin
Aaron McLean
Michael Kightly
Ashley Nicholls
Glenn Poole
Chris Plummer
Substitutes
Ben Martin
Matt Hann
Ranbir Marwa
Lee Clarke
Duane Jackman
Stuart Thurgood
Lee Boylan
Tom Williamson
Danny Knowles
Jamie Slabber
Substitutions
Ranbir Marwa -> Alexis Nicolas (46)
Matt Hann -> Dean Cracknell (59)
Ben Martin -> Nathan Simpson (66)
Stuart Thurgood -> John Martin (71)
Lee Boylan -> Aaron McLean (76)
Jamie Slabber -> Glenn Poole (76)
Yellow cards
David Theobald (35)
Tom Davis (73)
John Martin (10)
Red cards
None. None
Other statistics
7 Shots 13
3 Shots on goal 11
0 Offsides 0
7 Corner kicks 6
17 Free kicks 12
0 Penalties 0
Match report

Dean Cracknell tackles the Grays captain Jamie Stuart

St Albans City manager Colin Lippiatt will be hoping his 100th game in charge of the club is a tad more successful than his 99th after Grays Athletic handed the Saints their heaviest home league defeat in 48 years with Saturday's romp at Clarence Park. There was little suggestion of the rout that was to come during the opening twenty minutes or so when chances were created at either end but once the excellent Michael Kightly was gifted a soft goal on 41 minutes Frank Gray's side slipped into overdrive and made light of a recent run of just one win in nine outings - the same record as that of their hosts.

But those first twenty minutes and recent records aside there was nothing else that was remotely comparable between the two sides. That City are struggling in the Conference National is probably of little surprise but this was the first time the players heads have gone down and the extended time they were kept in the dressing room suggests that a few words were sent in their direction, as confirmed by Lippiatt's post match interview which will appear on the website on Sunday.

Unsurprisingly City's starting XI was unchanged from the side that saw off York City in some style the previous weekend although Lee Clarke, Matt Hann and Ram Marwa, against his former club, all returned to the bench in place of Ricky Perks, Simon Martin and Nick Roddis.

Each of City's two previous games had seen six goals scored and the lively start made by both attacks suggested that this one would not stay goalless for long, also Grays record against the Saints left one in little doubt that the City defence was unlikely to collect a clean sheet bonus. Grays had won the seven most recent meetings between the two sides, of which five had been at Clarence Park. The Essex side had scored 13 times from their last four visits while the Saints last two trips to the Recreation Ground resulted in marginal defeats of 2-0 and 9-1.

On a warm afternoon with strong sunshine blazing towards the York Road goal it was Grays who threatened first when Damian Batt - again probably City's best outfield player on the day - slipped and allowed Glenn Poole to break free but from his cross in front of the main stand Aaron McLean headed well over the City goal.

St Albans replied swiftly and when the visitors failed to clear an Alexis Nicolas free kick the ball eventually ran to Dean Cracknell's whose shot appeared to take a deflection although a goal kick was given. On five minutes a long punt from Ashley Bayes beat Dave Theobald but Kightly's attempted lob over Paul Bastock lacked power and was easily taken by the Saints keeper. Again City hit back quickly although a Paul Hakim header failed to trouble Bayes but the keeper was rushed into kicking for touch when the lively Elliot Benyon chased what seemed a lost cause.

A long goal kick by Bastock eluded Blues defender Jamie Stuart but the alert Hakim shot tamely through to Bayes. Bastock's long kick on that occasion was by no means a rare sight on the day as City did appear to overplay the long ball with little creativity coming through the midfield. The tactic worked to a degree with teenager Benyon winning a surprising number of balls in the air but all too often he was an isolated figure with no support to pick up the pieces.

On the quarter-hour mark a deep cross on the right from Cracknell towards the Hatfield Road was put out at the back post by Andy Sambrook with Benyon lurking behind. City's best spell continued with Batt doing well to win the ball, Cracknell seized possession but after making a positive run into the penalty area chose to lay off a misdirected pass when a shot looked to be on and the prospect of a goal was lost. The chances continued to come with Hakim, standing about four feet from Bayes, blocked the keepers low throw and nipped to be goalline only for his near post cut-back to be put out by the lunging Chris Plummer.

