Under 7's on the ball

The Saints newest team, the Under 7's, kicked off successfully in the Markyate Six-a-side tournament. The youngsters won six out of eight games on the day.

In their group they pushed aside Harpenden Arrows 3-1, Little Gaddesden 6-0, Raiders 2-0 and Little Gaddesden B 2-1. They drew 0-0 with Harpenden Bullets and lost 2-0 to Harpenden Rockets.

In the semi final Saints defeated Harpenden Bullets 2-1 with goals from Alex Gilbert and top scorer Brad Kelly-Keener, who netted nine times throughout the tournament. In the final Harry Gilbert scored twice to secure a 2-1 win over Harpenden Raiders.

Harry Gilbert netted three times in total and Alex Gilbert twice. Nick Gurney also got two and Shay Emerton scored one.

Kelly-Keener netted a further five goals as Saints reached the quarter final of the Everett Rovers Six-a-side. Emerton netted four times and Harry Gilbert and Gurney scored a brace each. Saints produced two 5-0 romps with Garston Boys A and Comets B the victims.

A Development Squad of Under 9's also took part in the Everett tournament and put in a good run to reach the semi final stage.
 

Mitre Cup - Clacton

 

May 29^th – June 1^st 2004

St. Albans City Youth U/12 North

The victorious Under 12's North

 The Under 12’s North recently went to Clacton where they played in the Mitre Cup. The tournament was run over two days on a league basis with seven teams competing against each other with the top two going through to the final.

The first game on day one against East Grinstead Town couldn’t have got off to a better start when Luke Thatcher scored with only 24 seconds on the clock. Elliott Goward and Luke Campion also netted to make the final score 3-0.

Game two was against Stanway Rovers where goals from Sam Wilson 2, Elliott Goward and James Laws sealed a fine 4-0 win for St. Albans.

Next up was Colchester Villa, a big physical side who finished runners up in the Colchester District Youth League. After a tight start, Luke Thatcher put St. Albans ahead and the same player doubled the lead before half time. The only goal in the second half was scored just before the final whistle by Tommy Hunt, his first ever at eleven a side, from the penalty spot after James Laws was dangerously hacked down by the Colchester keeper. Final score 3-0.

 

On day two, St. Albans played Bedford Park Rangers A. at 9 O’ clock in the morning. The water bomb fight between these two sides the night before gave the game an extra edge. However, St. Albans played their best football of the tournament and ran out comfortable 5-0 winners with a hat trick from Luke Campion and singles from Sam Wilson and Elliott Goward.

Wivenhoe Town, the next opponents, proved to be one of the toughest teams in the group. St. Albans took the lead through James Laws but Wivenhoe deservedly equalised later in the game to make the final score 1-1.

Going into the last group game, St. Albans had already qualified for the final which gave them an opportunity to rest injured players. Despite this, they still managed to beat Bedford Park Rangers B. 5-0 with goals from Luke Thatcher 2, Elliott Goward 2 and Luke Campion with a single.

St. Albans opponents in the final were their water bomb rivals, Bedford Park Rangers A. who they had already beaten 5-0 in the group stage. Despite this result, Bedford weren’t a bad side and would be better prepared for the final. The first half was very tight although the game was mainly played in the Bedford half of the pitch. Just before half time, Mark Hiller rose like a gazelle to head the ball into the far corner of the net to make it 1-0. In the second period, Mark Hiller got his second to make it 2-0 with a shot that the Bedford keeper failed to hold onto. That’s how it stayed and Charles Norman the teams captain, was presented with the Mitre Cup by ex- West Ham, Everton, Leicester and England striker Tony Cottee later that evening.

 

The whole squad of Harry Honeywood, Andrew Harris, Ben Talbot, James Killen, Jack Ashcroft, Charles Norman, Tommy Hunt, Sam Wilson, Mark Hiller, Nathan Byrne, Elliott Goward, James Laws, Luke Campion, Luke Thatcher and Harry Fountain (injured) had an absolutely fantastic weekend away and the football was pretty good too.

 

 

30th May 2004

 

U11 girls reach final of Denham 6 a side

 The U11 girls played exceptionally well to reach the final of a very tough Denham 6 a side tournament.

 In the group stages they came up against Bushey Rangers first who they beat 1-0 with a goal from Michaela Fleming.

 In the second game they came back from a goal down to draw1-1 with Potters Bar, after another goal from Michaela Fleming.

 The third match saw them beat Denham Tigers 5-1 with two goals from Josie Green, two from Megan Wynne and one from Michaela Fleming.

 The fourth game saw another victory this time 1-0 against Watford B with a spectacular volley from Hannah Ford.

