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JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT
IT COULDN'T The advertising poster outside the Clarence Road ground billed the Saints v Canvey Island game as 'The Big One'. For the travelling Yellow Army this is traditionally a big game and, more often than not, the big score usually goes the Canvey way. Canvey have been a 'bogey' team for Saints for a long time. But tonight it was the home fans who walked out of the ground with their heads high. A superb start to the new season for the club that came so close to disappearing just a few months ago and has seen them earn maximum points and maximum respect. Tonight was no exception. Danny Potter was called upon very early in the game to push a long ball over the bar for St Albans first corner and from that point on, they created almost all of the pressure. For long periods of the first half it was one-way traffic. Even the squirrel that ran onto the pitch made a bee-line for the Canvey penalty area. But in spite of this early flourish by the home side, it was Canvey who opened the scoring in the 8th minute. John Kennedy battled well out on the right and managed to knock the ball back to Lee Protheroe who was perfectly placed to send over an inch perfect cross that Bertie Brayley was able to send goalwards, albeit with a bit of help from the upright. Unusually, Canvey were 1 - 0 up at Clarence Park. Traditionally they go one - nil down and then go on to win by a healthy margin. It was obvious that St Albans would score eventually. They put so much pressure on the Canvey defence you had to admire they way they built their attacks from the midfield and used all the space available to make runs towards Potter's goal. At the other end, Canvey were relying very heavily on 'lump it upfield and see who picks it up' tactics. Not always effective, although when an attack was constructed properly it did reveal that the home defence was capable of being breached. When Protheroe split the defence in half just before half-time his cross found John Kennedy who was desperately unlucky to see his shot scrambled off the line to safety. But St Albans did manage to get back onto level terms on 38 minutes and it was a well constructed goal, even if there was a slight sniff of 'off-side' about it. A cross came in from the left hand side and Gary Crawshaw was on hand to collect it and send it past Potter, just brushing the underside of the crossbar on its way. In the dying minutes of the first half Danny Potter was called upon to make a superb save as Saints pushed Canvey back and back. There was little room for them to create anything attractive or constructive from the midfield and the visiting fans, who have become used to 'sexy' football over the past few seasons, had to make do with football that was bland, dull and un-inspiring. The ball was going directly from defence to attack but with very little effect against a well drilled and efficient Saints' defence. Half time St Albans City 1 Canvey Island 1 Canvey started the second half with far more enthusiasm and creativity and you wondered if they had, at last, turned the corner. There was more flair and imagination in Canvey's play but, the truth is, Potter was still a lot busier than Wilmot. The winner was a good one. It came from a 55th minute free-kick taken by Rob Smith and it was good. From centre field, just outside the penalty area, he hit the ball hard and true and it screamed into the net just inside the near post - just out of reach of the diving Potter. It has been said that when Canvey have run out of ideas, they hit the ball into the air. There was a lot of aerial football. Apart from a couple of runs by either John Kennedy, Chris Duffy or Bertie Brayley, most of the balls were coming high down the middle where they caused little real irritation to the home defence. On the few occasions when Canvey did put together a meaningful attack, they seemed to get to the edge of the 18yd box and panic. Apart from taking out crosses, Wilmot wasn't really tested at any time. In conclusion, St Albans were sharper on the ball, they closed Canvey down very easily, they used the space well, they interacted with each other and played as a unit. The home fans watched their team play an entertaining and effective flowing game of football; the visiting fans were left wondering just how long it will be before their team gels together and starts to realise even half of their enormous potential. Match Report by Merv Teams
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