A first half penalty drilled home with venom by Junior Morias, along with exceptional goalkeeping by James Russell, secured St Albans City’s first away National League South victory of the season on Saturday and extended Welling United’s winless start to the campaign.

It was a gutsy, gritty performance, so typical of City’s early season form and was sufficient to clip the wings of a new-look Welling side that had been expected to be challenging at the opposite end of the table.

It certainly was not pretty but City combined as a team, just as they had done during the midweek victory over Chelmsford and in stark contrast to the defeat at Bath just a week earlier.

Welling had spells, particularly at the start of either half, when they threatened to break through but it was St Albans who had the better of the game over 90 minutes.

Saints manager Ian Allinson made two changes, both enforced, from the Chelmsford game.

Ben Martin is currently unavailable and missed out on playing against one of his former clubs, while Ben Herd was sidelined due to suspension.

Josh Hill stepped in to join Ryan Johnson in the middle of the back four while George Casey, previously with Stevenage, filled in at right-back.

Both players did well and staked a claim for a longer run in the side, as City recorded a third win in eight visits to Park View Road.

Included in the Welling side was striker Harry Crawford who played 18 times for the Saints last season. In the Wings dug-out manager Mark Goldberg has short-term former City manager Harry Wheeler as his assistant.

Playing up the slope away from the Park View Road end of the stadium that Welling share with Erith & Belvedere, the Wings appeared in determined mood in the first half and City looked to be in for a tough examination.

Spectators were still walking from one end of the ground to the other when Crawford looped an early header over the City goal following a cross by Danny Waldren.

And fewer than four minutes had elapsed when home keeper Chris Lewington caught a Lee Chappell throw-in and sent Archie Johnson tearing down the Welling left.

Johnson floated a delightful left-footed cross over the City backline for Dan Walker to bring down and shoot towards the roof of the net from 14 yards, only for Russell to get a feint fingertip to the ball and nudge it onto the crossbar, with Casey completing the clearance.

Having been on the back foot for the opening 15 minutes City, through Shaun Lucien, won the first corner of the game and went on to have the better of the remainder of the half.

Midway through the half Crawford, looking for his first goal of the season, cut in from the Welling left and curled an effort wide.

City had created little to concern Chris Lewington in the home goal during the opening half-hour but the ‘keeper, with the aid of his left shoulder, made a stunning save to deny Tom Bender after the full-back had dived in to send a powerful header goalwards following a well-placed Chappell free kick.

City maintained the pressure from Chappell’s corner that was partially cleared to beyond the far side of the penalty area.

Lucien gained possession and, after skipping wide of Crawford and Johnson, chipped an excellent pass to Louie Theophanous 15 yards from goal.

The striker drove a clean volley into the heart of the goalmouth where the ball rebounded off the legs of the diving Lewington and into the offside Dipo Akinyemi.

St Albans continued to push forward during the closing stages of the half and Theophanous gained a free kick on the edge of the home penalty area after attempts by Dean Leacock and Sean Francis to bring him down eventually proved successful.

Morias’s free kick was cleared with ease but the Saints leading goalscorer so far this season quickly regained possession and, coming in from a tight angle, forced Lewington into a good block close to his right-hand upright.

Three minutes from the break Chappell, who was in good form, broke up an attempted Wings counter-attack and quickly fed Morias, who immediately sprayed a pass out to Lucien out on the left flank.

Lucien ran at Mitchell Nelson until the right-back, quite senselessly, barged into the City winger as Welling conceded a penalty for the fifth consecutive match.

As Lewington dived to his right Morias cracked the spot kick into the centre of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

Welling came out in a much more positive frame of the mind after the interval and in the early exchanges flashed the ball across the face of the City goal before Nelson headed over from a corner by substitute Sam Hatton.

Playing at a faster tempo and with crisper passing, Welling looked to be gaining some momentum, but clear chances on the City goal were a rarity.

Indeed it was St Albans, with a tantalising ball across the face of the goal from Akinyemi that just eluded the stretching Morias, who came closest to finding the target.

Just after the hour Welling were thwarted by the woodwork for a second time.

Bobby Devyne curled a dipping free kick into the City penalty area that Nelson rose to meet at the back post with a crisp header that Russell again appeared to get a feint touch to before it struck the crossbar.

Francis blasted the rebound goalwards but Hill did well to divert it wide and away from danger.

City applied some pressure from a Lucien corner and in a crowded penalty area Bender scooped a shot towards goal that Lewington saved in comfort, Welling failed to exert any sustained pressure on the City goal during the closing stages although Walker, let down by a poor first touch, could have made more when latching onto a headed back pass by Bender that, initially, fell short of reaching Russell.

Russell pulled off what was probably his best save of the day on 80 minutes.

Oliver Sprague crossed from the Wings left and Waldren – possibly fortunate to still be on the pitch after telling referee Paul Venamore where to go in no uncertain terms earlier in the half – stretched well to reach the ball at the back post and knock it down into the ground.

As the ball rose sharply off the turf Russell, who was looking to dive low, somehow reached up with his right hand to palm the ball over the top.

Moments earlier City had replaced Lucien with Sam Merson. Like Akinyemi on the opposite flank, Lucien had made a good contribution to the Saints victory.

During the remaining time Paul Merson’s son almost turned the game into a one-man show.

Twice the 21-year-old won headers close to the home penalty area with remarkably high leaps and also headed over the goal from a cross by Akinyemi.

Merson also forced Lewington into making two saves with efforts from outside the penalty area, although his manager admitted that he would have preferred him to simply keep possession and see out time.

In the end it mattered not a jot and Welling’s desperation to rescue their first home point of the season saw Lewington join the attack for a corner but it was all to no avail, as St Albans held out to climb to fifth in the table.

The Saints are without a midweek fixture this coming week but have two games in three days over the bank holiday weekend.

Whitehawk, beaten 6-0 at Clarence Park in February, make the return trip on Saturday (27th August), while City face a possibly arduous trek to Weston-super-Mare on Bank Holiday Monday.

Both matches kick-off at 3pm.

Ben Herd is available for selection for both games after serving his one-match ban but Ben Martin will be missing again for the Whitehawk game.

City will also be without Ryan Johnson for ten days at the start of September. The 19-year-old central defender has been called up to the Northern Ireland U21 squad and will be hoping to add to the three caps he has already gained at that level.

Welling United: C.Lewington, M.Nelson, J.Brown, R.Hayles, S.Francis, D.Leacock (O.Sprague 71), B.Devyne, D.Waldren, H.Crawford (J.Slabber 59), D.Walker, A.Johnson (S.Hatton 46), subs not used; J.Banton, P.Agu.

Booked: Hatton.

St Albans City: J.Russell, G.Casey, T.Bender, L.Chappell, J.Hill, R.Johnson, S.Lucien (S.Merson 79), Sc.Thomas, L.Theophanous, J.Morias, D.Akinyemi (I.Rees 83), subs not used: M.Ball, A.Iwediuno, R.Hoenes.

Referee: Lee Venamore (Maidstone).

Goal: 42 0-1 Morias (p).

Att: 483.