 The final game of the group stage was against Barking A where the girls had the better of a 0-0 draw. Sam May made some particularly impressive saves.

 The semi final was a close fought affair against Barking B. With the score 0-0 after full time, extra time was played with two outfield players and a goal keeper on each side. With the score still 0-0 the goalkeepers were taken off. Megan Wynne then scored the goal that took the girls through to the final.

 The final was against a very impressive QPR side. The final was another close game. QPR took the lead, and Megan Wynne equalised. QPR then scored what was the winning goal with a couple of minutes to go. Megan Wynne picked up an award as the player of the final.

 All the girls should be very proud of their performances in what was a very competitive competition featuring most of the best teams in the Hertfordshire Girls League. They played some really attractive football, and also defended very well. This again shows how far they have come this year.

 The team was: Alea Brooke, Grace Lewis, Hannah Ford, Josie Green, Megan Shaw, Megan Wynne, Michaela Fleming, Sam May

 

16th May 2004

Click here for Pictures from the Chorleywood 6 A Side

City Youth Charity Soccer Day

Watford All-Stars 4  v  4  St Albans Old Boys

Great day, great match, great result

Well done to everyone who took part in what was a very successful day for City Youth and many, many thanks to Nigel Gibbs and the Watford All-Stars

For more pictures and team details click here >>>

Under 12's

Third Spot for the 12's North

After winning the Challenge Cup Final in such fine style only three days earlier, the Under 12’s North were beaten 3-0 by Whetstone in their last league game of the season. St. Albans were guaranteed third place regardless of the result whereas Whetstone needed to win to hold onto fourth spot, so perhaps wanted it a bit more.

The game started evenly and was played at a fast and furious pace throughout. Both teams denied each other time or space on a small, bumpy pitch, which didn’t suit St. Albans style of play. Whetstone created chances but Harry Honeywood in goal was on hand to stop the north London side from scoring. Half time - 0-0.

Tommy Hunt retired with a painful ankle and joined the already crocked James Killen, Nathan Byrne and Harry Fountain on the sideline. St. Albans battled on but Whetstone looked much sharper and it was no surprise when they scored after ten minutes to make it 1-0. Andrew Harris had a good game at right back but generally the defence were not at their best. Two minutes later, Whetstone doubled their lead when an unmarked player shot low into the bottom corner of the net. Luke Campion battled away and Mark Hiller tried to unlock the Whetstone defence with his accurate passing while Toby Irish worked hard to find space up front. Charles Norman went close with a good header from a corner that went just over the bar. However, in the last couple of minutes, a Whetstone forward broke down the left and chipped the ball into the net from twenty yards to make the final score 3-0.

After finishing in a very respectable third place in a strong Red Division and winning the Challenge Cup, every player in St. Albans City Youth U/12’s North should be very proud of themselves not only for what they've achieved, but in the manner that they achieved it.

 

W/E 9th May 2004

Under 17's

Click here for the Under 17's West Cup Final Special Report

 

Under 12's

Click here for the Under 12's North Cup Final Special Report

 

Under 10's

Well done everyone

 

W/E 2nd May 2004

Click here for the Under 13's West Cup Final Special Report

 

Under 13's

 

West into the Final of the Spring Trophy

 

West playing at home against Northwood in the Semi, secured a place in the Final, by winning 2-0.

Both teams started the game nervously, St.Albans taking the upper hand, creating plenty of good goalscoring chances, but were let down, with unusually bad finishing.

As the half went on, it looked as if, it could have been ‘one of those games’. The only threat from St.Albans was a volley from Daniel Burtt, which struck the crossbar. Halftime 0-0.

The deadlock was broken with a lobbed goal, from Ben White, 1-0 to the City Boy’s.

The second followed shortly, when a cross from Ben White found James Watt to ‘ghost in’ and head the ball just inside the right hand post, score 2-0.

West created some good goalscoring chances throughout the match, but to be fair wasn’t firing on all cylinders. The defence played well as a unit limiting Northwood to a few shots, which was handled well by Matt Bennett in the City goal.

 

The ‘man of the match’ award went to Jamie Peters for an excellent game in Defence.

Under 12's

Points lost

The under 12s north disappointingly drew 1-1 with bottom of the table London Lions who had only won one league game all season before this game. St. Albans started brightly enough but rarely troubled the London Lions defence. London Lions grew in confidence and it was no surprise when they took the lead after fifteen minutes when a forward poked the ball past Harry Honeywood when he initially seemed to have it covered. St. Albans looked for the equaliser but too often the forwards were guilty of taking an extra touch instead of having a shot. London Lions nearly scored a second just before half time but luckily, the shot went into the side netting. The nearest St. Albans came to scoring was with a long range effort by Mark Hiller that went over the bar and a cross shot by James Laws that went just past the far post.

