St Albans City fell to Whitehawk in their FA Trophy third qualifying round replay at Clarence Park last night, bowing out 1-0 to Danny Mills' second-half strike.

The Saints were handed a boost in the build-up to the tie when Whitehawk manager Richard Hill departed the club to join Aston Villa, but could not take advantage and were poor throughout in their defeat.

After a dull 1-1 draw in Brighton on Saturday, it was another dour affair on a cold night in Hertfordshire, which was settled by Mills shortly after the break.

Junior Morias had the only real chance of the opening 45 minutes, seeing his effort cleared off the line by Ramon Marimon, but the Hawks found their shooting boots during the half-time interval.

Ahmed Abdulla's lofted ball forward found Mills, and he finished coolly beyond James Russell.

Substitute Sam Merson was left calling for a penalty after taking a tumble in the box later in the half, but his appeals were waved away by referee Josh Smith.

Dipo Akinyemi was inches away from levelling up but saw his header cannon out off the crossbar, before Merson missed a late chance when he nodded wide.

St Albans City: Russell, Herd, Bender, Chappell, Martin (Casey 12), Hill, Lucien (Akinyemi 75), Thomas, Theophanous, Morias, Ball (Merson 58).

Not used: Swales, Iwediuno.