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01.10.2005 at 15:00 Clarence Park

Attendance : 541

St Albans City

2 - 0

Lewes

Referee : I Cooper

Conference South

Goalscorers

Matt Hann (45)
Simon Martin (70)

None

Opening squads

Paul Bastock
Scott Cousins
Tom Davis
Peter Castle
Mark Graham
Matt Hann
Lee Clarke
Simon Martin
Nick Roddis
Chris Seeby
Patrick Ada

Paul Wilkerson
Jay Lovett
Mark Coulson
Djoumin Sangare
Stephen Robinson
Maurice Harkin
Dean Hooper
Paul Kennett
Karl Beckford
Jean-Michel Sigere
John Robinson

Substitutes

Dean Cracknell
Olawale Olejabi
Paul Hakim
Thomas Beech
Anthony Allman

Amos Foyewa
Max Hustwick
Lee Farrell
Owen Price
Gavin Holligan

Substitutions

Dean Cracknell -> Tom Davis (85)
Paul Hakim -> Simon Martin (88)
Anthony Allman -> Nick Roddis (89)

Lee Farrell -> Paul Kennett (58)
Owen Price -> John Robinson (58)
Amos Foyewa -> Mark Coulson (72)

Yellow cards

Lee Clarke (11)
Tom Davis (37)
Simon Martin (81)

John Robinson (5)
Paul Kennett (9)
Paul Wilkerson (81)

Red cards

None.

None

Match report

A hotly disputed raised linesman’s flag ended Lee Clarke’s flawless goalscoring record in Conference South matches on Saturday but there was little else to hold back St Albans City as Colin Lippiatt’s talented Saints, roared on by the vocal support of the command of HMS St Albans, swept past a much-fancied Lewes side and up to second place in the table.
City were anticipating one of their toughest battles of the season but other than for the opening 20 minutes Lewes were seldom in contention and Saints goalkeeper Paul Bastock, who kept his 12th clean sheet in just 40 games for the club, can hardly have had a quieter afternoon since joining the club.
Unchanged for the fourth successive match, City were slow to get into their stride with both sides guilty of countless errors early on, referee Ian Cooper was also in no mood to let the play flow and had three names in his notebook inside the opening 11 minutes, including Clarke for the unusual offence of kicking a corner flag.
As the frantic start to the game subsided City took control with Lewes seemingly content merely on containment. On 20 minutes Tom Davis played the ball wide to Matt Hann, his low cross was cleverly left at the near post by Simon Martin but with no one following behind the chance was lost.
Midway through the half Martin won a free kick that Mark Graham floated goalwards for keeper Paul Wilkerson to tip away at full stretch. Wilkerson was called into action again to fist away a firm drive from Hann after a good ball by Davis and when Hann immediately returned the ball into the goalmouth the keeper just managed to smother it before Clarke could pounce.
A fine build up between Martin and Hann ended with Davis’s underhit shot being saved but on the stroke of half time City went ahead with Hann continuing his one-man goal of the season competition. A City attack appeared to be breaking down until Chris Seeby, like Hann once more in outstanding form, won a solid challenge on former Saint Djoumin Sangare with the ball shooting out to the right to Hann who drove a wonderful low curling right-footed effort from 18 yards wide of Wilkerson’s outstretched hands into the Hatfield Road goal.
For a side reputedly costing the Rooks the second highest budget in the Conference South the second half response by Lewes was, at best, muted with the only real threat to City’s lead being a wild shot over the bar by leading marksman Jean-Michel Sigere following good work by ex-Saint Dean Hooper and Karl Beckford.
Without creating a string of chances City bossed the second period and with the earlier threat of Sigere nullified by a highly impressive City defence the Saints unbeaten run was moving comfortably towards a ninth match.
The second goal was held back until the 70th minute and again it was a gem as Scott Cousins launched a free kick down the City left to Clarke whose placed header sat up nicely for Martin lift the ball over the stranded Wilkerson from 20 yards and one-bounce into York Road goal.
With Hann and Graham stretching Lewes on either flank there was no road back for the Sussex outfit who were spared further punishment when Hann went on a weaving run before laying the ball off to Clarke who neatly planted it to the left of Wilkerson only for a clearly wrong offside flag to deny him his 11th goal of the season.
The Rooks tried to salvage a consolation but a shot wide by Lee Farrell and an excellent tackle by Peter Castle on Sigere condemned Steve King’s side to their first defeat at Clarence Park for 20 years.

Match report by Dave Tavener. Kindly supplied by The St Albans Observer.