The second half was more encouraging as St. Albans kept London Lions pinned back for long periods. Toby Irish was unlucky on several occasions when his goal attempts were all saved by the keeper. Charles Norman pushed forward and thought he had equalised when he hit a perfect volley only to see a defender clear the ball off the line. It was starting to look like being one of those days. Fortunately, with ten minutes to go, Luke Thatcher who is in good form at the moment was put through by Luke Campion and after holding off a couple of defenders, slotted the ball into the far corner of the net to equalise. Final score 1-1.

Under 11's

U11 girls finish the season in style

The U11 girls played their last game of the season against Hatfield, and won convincingly 8-1.

The first goal was scored within 5 minutes by Josie Green with a shot from a tight angle. Two minutes later it was 2-0 after a cross from Megan Wynne was deflected into her net by a Hatfield defender. The third was scored by Josie Green after 10 minutes with a powerful shot from the edge of the area.

After 15 minutes Josie completed her hatrick after following up on the goal keeper who had spilled a shot.

Grace Lewis made it 5-0 after 20 minutes, before Hatfield scored a consolation goal to made the score 5-1 at half time.

Playing downhill in the second half St Albans continued to dominate. Hannah Ford scoring two goals to make the score 7-1, before Megan Wynne completed the scoring to make the final score 8-1.

All in all this was a very convincing performance by the whole team. Player of the match was Abi Mann with an excellent performance in midfield and defence. Abi Jobling playing in goal for the first time at ten minutes notice also deserves a mention.

Under 10's

Busy Week for the Under 10's West

Great result

Under 10s west away to Chorleywood Lions ran out 3 - 1. After the midweek game City were determined to get a good result today. An over zealous challenge lead to Chorleywood taking the lead from the penalty spot. The young saints quickly drew level with a Ben Lee goal assisted by Will Jacobs and Jack Evans. Jack Evans found the net next with a nicely flicked header to finish the first half 2 - 1. Harvey Scott completed the job with a neat strike leaving the keeper no chance. Carl Palin could have made it four with his long range strike hitting the underside of the cross bar and bouncing on the line. A great team performance and a comfortable win. Man of the match went to Ben Lee for his performance on the pitch and in goal.

Whole team earned man of the match

 

 

W/E 25th April 2004

Under 9's Challenge Cup Final

Special report by Terry Edwards Click here >>>>>>>

U17 LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL

Enfield took the lead on 6 minutes when comedy defending allowed the Enfield centre forward to waltz past Anderson and Rhodes before crossing for the unmarked winger to slip the ball home.  For the next 20 minutes City dominated, taking the lead with goals from Jaravaza and Ferdinand, both the result of excellent passing moves.  Slack marking in midfield then allowed Enfield back into the game, when a long run from midfield and a sharp pass released the centre-forward to push the ball under Kosky.  A shockingly unlucky rebound from a clearance then allowed the same forward to slip past Hawes to score Enfield’s third.

The second half saw City completely dominate the game. But Enfield’s composure and speed on the break kept things in the balance.  City brought the game level with a Gray penalty on 63 minutes, after Patterson had been fouled. With Clark and Jefferies working tirelessly, City then started making chances down the right side.  The break through came when Bailey and Lattuca combined to win a corner on the right, and Gray swung over a magnificent ball for Patterson to head firmly past the keeper.

City should now have shut the game down, but Enfield simply refused to roll over, and on the break a shot from outside the box took a deflection and squirted under Kosky’s body to bring them back level.  At this point, City lifted themselves again, with Clark, Bristow and Patterson all going close.  The final break came with 12 minutes remaining, when Lattuca won the ball on the right, beat two defenders, and crossed for Ferdinand to volley superbly into the bottom corner.  It was the goal of the game, and a fitting end to a fantastic contest.  A great evening’s entertainment, but not much good for the manager’s blood pressure.

U17 West: Kosky; Bailey, Hawes, Rhodes, Anderson (Lattuca, 72); Patterson, Clark, Jefferies (Bristow, 70), Gray; Ferdinand, Jaravaza. Sub not used: Phillipps

The League Cup Final, against Hemel Rovers, will be played at the Sun Postal Ground, Watford, Sunday 9^th May, 9.45 am ko.  Please do come and support the team.

 

Under 12's

Back with a bump!!!!!!!!

After the euphoria of reaching the Challenge Cup final two days earlier, the U/12 North came down to earth with a bump after losing to Echoes Amber 2-0 in the quarter finals of the league cup.