City finally looked to have broken the deadlock when Theobald met a Nicolas corner with a downward header that Bayes extended his body in all directions to block but must have been just as amazed as the rest of the 1,045 crowd it struck his foot on the goalline and somehow ricocheted wide for another City corner. With that almost freakish save the game turned, City's brief dominance ended and Grays, slowly at first, took control.

On 23 minutes Theobald again went close to goal with a header against the woodwork from a corner; trouble was it was Poole's corner and he struck his own crossbar with the ball being headed away by Cracknell as it came down off the woodwork. City survived an anxious moment when Bastock endured something of a collectors item as he went for a Poole corner and completely missed the ball that the curled agonisingly close to his back post. As the pressure mounted Bastock punched away another corner that Nicolas inadvertently sent back deep into the box where McLean put an overhead shot over the bar.

A goal had been building for some time but the manner in which City conceded their 50th home league goal under Lippiatt was, to put it mildly, disappointing. Bastock raced to the edge of his penalty area and gathered as Kightly almost latched onto a fine through ball from Dennis Oli but the keepers quick throw to Cracknell was missed by City midfielder and Nicholls immediately sent Kightly back through the middle to fire low left-footed to Bastock's right for the opening goal. It was a sickening blow for the Saints but none more so than for Cracknell who, until then, had been playing well again on his 50th appearance for the club.

In truth, it was a blow from which City never recovered and Grays, a side far more talented than their recent run would suggest, were in no mood to surrender their hard gotten lead. St Albans were forced into a change during the interval with Marwa replacing Nicolas who was struggling with an injury to his right knee. This was only Marwa's third game in the last 13 - to date he has lasted the full 90 minutes on just two occasions this season - and it was evident that he was short of match fitness as City's midfield was simply blown away throughout the second period.

Grays second goal on 56 minutes was a touch fortuitous but with a dozen second half attempts on goal perhaps it was a case of fortune favouring the brave. Adam Green tried his luck from 25 yards following a good run by Oli, Theobald stopped that effort but as the ball rebounded to the Grays player his second shot clipped the City defender with the deflection leaving Bastock flat-footed as it flew inside his right hand post.

Two minutes later City were punished for slack marking at a corner from the cricket pavilion side of the ground towards the Hatfield Road goal. Batt, in attempting to retrieve a wild interception by Chris Seeby, only succeeded in running the ball out for a corner and uprooting the corner flag. From Kightly's cross McLean headed in his 13th goal of a highly productive campaign.

There was a lull in the scoring lasting all of six minutes before Oli cut the ball in low from the Grays left for Poole to score from close in despite Seeby's desperate lunge. Any hopes of damage limitation on the part of the home side were banished straight from the kick off as John Martin took possession and ran through the City midfield before McLean fired in a decent effort from 35 yards that was not far off the mark. St Albans were being overrun in a manner seldom seen, it was not too dissimilar of the way in which City destroyed Histon last season - we can honestly say that being on the giving end is a damn sight more enjoyable than being on the receiving end.

The fifth goal, Grays fourth in nine minutes, was an excellent finish by Poole who jinked his way in from the corner of the box and when allowed to get the ball onto his left foot sent a perfect curling shot with pace wide of Bastock and just the dejected Bostonians right hand upright. With the tally mounting St Albans withdrew Nathan Simpson with Ben Martin coming into the centre of the defence and Seeby switching to left back where he looked decidedly uncomfortable.

Martin did his bit to stop Grays at five by blocking on the goalline a follow up by Oli after Bastock had parried Stuart Thurgood's 20-yard free kick. In fact City were extremely unfortunate not to reduce the deficit when Hakim latched onto a long goalkick by Bastock only for Bayes outstretched leg to deny a certain goal for a second time, Benyon's soft, though well-placed, follow up beat the keeper but struck the post before being cleared. Tom Davis brought the ball down well and fired just over after the ensuring corner was half cleared and Batt went across several challenges before the diving keeper turned his low shot from 22-yards around the post.

At the opposite end Bastock saved well from a Green free kick but the City custodian was left helpless in added time when Lee Boylan and Jamie Slabber combined to set up a suspiciously offside-looking Kightly who beat Bastock with a delightful finish, his 10th goal of the season, to condemn the Saints to their heaviest home league defeat since Wycombe Wanderers won an Isthmian League match 8-0 at Clarence Park on 28 August 1958.