Two goals from returning local hero Simon Martin and a spectacular effort by defender Matt Cutchey secured St Albans City’s most impressive win of the season on Saturday as fading promotion challengers Cambridge City went down 3-0 at a cold Clarence Park.
As Gary Roberts Whites continue their slide down the Southern League Premier Division table the Saints have begun to move in the opposite direction as David Howell’s side won back to back matches for the first time during his five month tenure.
Although put under pressure on several occasions by a Cambridge side that could not, with any justification, be said to be three goals worse than St Albans, this was a far more impressive Saints performance than seen the previous week at Hitchin.
City looked to be waving farewell to even an outside stab at a play-off position a fortnight ago but two consecutive 3-0 wins have breathed new optimism into the club and just what the Saints fate is to be this season should become a lot clearer with three matches in eight days over the festive period.
Howell made two enforced changes from the Hitchin game with Barrie Matthews coming in at right-back for the suspended Michael Harriman while an ankle ligament injury to Sean Shields paved the way for Danny Hart’s return on the right of the midfield.
The early exchanges were tentative although the visitors did appear the most likely outfit to find a way through and had had seven attempts on goal before St Albans had their first.
Cambridge’s first two accurate efforts on goal were both blocked by Cutchey who was in quite superb form.
The Whites most effective weapon was the renowned long throw of midfielder and club captain Adrian Cambridge.
Near post flicks by Dave Theobald and Lee Chaffey to Cambridge throw-ins caused some concern in the home defence but with no visiting players on hand at the back post to pick up the pieces St Albans escaped unscathed.
The long throw tactic almost created a goal when Chaffey glanced the ball onto Jean-Philippe Yamfam but the former Luton Town player scooped his shot back across the goal and wide.
Just after the half hour Chaffey demonstrated his importance at the opposite end of the pitch when heading off the goalline after Martin had beaten keeper Zac Barrett to a Ryan Watts through ball and clipped it goalwards from a tight angle.
By now City were enjoying a spell of dominance and Paul Furlong should have opened the scoring when picked out by Watts driven low cross but the City striker miscued the ball high inside the six yard box and the chance was lost.
Hart caught the eye with several darting runs down the flank and although the accuracy of his crossing was often wayward he did set Furlong up with a low pass and the former Chelsea striker’s shot took a slight deflection as it rolled just wide of the target.
City, looking to avenge an early season four-goal drubbing at Milton Road, opened the scoring on 40 minutes with Martin’s first goal for the club since April 2009.
Cambridge midfielder Neil Midgley was penalised for handball midway inside the Whites half and when Hart clipped the ensuing free kick towards the edge of the six yard box Martin peeled away from former Saint Theobald and cleverly planted a deft header to the left of the flat-footed Barrett.
The half ended with Jupp cleanly gathering a free kick from the disappointing Danny Kelly.
Cambridge attacked strongly after the restart but their best chance went begging when Kelly, teed up by Yamfam, wanted far too long to compose himself and his delayed shot was blocked by Cutchey. City cleared for a throw in and from Cambridge’s latest long range assault Jamie Gould tried, unsuccessfully, to force the ball home through a mass of legs.
Although Cambridge were seeing a lot of the ball St Albans were shaping up well themselves with the calm assurance given by the experienced Micah Hyde shining like a beacon in the winter gloom.
The 37-year-old, making his home debut, was, as expected, clinical with his passing in the middle of the park but was also effective when making tackles. His influence on David Ijaha has been profound with the former captain moving forward with greater confidence and potency.
Ijaha underlined his growing influence on 59 minutes when winning the ball midway inside the Cambridge half and storming past Adrian Cambridge before clipping the ball to the far post where Hart hooked a first time looping cross with his right foot towards the back post where Martin headed powerfully goalwards for keeper Barrett to fumble the ball into the net just inside his near post.
Martin has expressed a desire to replace Lee Clarke (82 goals) as St Albans’ seventh highest goalscorer and the schoolteacher is now just eight goals away from achieving his mission.
The Saints were now in full flight and five minutes later made certain of avoiding a sixth consecutive defeat at the hands of the Whites when moving into a three-goal lead.
Hyde won the ball and laid it square to Ijaha. Spotting that Cutchey was still in a forward position following a corner, Ijaha played the ball to the feet of the central defender who struggled for control before curling a stunning left-footed effort from 15 yards high to the right of Barrett who could only look on as it sailed just under the crossbar.
To their credit Cambridge pushed on in an attempt to reduce the arrears but their spirit was broken when Jupp made a completely instinctive and astonishing save to his right from Joey Abbs point-blank header.
St Albans almost added a fourth when Furlong flicked on a Hyde free kick, Barrett palmed the ball away just before it hit the crossbar. Cutchey pounced on the loose ball but his shot from the acutest of angles was smothered by the relieved keeper.
A minute later Cutchey was back in the thick of the action when referee Kyle Kirkbride condemned him for shirt-pulling and awarded the visitors a penalty. But Jupp was in no mood to be denied a second successive clean sheet and flung himself to his left to make a flying save from Craig Hammond’s spot kick.
A minute from time Ijaha latched onto a through ball from Hart and drove the firmly but straight at Barrett with City substitute Aaron Lansiquot poking the rebound just wide.
St Albans made two more new signings during the week with 33-year-old former Harrow Borough striker Dewayne Clarke joining along with Dagenham & Redbridge 17-year-old Lewis Frost who has signed on a dual registration deal.
City winger Sean Shields is likely to be out of action until early January with his ankle ligament injury.
Michael Harriman is available for City’s Boxing Day encounter with Chesham United at Clarence Park (kick off 1pm) but Clarke will sit that one out through suspension and James Gray will do likewise for the New Year’s Eve match at Weymouth. |