St. Albans started well, even though Echoes had the slight edge for the first ten minutes. As the game progressed, the balance of play shifted in City’s favour with the defence looking solid and the midfield getting much more of the ball. The pressure from City increased and was very nearly rewarded when Elliott Goward’s cross from the left was met by Sam Wilson who beat a defender and looked set to score with his left foot but instead, chose his right and unfortunately blasted the ball just wide of the target. Nathan Byrne and Mark Hiller both as busy as ever had shots that went close and the young saints were now in full flight. Unfortunately for them, and with the first goal looking more likely to come from St. Albans than Echoes, half time came too soon.

The second half was a complete contrast to the first as Echoes came straight out of the blocks and pushed City back. City struggled to get their passing game together as Echoes piled on the pressure and denied them time and space. City defended frantically and kept a clean sheet until the last fifteen minutes when a cross from the right wing eventually fell to an Echoes player who crashed an unstoppable shot into the net from twelve yards to make it 1-0. After the goal, City still found themselves under pressure but started to create a few chances and nearly equalised when Luke Thatcher saw his shot go agonisingly close, just past the far post. A few minutes later the same player looked set to score when a pinpoint cross from the left by Elliott Goward, took the slightest of touches off an Echoes defenders head to deny Luke Thatcher a clean header five yards out. Nathan Byrne had a good effort but his shot unfortunately went straight at the keeper. With time running out, City threw players forward in search of an equaliser but with two minutes left, a loose ball was hit first time by an Echoes player from twenty five yards into the top corner of the net for a superb goal to make the final score 2-0. The U/12s North tried their best, but on the day Echoes deserved their victory.

Under 11's

U11 girls lose 1-0 despite dominating game

The U11 girls lost 1-0 away to Barking B despite dominating the game.

On a hot day St Albans started brightly pinning Barking into their own half. Despite having most of the ball and creating a number of chances the Barking defence managed to hold out. The best chance of the half however fell to Barking, on a breakaway, which was cleared off the line superbly by Lucy Mann.

The second half began in much the same fashion with St Albans dominating, however a defensive mistake let in one of the Barking forwards who scored with a well taken goal.

Having taken the lead Barking put players behind the ball. St Albans continued to press looking for an equalizer, but despite a number of agonisingly close chances the girls could not find a way through the Barking defence.

Player of the match was Megan Wynne with a tireless display up front. Erin Fogarty also has a particularly good game playing in defence.

End of season blues for the East

So close!!!

From the second half performance City Youth's Under 11's East  youngsters can take heart from a stirring performance which almost saw them reverse a 4 goal deficit against Abbots Youth in the league cup quarter final.Underdogs City Youth started the match poorly and spent much of the first 20 minutes running round like headless chickens against their higher league  opposition, and several uncharacteristic mistakes and sloppy marking led to four first half Abbots goals. Dean Kemp handed Saints the life-line they needed just before half-time when the Abbots' keeper couldn't hold on his vicious free-kick which fell to the marauding Goro Nishioka to prod it home.

With Abbots fancying themselves to get a cricket score after playing some attractive football, Saints came out after the break with all guns blazing. Jacob Wroe started to win the midfield battle with some stirring tackles, and Louis McNamara and James Lowthian made inroads down the flanks. Five minutes gone, Lee Close broke the offside trap and lifted the ball over the keeper then Max O'Shea was pulled down the box. Max dusted himself off and coolly converted the resulting penalty high to the keeper's right for 3-4. Abbots were now worried but with 10 minutes to go broke upfield to restore their 2 goal advantage before Saints threw caution to the wind to try to save the game. This resulted in Lee Close getting his second with a wickedly dipping shot into the top right hand corner with a minute to go. In the dying seconds Saints won a corner after good work by Aidan Fortune, and only after a nail-biting scramble in the yard box did Abbots clear their lines for the ref to bow his whistle.

The match was definitely a game of two halves but the lads showed great spirit and character to come so close after a dreadful start.

U11 East: Coulton, E Gray, Maher, Northage (Figg); McNamara, Wroe, Kemp, O'Shea, Lowthian (Fortune), Nishioka (Wilson), Close     

Under 10's

Draw for the 10's West

St Albans City Under 10s west drew away to Northwood 0 - 0 in the spring cup. The young saints were tired from the School tournament yesterday and found the long grass at Northwood hard work. The first half was very even with both teams coming close on a few occasions. The second half was all city as they pushed for the desired win. Most parts of the goal were hit except the back of the net. Harvey scott, Dominic Oliver and David Towndrow all came near to scoring but it was just not going to go in. Ben Attewell, Chris Hudson and James Pellington worked hard in defence and Ben Lee held the ball well. Jack Evans also worked hard supporting the many midfield attacks. Man of the match was Captain James Pellington

Under 9's

Under 9's on a roll

W/E 18th April 2004

 

Under 12's

12's North head for the final

The under 12s North will now face Sun Postal in the final of the Challenge Cup on May 2^nd after beating Borehamwood 2000 by two goals to nil.

