St Albans City F.C. Statistics Saintsnet - The Official website of St Albans City Football Club

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18.08.2007 at 15:00 Spytty Park Attendance : 1006
Newport County
2 - 0
St Albans City
Referee : Richard Martin Blue Square South

Goalscorers
Julian Alsop (24)
Jason Bowen (31)
None.
Opening squads
Glyn Thompson
Steve Jenkins �
Damon Searle
Nathan Davies
Lee Jarman
Ian Hillier
Jason Bowen
Lee Fowler
Julian Alsop
Craig Hughes
Sam O'Sullivan
Nick Eyre
Hassan Sulaiman
Michael Harvey
Mark Beard
Matt Hann
Ranbir Marwa
Paul Bruce
Lee Clarke
Reiss Noel
Chris Seeby
Hasim Deen
Substitutes
Mark Dodds
Lee Collier
Lee John
Charlie Griffin
Mark Ovendale
Jamie Waite
Tegana James
Hector Mackie
James Archer
Gary Burrell
Substitutions
Lee John -> Craig Hughes (82)
Charlie Griffin -> Sam O'Sullivan (82)
Hector Mackie -> Matt Hann (70)
Yellow cards
Lee Fowler (79) Reiss Noel (16)
Chris Seeby (82)
Michael Harvey (90)
Red cards
None None.
Match report

Lee Clarke tries to get City off the mark.
Defeat for St Albans City on Saturday at a sodden Newport Stadium sent the Saints crashing to the foot of the Blue Square South table and clinched Ritchie Hanlon’s young side an unwanted place in the record books as the first City side to open a season without a goal from its opening three fixtures.
That statistic would have been avoided but for an inspired first half spell by Newport County keeper Glyn Thompson and a goalline clearance by Steve Jenkins before the Saints bowed before a County side that grew in confidence and stature as appalling weather relented.
City, already rocked by the loss through injury of Gary Elphick, also lost Jerome Anderson (injury), Leo Roget (sickness) and new signing Dane Springer (knocked out in a car crash) in the days leading up to the match only to see left back Marcel McKie suffer a bad reaction during the warm up to the knee injury picked up at Sutton that ruled him out City’s tussle with Peter Beadle’s fancied side.
For the opening 30 minutes City played plenty of good passing football and were only denied taking a seventh minute lead when Paul Bruce low drive from wide of the back post following Chris Seeby cross was hacked off the line by County skipper Jenkins.
Newport, looking for their first win of the season, were not without chances as Sam O’Sullivan headed across the City goal and the ever threatening Julian Alsop forced Nick Eyre to tip over a crisp drive. The Welsh side took a fortuitous lead on 24 minutes when O’Sullivan took a throw, after the ball had clearly bounced out of play off the Exiles player, and looked on as Mark Beard sliced a clearance straight onto the head of Alsop whose close ranger header went high into the goal via Eyre’s despairing fingertips.
City hit back well with Beard slipping a ball out to Seeby, playing on the right of the midfield for the first time in his career, and from his cross Lee Clarke headed narrowly wide. As one more torrential downpour made conditions difficult for both teams Ram Marwa won a corner that Paul Bruce hit long to Hasim Deen whose header was deflected high with Thompson bocking his angled goal-bound volley from the rebound.
But the real turning point came when Thompson, purely on instinct, stuck out a hand low to his right and somehow beat out, on the goalline, Deen’s header from a Matt Hann corner.
Within two minutes, the 31st, Newport had extended their lead when Eyre parried O’Sullivan’s drive from 22 yards low to his right but could not recover in time to stop the excellent Jason Bowen from tucking away the loose ball.
Important interventions by Reiss Noel, Seeby and Deen kept City in the hunt and Eyre ended the half with good saves from O’Sullivan and Craig Hughes. Having competed well for much of the opening 45 minutes City were brushed aside with some ease after the break and within minutes of the restart both Alsop and Hughes had gone close.
Fleeting good moments for the visitors saw Clarke skip past Jenkins and Ian Hillier only for his attempted cross to be charged down while Bruce was denied by Thompson and a teasing low cross by the erratic Michael Harvey was put behind for a corner.
But generally City were on the back foot as Newport moved forward in style with the bustling Alsop, well supported by Hughes and O’Sullivan, out-muscling the young City defenders while Bowen tormented Harvey down the flank.
In the closing stages both Deen and Noel miscued the ball with the latter putting Bowen clear only for the Welsh international to strike the crossbar, after producing a number of good catches and punches it was a piece of good fortune Eyre fully deserved.

Report by David Tavener