A headed injury time goal by Gary Elphick could not save St Albans City's troubled season from slipping further into the mire at Clarence Park on Saturday as Bishop's Stortford brushed aside a chronically inept Saints display to move through to the 3rd Round Qualifying of the FA Cup.
For twenty minutes City, with Steve Castle leading operations from the technical area, competed favourably with their county rivals but thereafter the Saints resistance was feeble in the extreme as Stortford shrugged off the dubious honour of being one of just two sides to have lost to St Albans since the end of January.
The site of Castle back in charge of the team, given that his record as City manager earlier in the decade was barely any better than that of the recently sacked Ritchie Hanlon's, may not have lifted optimism greatly at the Park but the lure of the FA Cup would surely stir City to greater things, it did not.
The Saints options were cut to the bone with loan players Damian Batt and Alex Bolt ruled out alongside the injured Chris Seeby and departed Mark Beard. Teenager Paul Semakula came in for his debut while veteran midfielder Paul Smith was recalled. Somewhat bizarrely, City played with nothing down their left flank in front of Scott Cousins.
Saints keeper Nick Eyre was soon called into action to deal with a dangerous shot towards his near post from the highly influential Greg Pearson but City should have started their latest new era positively on 10 minutes when an excellent through ball from Hector Mackie sent Danny Morgan clear only for the former Stortford striker to spoon his shot way over Andy Young�s goal.
City�s bright opening was shattered on 24 minutes when Elphick upended the marauding Pearson only for the Stortford man to curl an inch perfect right-footed free kick over the wall and just inside Eyre�s right hand upright to nudge Martin Hayes�s side ahead.
Another good chance went begging for Saints when Lee Clarke broke free down the left but his attempted cross to the unmarked Morgan was blocked wile a minute later Hassan Sulaiman forced Young to save low to his right.
Stortford ended the half strongly and City relied on two good interventions by Hasim Deen to deny the visitors a second goal but Pearson did find a way through on 53 minutes only for his angled drive to be flicked wide by the sprawling Eyre.
A minute later though and Stortford took a firm grip on proceedings when Jack Midson clipped a glorious ball down the Saints left flank that Pearson lathed onto and from just inside the penalty area sent a ground shot across Eyre and in off the keepers right hand post.
City had a left off midway through the half when, in a crowded penalty area, Midson�s shot on the turn appeared to strike Sulaiman�s hand but was not called by referee Matt McLaughlan. Stortford, during the closing minutes, wasted two more good chances to finish off the Saints only for Midson to scuff his shot when picked put by Pearson while Pearson himself was just unable to touch home a knock down by Midson
Having offered virtually nothing as an attacking entity during the second half St Albans threatened a sensational finished when Eyre, barely ten yards from the halfway line, launched a long ball towards the edge of the Stortford penalty area that Michael Stanbrook headed wide only for Cousins to retrieve and clip into the middle for Elphick to reduce the deficit with fine header to Young�s right.
But there was to be no dramatic twist as a minute later City�s winless FA Cup run was extended to a fourth match.
Report courtesy of The St Albans & Harpenden Review |