St. Albans looked very determined from the start and tested the Borehamwood keeper early on when Elliott Goward’s shot was parried round the near post for a corner. Luke Thatcher nearly scored when his header hit a post after the Borehamwood keeper misjudged a long ball. On twenty minutes, Luke Thatcher scored the opener after Elliott Goward went down the left wing and drove powerfully into the box and crossed for Thatcher to smash the ball first time into the back of the net from 12 yards. St. Albans were playing well and fully deserved their half time lead that was built on the back of a gritty hard working defence and midfield performance.

The second half was only five minutes old when St. Albans took a 2-0 lead. An angled through ball from the left found Luke Thatcher 25 yards out on the right of the Borehamwood penalty box. The opportunity to shoot looked to have disappeared when the pace on the ball took it wide narrowing the angle. Suddenly, out of nowhere, and to everyone’s surprise, Luke hit a stinging right foot shot inside the near post leaving the keeper totally flat footed and unable to move. The central midfielders of Luke Campion, Nathan Byrne and in particular Mark Hiller were outstanding and worked tirelessly as did the back four of James Killen, Ben Talbot, Charles Norman and Jack Ashcroft. Sam Wilson was a handful and a constant threat with his tricks down the right wing and Tommy Hunt did a good job to bolster up the midfield when he came on as sub. Harry Honeywood in goal didn’t have a lot to do but dealt with everything very competently and with confidence. Well done lads.

Under 11's

Great result for the East

St Albans U11 East faced a fired up Harpenden Colts Falcon team at Killigrew with both sides knowing that a win would assure each team of third place in the league. It was the characteristic quick start for City Youth as a corner in the first minute from Dean Kemp was met by Goro Nishioka's outstretched boot for a close range opener, but despite dominating midfield the youngsters were unable to convert first half pressure into more goals.

In second half Harpenden upped the tempo of the game and Tom Coulton pulled off a diving save before they were rewarded with a headed equaliser after a slight hesitation in the Saints defence. With the pitch cutting up badly the match then got very ugly resulting in Harpenden's giving away a series of free-kicks, from which Max O'Shea's effort was saved just under the bar and James Lowthian fired wide from a tight angle. After a Saints goal was disallowed for a narrow offside, man of the match, Lee Close completed the scoring with 5 minutes to go by outsprinting the defence and sliding the ball under the keeper despite the opposition centreback trying to swap shirts before the final whistle.

In a physical encounter the defence of Ryan Maher, Will Northage and Eddie Gray showed great restraint despite Eddie being poleaxed in the last few minutes, whilst the five man midfield worked hard with the battling Jacob Wroe winning the ball and feeding Louis McNamara on countless occasions. Next up the boys go to Abbot Youth in the League Cup Quarter Final.

U11 East: Coulton; E Gray, Maher, Northage (Wilson); McNamara, Wroe, Kemp (Figg), O' Shea, Lowthian (Fortune); Nishioka, Close.

Not the West's day

Despite a very strong performance from Charlie Craigen in midfield West were very poor in the first half and Chorleywood were always first to the ball, and were not put under enough pressure.  The second half however started much more brightly with some good work from Elliott Jay and Stuart Cole in the midfield.  West were rewarded 10 minutes in when Carl Biggs with a lovely through ball, set up Jon Mallaburn to finish clinically.  Shortly after Jon again found himself through and was certain to score when an awful offside decision was awarded.  West kept battling and Luke Jeffery did well in defence but it wasn't to be Wests day.  Had the offside not happened it might have been a different story.  As West pushed forward they were punished twice in the last 10 minutes.  West need to play like they did in the second half for the full game but they did not deserve to lose by the 4 goals.

Under 10's

Bright start earns a draw

 

W/E 11th April 2004

Under 12's

Under 12s North 7 v 1 Alexandra Park West

The U/12 North followed up Sundays league defeat of Northwood with a comprehensive 7-1 win in the League Cup 3^rd round against Alexandra Park West from the white division. After only five minutes, Ben Talbot scored a cracking goal with a left foot shot into the top far corner of the net for his first ever goal for the club. On thirteen minutes James Laws slotted the ball home from ten yards after some good work from Toby Irish. Jack Ashcroft made it 3-0 nine minutes later with a powerful text book header followed by a sweetly struck twenty five yarder from Sam Wilson that sailed over the keeper into the roof of the net.

