Battling Saints keep the Fleet at bay (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Battling Saints keep the Fleet at bay

10:13pm Saturday 13th February 2010 in

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St Albans City’s awakening from a mid-winter slumber that threatened to see them sucked into a relegation battle brought further reward on Saturday as Hakan Hayrettin’s promotion seeking Thurrock were held to a goalless draw at Ship Lane.

On a pitch virtually bereft of grass and in temperatures feeling many degrees lower than the thermometer would admit to, City claimed a justified point to rekindle, probably fanciful but mathematically possible, talk of a push for the Blue Square South place off places.

With injury ruling out Ryan Frater, Adam Everitt and Gary Cohen, City’s draw is all the more commendable. The loss of Frater and Everitt from the middle of the defence was covered by the no nonsense Mark Peters and more elegant James Quilter, the latter ignoring two painful knees to put in an excellent performance.

Ian Dunn returned after illness to lead the attack where he was joined by Jake Argent as the Leyton Orient striker made his first start.

Thurrock were unchanged from the side that bolstered its promotion push with a fine win at Woking the previous week.

Following a run games without a goal, David Bryant, leading scorer for the Fleet, lined up in midfield yet could still have scored twice early on during a passage of play that looked ominous for Steve Castle’s side.

On four minutes Bryant swivelled some 20 yards from goal and shot just over Paul Bastock’s goal. His next effort should have opened the scoring.

Leon McKenzie and Fola Orilonishe worked an opening down the Thurrock left and crossed low to the back post where Bryant somehow stroked the ball wide of the target with Bastock struggling to get across his goal.

Although the better chances were being created in front of the visitors goal, City were competing well and but for a fine push around his right hand post by keeper Joe Woolley the Saints could have taken the lead through Godfrey Poku’s powerful, if uncharacteristic, drive from 25 yards.

From Jake Beecroft’s corner Drew Roberts headed back across the goal and the Saints had strong claims for a penalty as Beecroft, looking to be inside the penalty area, regained possession only to be hauled back by Rob Swaine who was booked for his troubles.

Thurrock returned to the offensive with McKenzie coming within a whisker of opening the scoring with a wonderful shot on the turn that beat Bastock but also went just over the goal. The pressure was maintained only for the free Leon Lalite to fire across the goal and wide when well placed.

Solomon Shields continued his run of good form and looked to have put Argent through only for Craig Pope’s well timed tackle to get the ball out for a corner.

With half an hour gone it was evident that neither defence was going to be a soft touch and Thurrock’s solid and impressive central pairing of Swaine and Kenny Clark had little intention of allowing Dunn any opportunity to add to the two goals scored in his only other appearance for the Saints.

City almost scored a freak goal on 36 minutes when Fisher, cutting in from the right, struck a not particularly powerful shot at Woolley.

As the Thurrock keeper knelt down to gather the ball it clipped a divot and jumped into his shoulder and flew high across the face of the goal. Roberts retrieved the ball and in the scramble that followed Dunn was just unable to force the ball home.

The Fleet did get the ball into the net when Orilonishe pounced as a shot from Bodkin thudded against an upright but a flag for offside came to the Saints rescue.

Seconds from break it was Thurrock’s turn to survive an anxious moment after Woolley, under pressure from Argent, fumbled a Fisher cross. Dunn was in quickly but was could not make a clean contact and Swaine hoofed the ball to safety.

The uninviting weather conditions kept the attendance well below Thurrock’s average gate and intermittent rain and sleet ensured the final 45 minutes would be no more comfortable than for the opening half.

With an unwell Smith not fit to reappear for the second half 17-year-old Ross Dedman stepped in at left-back and was praised after the game by his manager for filling admirably in an unaccustomed position.

Within 20 seconds of the restart the 35-or-so City supporters present could have had something to brighten their day when Dedman played the ball up to Shields whose perfect through ball set up Dunn only for striker to blaze the ball high and wide from the edge of the penalty area.

Ten minutes Dunn was replaced by James Lindie.

The game went through a quiet spell until a deep Beecroft corner was clipped back into the goalmouth by Fisher for Quilter to send a downward header towards the goal only for it to be hammered away.

Thurrock, possibly sensing the game to be drifting away, hit back hard with a spell of sustained pressure. Former Saint Lee Flynn, who recently played his 100th game for the home side, tested Bastock with a low drive while the City keeper also moved swiftly to collect the ball as Matthew Judge looked to pounce on Bryant’s headed through ball.

Bastock, though, was less impressive when he was beaten to an excellent Flynn cross by McKenzie who glanced the ball just over the City goal.

Castle made his third and final substitution 13 minutes from time with Jonathan O’Donnell coming on for Argent. Games just seem to come alive when the 18-year-old is on the pitch and he wasted little time in making his presence felt here as he set off on a run past two players before being checked to win a free kick off the third.

Thurrock maintained the pressure with Bryant looping a header onto the roof of the Saints net following a Bodkin cross from the Fleet right.

O’Donnell looked to have put his team-mates in some difficulty when losing the ball on the half way line only to immediately win back possession and set up Roberts for a stunning 25-yard drive that struck the underside of the crossbar before being cleared.

With the minutes ticking away Thurrock almost found a way through when Bodkin skipped past Dedman, received a return pass from Judge and shot low only for the sprawling Bastock to put the ball out for a corner via his legs.

With that save Bastock virtually ensured that City kept back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since last March, the second of which back then was also at Thurrock.

City almost snatched all three points right at the death from a free kick close to the corner flag down their right flank.

O’Donnell whipped over an in-swinging low cross full of venom that bounced up and was touched goalwards by Lindie. With quite fantastic reflexes Woolley not only pushed the ball upwards with his right arm but caught it and set about launching a counter-attack that, ultimately, came to nothing.

After the match Steve Castle confirmed that he hopes to have Frater, Everitt, Cohen and Smith all fit for next Saturday’s trip to Staines Town.

Castle also confirmed the signing of 20-year-old midfielder Peggy Lokando. The former Southend United player, who was with Arsenal in his younger days, has made one appearance for the Democratic Republic of Congo and also had brief spells with Leyton, Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) and Crawley Town.

Lokando played in City’s recent friendly against junior side AC Finchley, and for the City Reserves during last week’s abandoned match with Potters Bar Town.

Thurrock: J.Woolley, C.Pope, L.Flynn, R.Swaine, K.Clark, P.Olima (M.Judge 56), M.Bodkin, L.Lalite, D.Bryant, L.McKenzie (M.Paine 75), F.Orilonishe (J.Doyle 77), subs; P.Anderson, R.Andrews.

St Albans City: P.Bastock, J.Fisher, P.Smith (R.Dedman 46), G.Poku, M.Peters, J.Quilter, J.Beecroft, S.Shields, I.Dunn (J.Lindie 56), J.Argent (J.O’Donnell 77), D.Roberts, subs; R.Magwood, C.Sullivan.

Booked: Swaine, Pope, Lalite.

Referee: Carl Brook (St Leonards).

Att: 238.