'It's knocked the stuffing out of us' (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

St Albans City boss Golds gutted after late defeat

2:20pm Tuesday 5th March 2013 in Sport

St Albans City joint manager Graham Golds admitted it was heartbreaking after St Neots Town snatched a dramatic 1-0 win at Clarence Park.

The Saints spurned a glorious opportunity to win the match when they were awarded a penalty in injury time after Chris Henry was tripped. But Jack Giddens saved James Comley’s effort and Kyle Asante netted the winner four minutes into added time to steal the points.

Golds, whose side were thrashed 6-1 at home to Gosport Borough last week, said: “I think a few of the lads in there are saying it was a bit of a mix-up and possibly a handball.

“It’s knocked the stuffing out of us. We’ve worked hard to come back from a 6-1 defeat in midweek and I think defensively we were strong and more of a unit all the way around the park.

“It’s absolutely gutting to have a penalty at the end which the keeper saved and for them to go up the other end and snatch all three points.”

He added: “It was important getting a performance. We felt the boys needed to get out and put on a show for the supporters after having to endure that on Tuesday night. We didn’t feel the boys were committed enough and every aspect of football wasn’t good enough.

“They needed to come here and show the supporters they are committed and will get stuck in and put a shift in. That was the most important thing and to actually lose the game when they did all of that in that manner was just heartbreaking.”

The Saints have suffered three consecutive defeats which has seen them fall to ninth place and six points off the Evostick Southern Premier play-offs. While Golds accepts this has made their task of reaching the top-five much harder they will not be conceding defeat.

The manager said: “You never say never in football. If we win our next three then we’ll be back in there again but it's going to be an uphill task although we knew that when we took over the job with everything that went on.

“We’ve been pleased with the lads and really feel for them because they did work hard and put a shift in. It was cruel the way we lost that game at the end. Perhaps we didn’t do enough to win it but when we got the penalty we thought maybe it was going to go our way. We’re absolutely gutted.”

Golds was quick to praise the contribution of their fans. He insisted the support was a major boost, despite the result, and urged them to show the same backing for the rest of the campaign.

He added: “The support of both sets of supporters here was outstanding. The St Albans fans didn’t stop singing all second half and you could see some of the lads’ legs were getting heavy up the hill with 20 minutes to go. The atmosphere they created actually kept them going and is probably what gained them the penalty.

“They really got behind the lads and they were like a 12th man. It was absolutely outstanding from the fans and it just gave the boys an extra ten per cent in their legs.”

Former Wealdstone defender Darren Locke has signed for the club and made his debut at the weekend. Gold believes the signing is exactly what the side needed and was impressed with his first performance for the Saints.

Golds, whose side travel to Barwell this weekend, said: “Darren’s come in and I think we needed to freshen something up after the midweek game. He’s on dual registration from Wealdstone and I thought he had an outstanding debut and was probably our man-of-the-match.

“We’ve lacked being dominant in the air and putting a boot through the ball when it has to go. He showed that and set the tone so we were well pleased with his performance.”

Meanwhile, St Albans City fans forum will take place on Monday in the Saints Bar at 7.45pm.

The forum will be chaired by interim chairman Nick Archer. This will feature a presentation from the Saints City Trust of the results of the recent survey carried out by the Trust with supporters, with regard to proposals for a ground redevelopment or move.

Co-owner Lawrence Levy will then make a presentation of the plans for the City of St Albans Stadium with background information and the vision for the future. In the second half, joint managers James Gray and Graham Golds will talk about team matters, their footballing philosophy and their first few months in charge.

If you would like to submit a question for the forum you can email it to Ian Rogers at ian0868@yahoo.co.uk or by emailing ian.rogers@radioverulam.com and it will be passed on to the club. All supporters are welcome to attend the evening.

In other news, there are St Albans City team and supporters coaches going to Barwell for the away game this Saturday and also to Corby for the Kettering Town match on Wednesday, March 13.

The Barwell coach will depart at 10.30am and the Kettering Town coach will leave at 4.15pm, both from the Clarence Park entrance to the ground. To reserve seats call Ian Rogers on 07714 145862. The cost for each coach trip is £15.