Two further goals were scored in the first three minutes of the second half, one by Sam Wilson, his second of the game with a right foot shot, the other by Luke Thatcher, also with a right foot shot. Alexander Park to their credit battled away and were rewarded with a consolation goal, scored from a corner halfway through the second period. St. Albans had to wait until the final minute to score their seventh goal, a typical Elliott Goward left foot finish that was worth waiting for. In the quarter final, St. Albans will now face County champions and Red Division favourites Echoes Amber.

 

Under 11's

East march on in the League Cup

London Lions must be getting sick of the sight of St Albans City Youth as the East team knock them out of the league Cup with a 7-1 win only four days after they lost to the South team!

It was yet another lightening start for the under 11's premier outfit as Dean Kemp delivered a perfect corner which Lee Close met unopposed to head into the net, and before 10 minutes was up Lee had added the second with a lob from a difficult angle after good work by Louis McNamara. Although Goro Nishioka had a perfectly good  goal disallowed he swiftly took his revenge with a sweet shot on the turn and over the keeper, and a 'trickler' after good work by James Lowthian. Despite being four goals down at half time the Lions competed better in the second half, but were undone for the fifth goal by Jacob Wroe's loft over the top with Goro outpacing the defence and rounding the keeper for yet another hat-trick and his 44th goal of the season. Dean Kemp showed his versatility by taking over the striker's role and consequently added the last 2 goals from strikes outside the box following good vision by Jacob and a rebound from Lee. In the last few minutes Max O'Shea had the boys second goal disallowed before the Lions went out with a roar and a consolation goal, which came off the back of the unfortunate Will Northage.

Overall a solid display on a heavy pitch which sees the lads progress into the Quarter Finals.

U11 East: Coulton; Northage (H Gray), Maher, E Gray; McNamara, Wroe, Kemp (Figg), O'Shea, Lowthian; Nishioka, Close.

 

W/E 4th April 2004

Under 13's

‘West beat Northwood, last league game’.

 

West playing their last league game, at home against Northwood White, clinched forth place in the league, by winning 5-1. West went 1-0 down, when a penalty was awarded to Northwood against the run of play, 1^st attempt put wide, the spot kick was retaken because of some encroachment in the area, and scored. Ethan Fogarty, in the West goal, was unlucky just managing to get a hand to the spot kick, but pushing the ball into the top left hand corner.

Halftime score 1-0.

Second half, and West equalised through Nick Glasgow, finishing of some good wing play by James Watt.

West went 2-1 up courtesy of an ‘own goal’, from a Dan Burtt corner. Now West was starting to play some ‘neat and tidy’ football throughout the team. After creating some good chances, the third goal was scored, again from Nick Glasgow cutting in from the left, 3-1.

The fourth followed, after Aaron Lumsdon latched onto a through ball, and scored from the edge of the penalty area, 4-1.

Matt Mawhood scored the fifth and final goal, with a close range shot passed the keeper, 5-1 to the ‘City boys’.

 

West dominated this game, with some outstanding performances throughout the team.

The ‘man of the match award went to Ben White for an inspirational game in midfield.

Under 12's

Under 12s North 4 v 0 Northwood

In this top of the table clash in the Red Division, the Under 12s North, who should finish the season in third spot were up against second placed Northwood who had to win to stand any chance of catching title favourites Echoes Amber. St. Albans started well and after thirteen minutes were awarded a free kick 25 yards out on the left wing. Elliott Goward whipped the ball in behind a square Northwood defence and found Charles Norman who half volleyed superbly from 12 yards to make it 1-0. Two minutes later, Sam Wilson’s floated ‘pin point’ corner from the left was met by Luke Thatcher who lost his marker to score with a powerful header to make it 2-0.

Six minutes into the second half, St. Albans further increased their lead when Elliott Goward sprinted down the left wing, beat a defender and fired a scathing shot across the Northwood keeper from 20 yards into the far corner of the net. St. Albans completely dominated the remainder of the game and never looked troubled by the Northwood forwards and midfield that are normally so dangerous. In the final minute, James Killen put the icing on the cake when after good work down the right by Luke Thatcher, scored with a far post header to make the final result 4-0.

 

Under 11's

U11 girls win with solid performance

 The U11 girls had a convincing 2-1 victory against Garston Purples.

 Playing downhill in the first half St Albans had nearly all of the ball. Grace Lewis had a couple of changes early on, and with continuous St Albans pressure  a goal had to come. After 15 minutes Josie Green took a free kick from just outside the box, her superbly stuck shot was steered into the goal by Lucy Mann.

