St Albans City took the accolades at Broadhall Way with a satisfying performance on Saturday but it was clinical finishing by Blue Square Premier side Stevenage Borough that won the awards as Graham Westley’s side progressed through to the 2nd Round of the FA Trophy with a flattering 4-1 victory.

City more than matched the Trophy winners of two seasons ago in many areas of the pitch, Boro’s first goalmouth activity not coming until just before the interval, but it was in front of goal that City were found wanting whilst Stevenage feasted themselves.

Neither side went into the match in the best of nick but City, with Adam Everitt returning at left back in place of Scott Cousins, looked the most cohesive unit for long stretches only to be sent packing whenever the goal came into view.

Stevenage were far from their best and, one suspects, would happily have settled on a replay when Gary Cohen plundered a City equaliser nine minutes from time.

But as City pushed for a winner, and it looked a distinct possibility as they poured forward most enthusiastically, Stevenage hit back with a classic goal from Steve Morison, a comical one from Lee Boylan and a superbly constructed fourth tucked away, again, by Morison.

The conditions were ideal for a cup-tie. The pitch was slippery with rain continuing to fall throughout an uncomfortably cold and windy afternoon in north Hertfordshire. The setting could not have been better for a local derby.

Maybe it was the bitter weather, the closing down sale at Woolworths or just the indifferent form of both sides, but, sadly, the tie hardly caught the imagination of the home fans as just 737 made their way to Broadhall Way, Boro’s first sub-one-thousand attendance of the season.

The early signs were encouraging for City as Paul Hakim, making his first return to Broadhall Way since rejoining the Saints last January, and Gary Cohen probed at the home defence and Hassan Sulaiman and James Fisher were given ample space to move forward down the right flank.

Unfortunately for City though, most of Hakim’s better work was restricted to outside the penalty area and it soon became apparent that a flood of goals was not on the agenda. After the relatively gentle sparring of the opening exchanges City had the first attempt on goal when a Cohen header, from a Fisher cross, looped softly through to Boro keeper Chris Day.

And on 17 minutes the visitors, who recorded an astonishing 2-1 victory on their last trip to Stevenage in January last year, should have taken a deserved lead. Cohen, by the halfway line on the City right, did well to keep the ball in play. Sulaiman seized possession and played the ball forward to Hakim.

Looking up, Hakim saw James Quilter inside and slipped the ball square to the midfielder who took the final defender out of the equation by touching a pass onto the unmarked Jonathan Hunt. From the edge of the penalty area Hunt went for precision rather than power but unfortunately achieved neither as his underhit shot with the instep of his right foot went low to the keepers left but was easily smothered by Day.

Five minutes later Everitt and Cohen won a corner down the Saints left, Hunt’s outswinging dead ball was met some 20 yards out by Sulaiman who sent a half volley high into the wintry skies.

With Ben Martin and Ryan Frater winning absolutely everything that Stevenage sent into the penalty area, whether it be on the ground or in the air, St Albans continued to hold the upper hand and Day was called into action again on 24 minutes when Cohen turned swiftly only for the ball to go straight through to the former Spurs keeper once more.

On the half hour Cohen tried his luck on the opposite flank when receiving a ball down the side of the penalty area from Fisher. This time Cohen checked back but it was as if the ball was hypnotised by Day as his low shot inevitably went straight into the custodian’s gloves.

On the balance of the play Steve Castle’s side ought to have been ahead by the interval and that goal so nearly came on 43 minutes when Hakim miscontrolled the ball just outside the Boro penalty area. Thurlbourne latched onto the loose ball and with a fine effort forced Day to tip over from just under the crossbar.

Although unimpressive thus far, Boro had hardly been outplayed and the lack of killer instinct at one end of the ground was exposed when Graham Westley’s side, on 43 minutes, went ahead with their first on-target effort of the half when breaking from Hunt’s corner.

Day threw the ball to Lawrie Wilson who surged forward from midway in his own half to attack down the right hand side of the Saints penalty area before knocking the ball low into the goalmouth. In amongst a cluster of bodies City keeper Paul Bastock did well to block Lee Boylan but could do nothing to stop Andy Drury from poking the ball home at the back post.

Two minutes into added time Stevenage almost increased their advantage when Morison played the ball short to Wilson then clipped the return pass to the edge of the six-yard box where Drury sliced his volley just over the City goal.

The second period commenced under increasing rainfall but the pitch, forked by a hardy team during the interval, held up extremely well.

Seven minutes after the break Westley made his first change with Mitchell Cole replacing Calum Willock. It was a move that was to pay rich dividends. Boro reverted from a 4-3-3 formation, or more factually 4-3-1-2, to a more solid 4-4-2 as they sought to cement their position.

