Saints boss admits side were fortunate to win (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

St Albans City boss admits side were fortunate to beat Swindon Supermarine

11:00am Wednesday 25th January 2012 in Regional

St Albans City manager David Howell admitted his side were fortunate to beat bottom club Swindon Supermarine after an injury time winner.

The Saints were nowhere near their best but still managed to pinch a 2-1 win after Sakho Bakare netted a late penalty. James Gray gave the hosts an early lead at Clarence Park before Swindon equalised. The match appeared to be heading for a draw until the visitors were penalised at the death for a handball in the area.

Howell said: “I did say my only real concern was ourselves. There is a thing called complacency and that showed. We never got going and, to be quite, honest we were lucky to get the three points and come away with the win in the manner that we did.

“Obviously we’re disappointed with the performance but probably what killed us was scoring so early. The complacency had set in before we scored. We didn’t have urgency and were getting caught in possession.

“It was tailor made for a side bottom of the league to come and press and close us down. We still tried to get the ball down and pass which was playing into their hands. But when we scored we thought we were doing the right thing. You have to break a side first and they weren’t broken.”

The Saints’ victory extended their winning run to three games and their recent upturn in form has pushed them into the top ten of the Southern Premier Division. Howell was encouraged by the fact his team managed to pick up a win without playing well.

The former Harrow Borough manager said: “On another day we could have wilted after their equaliser and come in 2-1 down and lost the match 4-1. We could have been talking about what should have been.

“Even though we didn’t play well we kept ourselves in the game. In the second half we had the lion share territorially and in possession without really creating much. We were quite fortunate.

“I’m just disappointed with the performance but like I said, not to play well but still come away with the three points is a good sign. When you are down there scrapping for points things seem to conspire against you.

“We’re fortunate in that we had our bad run but at the moment it looks like we’re in the middle of a decent run. Things are going for us but I’ve said to the lads we can’t rely on that.”

St Albans’ next game is at home to Bedford Town and the Saints squandered a two-goal lead in their 2-2 draw against them back in October. Howell is adamant his team have changed drastically since the two sides last met and is focused on them extending their recent sequence of results.

The manager added: “Our next big step is Bedford and they’re a side who we did well against and then it turned on its head. We’ve got different personnel and I would consider it to be a stronger team although we did well up there for long periods of the game. Our main objective again is to try and get three points.

“I don’t even know if it’s worth comparing the earlier games against the same opposition because of the side we’ve got now. It’s a different side and I think only two players started this game that played at Swindon back in September.

“It’s a different team now. We’ve just got to make sure we prepare and do the right things on the day. The preparation and attention to detail and application wasn’t good enough against Swindon but we managed to get away with it and get the three points. Ultimately that’s the most important thing at this stage of the season.”

There is a team and supporters coach going to Redditch next Tuesday. The coach will depart at 3.30pm from the Clarence Park entrance to the ground. To book a seat call Ian Rogers on 07714 145862 or Barry Hilliard on 07831 859041. The cost is £19 for adults and £11 for juniors.