A couple of minutes later Lucy Mann latched onto a clearance from the Garston goal keeper. She shot from outside the area, and the ball flew past the goalkeeper to make the score 2-0.

Despite continuing to dominate the first half the score remain 2-0 at half time.

With Garston playing downhill in the second half they began to exert some pressure. However St Albans weathered ten minutes of pressure before coming back into the game.

With ten minutes to play Garston scored to set up a good final ten minutes of the game. Both teams had chances but the score remained 2-1 at the final whistle.

Lucy Mann was named player of the match, Grace Lewis and Josie Green also had particularly impressive games.

 

Unlucky West

The Under 11's West playing Hadley Rangers had a very even first half with end to end football.  Matt Peckham was excellent in goal and Jamie Heaffey and joint man of the match Elliott Jay in defence were always equal to anything Hadley had to offer.  Saints were eventually rewarded for all their hard work when Luke Jeffery fired a long ball out of defence for Jon Mallaburn to run onto and then with an excellent finish he slid the ball past the keeper from a very tight angle.  Hadley however came out fighting in the second half and scored twice in the first 5 minutes the first from a poor scrambled clearance.  Saints then started to battle again and joint man of the match Charlie Craigen was excellent in holding them at bay.  A last ditch effort from Stuart Cole was cleared off the line by Hadley on the stroke of full time otherwise West might have got their deserved draw.

East do well

St Albans U11 East took advantage of a break in their league and cup programme to take on a strong Newport Pagnell Youth FC U12s outfit, and once again came away with the spoils in a close encounter at Killigrew.

It was a characteristic fast start from the boys with Lee Close going agonisingly near in the first 30 seconds before Max O'Shea took advantage of a mix-up in the defence to stroke the ball past the keeper 2 minutes later. With the first half wind at their back Goro Nishioka added a brace before half-time and showed his pace and strength for the second goal by forcing his way between two defenders and the keeper. In the second half Newport Pagnell pulled two quick goals back in the first 5 minutes but afterwards rarely threatened Tom Coulton in goal. At the other end Lee got the ball in the back of the net but it was adjudged offside.

Overall a good workout with the management choosing the friendly to experiment with several players in new roles including Jacob Wroe commanding at centreback and joint men of the match Scott Howlett and Mark Wilson in the full back berths. Next up the boys travel to Arkley to ace London Lions in the first knockout stage of the league cup.

U11 East: Coulton; Howlett, Wroe (E Gray), Maher, Wilson (H Gray); McNamara, Kemp, Figg, O'Shea; Nishioka, Close.  
 

Midweek blues for the 11's East

St Albans U11 East went on their midweek travels to Watford to face County Cup champions Everett Rovers Blue, and despite a valiant effort went down fighting to two first half goals. Even though most of the lads were dwarfed in size and weight by several of the Everett players they matched the home team in every department with the midfield impressing once again. Unfortunately in two crazy minutes the lads found themselves facing a two goals deficit - the first to a header from some slack marking at a corner, then a rebounded chip after keeper Tom Coulton had bravely blocked the oncoming striker's effort. Chances fell to both St Albans' strikers Goro Nishioka and Lee Close but on three occassions they were foiled by the Everett keeper including a diving goalbound save round the post. The Saints started the second half as they finished the first, but they just failed to break the Everett defence. At the other end of the pitch the defence held firm despite having just two men at the back for the last 10 minutes trying to chase the game.

The man of the match is a close run thing with several players in contention - midfielder Dean Kemp and defenders Will Northage, Eddie Gray and Ryan Maher were outstanding but just edged by Tom Coulton who showed once again why he is Herts' best keeper with assured handling, shot stopping and diving saves in  his repertoire. With performances like this (and several tonnes of human growth hormone) the lads can be confident that they will be a force to be reckoned with next season.

U11 East: Coulton; E Gray, Maher, Northage (Howlett); McNamara, Wroe, Kemp, O'Shea, Lowthian; Nishioka, Close.

 

W/E 28th March 2004

Under 13's

West beat Cassiobury in the Spring Trophy

 

West playing at home against Cassiobury Claret, gained revenged after losing to the same team last week in the league, by winning 4-1 in the Spring Trophy.

Winning 3 out of 3 games, in the 1^st round games, this should qualify West a semi-final place.

West opened the scoring through Ben White, heading in from an early corner, 1-0 to the ‘City boys’.

After creating some good chances, the second goal came after Aaron Lumsdon latched onto a through ball, and chipped the goalkeeper, halftime 2-0.

