Danny Morgan scores City's first goal of the season.
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St Albans City, at the fourth attempt, plundered their first goals of the season on Saturday at a sweltering Clarence Park but a glorious late strike from the versatile Jay Lovett maintained Eastbourne Borough’s flying start to the season and left the Saints marooned at the foot of the Blue Square South table.
Fighting back from two down City drew level early in the second half, only to fail to capitalise on a fleeting period of dominance and ultimately slip to a flattering single goal defeat.
In a bid to end City’s poor start to the campaign manager Ritchie Hanlon gave a debut to the former Bishop’s Stortford striker Danny Morgan, recalled the fit again Gary Elphick and gave Hector Mackie a run in midfield as Matt Hann, Reiss Noel and Ram Marwa all stood down.
The early exchanges were relatively even with Borough’s Andy Atkin shooting into the side netting while Saints captain Lee Clarke had a shot charged down. Mackie, following a good approach work by Morgan and Paul Bruce, and a miscued effort by Clarke, ought to have scored on 20 minutes but shot poorly across Lee Hook’s goal.
Eastbourne, beaten 5-0 on their last visit to the Park, moved ahead on 28 minutes when Atkin’s cross from the Boro right was headed down by Matt Smart for Scott Ramsey to fire crisply to Nick Eyre’s left. A clean take by Eyre from Matt Crabb’s half volley delayed the visitors second goal only until the 37th minute when a quickly taken Paul Armstrong free kick into the path of Ramsey was rifled home via the underside of the crossbar for his fourth goal of the campaign.
Three minutes later and a desperate looking City side hauled themselves off the ropes when Michael Harvey played the ball wide to Bruce whose powerful low cross skipped through a cluster of players for Morgan to tap home from close in on his debut – City’s first goal finally arriving some 310 minutes into the season.
Eastbourne squandered three good chances and Pat Harding was denied by the legs of Eyre before the Saints drew level on 51 minutes. A partially cleared City corner was worked back into the box by Harvey, Chris Seeby and Morgan for Mark Beard to crack his first goal for the club to Hook’s left.
For a while Borough appeared rattled but other than for a couple of dangerous corners from substitute Matt Hann, who also wasted a clear opportunity when freed by Morgan, St Albans looked weak close to goal.
Without looking any great shakes themselves, Eastbourne offered by far the greater attacking potency with the lively Crabb ending a flowing move with a shot across the home goal while Eyre stretched to his right to gather a Lovett free kick. But former Brentford man Lovett was not to be thwarted for long and on 82 minutes, as a Smart corner was forced out of the penalty area, Lovett beat Eyre with a stunning left footed half volley from 25 yards.
Eyre used his legs well for a third time to block a Nathan Crabb effort while the Saints hopes disappeared as a last minute Hann free kick drifted aimlessly over the target.
Report by David Tavener |