Shortly after joining the party Cole was in action as he smashed an ambitious volley into the side netting and there generally looked a greater menace to Boro’s attacking intentions. Quilter was the first to feel the full extent of Stevenage’s more determined attitude as a stray arm, completely accidentally, caught his nose leading to a changing his blood-splattered shirt.

Thurlbourne suffered a more serious injury midway through the half as he chased a ball down the City left to the side of the home penalty area. As the ball was cleared the competitive midfielder, making his final appearance before the completion of his three-month loan from Southend United, lay writhing in agony on the ground.

After a prolonged delay the 18-year old was removed on a stretcher and a visit to hospital revealed a broken fibula of the right leg.

As Thurlbourne departed Castle sent on Lee Clarke who, other than for a County Cup tie, had not seen action for almost seven weeks. Clarke, the fifth outfield City player to be wearing gloves, went into the midfield and proceeded to make an outstanding contribution to the Saints City’s cause in the closing stages.

Six minutes later St Albans made a double substitution with Hakim, possibly surprisingly, and Sulaiman being withdrawn as Simon Martin and Sam Hurrell sauntered into the unwelcoming conditions. Hurrell, yet to command a starting place in the City side, did his chances no harm with a series of positive runs that kept Boro stretched.

But even with the changes the score looked unlikely to change although Bastock, with a misdirected clearance by the goalline when some 15 yards wide of his goal, set up Cole for a rushed opportunist effort that drifted harmlessly wide of the vacant goal.

Bastock was more composed when safely gathering a tame effort from Drury and nine minutes from time the whole of St Albans felt more comfortable when the equalising goal was struck with Clarke playing a significant part.

After exchanging passes down the right with Hunt, Clarke attempted to play a through ball that was deflected into the air. Clarke then charged forward and did well to head the ball into the penalty area where Cohen held off two challenges before toe-poking past Day for his fifth goal of the season, in four different competitions.

City’s vocal support, excellent throughout, cranked up the volume as an upset appeared on the cards. Stevenage were flustered as Clarke continued to dominate deep inside the Boro half and Hurrell ran with genuine threat at Wilson.

A minute after the goal a through ball by Hurrell just ran away from Simon Martin, allowing Day to collect, while Clarke battled his way through three defenders to win a corner. City were going for the kill.

Stevenage were rattled but out of the blue Morison, the scorer of one goal in seven games for St Albans in April 2001, stunned the visitors with a glorious strike on 86 minutes. A Boro attack down their right looked to have broken down but City wasted an opportunity to clear their lines with a loose ball to Morison.

The player rated by Castle as the best striker outside the Football League, unleashed a wonderful effort from 25 yards that fizzed across Bastock and inside the keepers right hand post.

A minute later and Bastock, mistakenly believing there was just one minute remaining – there were, in fact, almost 11 – went forward looking to assist at a City corner. As Hunt’s cross from the City left was cleared Stevenage waved farewell to the red-faced keeper whose heart sank almost as fast as the Pound.

Peter Vincenti, out on the Boro right, saw Boylan breaking through the middle tracked by Everitt. A quick ball picked out Boylan who drilled the ball just inside the near post as the retreating Ben Martin tried his best to keep it out.

Everitt, fully understandably, was incensed that Boylan, by conservative estimates 15 yards offside, was not called back and the goal was, quite outrageously, allowed to stand.

The game was now up for the Saints and during more than seven minutes of added time the Conference National side could have run riot. Bastock pulled off two outstanding saves from one-time Saint Jerome Anderson but in between those saves the keeper was beaten for a fourth time.

Anderson sent Cole rampaging past Fisher down the Boro left before an excellent low cross to the far post was swept home with consummate ease by Morison.

Stevenage Borough: C.Day, L.Wilson, S.Laird, M.Albrighton, G.Mills, L.Boylan (T.Black 88), M.Roberts, C.Willock (M.Cole 52), S.Morison, A.Drury (J.Anderson 79), P.Vincenti, subs; A.Bayes, M.Bostwick.

St Albans City: P.Bastock, J.Fisher, A.Everitt, L.Thurlbourne (L.Clarke 70), B.Martin, R.Frater, H.Sulaiman (S.Hurrell 76), J.Quilter, G.Cohen, P.Hakim (S.Martin 76), J.Hunt, subs; R.Nicholls, S.Cousins.

Goals: 1-0 Drury 43, 1-1 Cohen 81, 2-1 Morison 86, 3-1 Boylan 87, 4-1 Morison 90.

Referee: Keith Yeo (Essex).

Att: 737.