In the second half, West carried on where they left off in the first half, and scored their third through Matt Mawhood, getting the final touch from close range, following a corner, 3-0.

Cassiobury came back with a goal, making the scoreline 3-1.

West scored their forth through Nick Glasgow, beating the keeper on the second attempt, after breaking clear from the Cassiobury defence, this wrapped up the game, final score 4-1 to the ‘City boys’.

 

West completely dominated this game, with some outstanding performances throughout the team.

The ‘man of the match award was shared by Stelle Iasonas and Jamie Peters, whom together formed a formidable partnership in the centre of defence. 

 

Under 12's

North go down one nil

The Under 12s North played away from home in a league game against Borehamwood 2000 and lost 1-0. Straight from the kick off, Borehamwood kept St. Albans pinned back inside their own half and continued to do so for the majority of the first twenty minutes. During that period, St. Albans were second best and on fifteen minutes were punished when the ball was whipped in from the left wing and netted by a Borehamwood striker at the far post with a header. During the last ten minutes of the half, St. Albans clawed their way back into the game and enjoyed much more of the play in the Borehamwood half of the pitch.

The second half started as the first half finished with St. Albans improving all the time. An equaliser looked to be on the cards as St. Albans started creating chances with the best of those falling to Luke Thatcher and Elliott Goward. Unfortunately for both players, the Borehamwood keeper was in good form and always in the right place at the right time. Mark Hiller was also unlucky when he hit a first time shot from outside the box only to see the ball go just over the bar. St. Albans eventually lost 1-0 and although the result was a disappointment, the second half performance was very good and full of passion and commitment. If the boys had played like that for the whole game they would have got some thing out of it. The two teams meet again on April 18^th in the Challenge Cup semi final.

 

Good performance

Playing against Bushey Girls this was a good performance from the Under 12 girls, that the score does not suggest.  Given recent struggles and results this was an excellent performance by the team against one of the better teams in the league and Cup Finalists.  The away team started strongly and the girls had great difficulty getting out of their half but they gradually weathered the storm and began to create openings.  They defended really well for 20 minutes but a lapse in concentration allowed the visitors to score.  It did not deter the girls and they started the second half only one goal down.

Even better in the second half it was over-confidence that was their undoing and a quick counter saw Bushey go two up.  The girls continued to battle and by sacrificing a defender for an attacker, more pressure was put on Bushey and Jane Jardine finally got a deserved goal.  The team were now looking for an equaliser.  It’s three month’s since we were in the game like this with 5 minutes left.  Again the girls were caught with players pushed forward when Bushey broke quickly and scored.

A great team peformance where it was difficult to pick out an individual.  Particularly pleasing were the performances of the three new girls, Christina Berkeley, Grace McLean and Nicolle Daisley who were playing so well they could not be taken off after their usual short spells of action.

Under 11's

Breathtaking

In one of their best perfomances of the season the U11 East boys took revenge on their early season defeat against Harpenden Colts Falcons with a breathtaking 6-3 victory.

Inspite of Harry Gray being unwell and having to replaced by Will Northage in the first minute the boys were quickly out of the blocks. Lee Close opened the scoring following a James Lowthian defence-splitting pass which Lee slid home following in his parried shot. Within minutes Goro Nishioka first beat the offside trap and his 20 yard drive settled in the corner of the net, then his long range shot flew over the keeper and high into the top of the net. At this point the boys were rampant with Ryan Maher and Dean Kemp impressing, and soon the midfield got on the scoresheet. The fourth was added from a move on the left, James found Max O'Shea in space who then powered 50 yards down the wing and cut inside to slot the ball home and then the fifth was added on half time after a move down the right. This was another well-worked passing move with Eddie Gray at right fullback finding winger Louis McNamara who fed Lee in the corner with his first time cross converted by Jacob Wroe's late run into the box.

Despite a 5-0 half-time lead it was always going to be hard work in the second half playing against the slope. The much bigger Harpenden side got a goal back after 10 minutes before Goro Nishioka scored his 3rd and 8th hat-trick of the season following a cross from Jacob and lay-off from Scott Howlett. In the last few minutes Harpenden pulled a couple of goals back despite keeper Tom Coulton's heriocs, but the result had long since been secured. Next up the BeSport boys take on County Champions Everett Rovers in what is expected to be a titantic clash!!

U11 East: Coulton; E Gray, Maher, H Gray (Northage); McNamara, Wroe, Kemp, O'Shea, Lowthian; Nishioka, Close (Howlett). 

West take all the points

 

Under 10's

Captain James

St Albans City Youth under 10s West beat Everett Blue 3 - 0. The young saints completely dominated the first half with excellent passing play creating many scoring opportunities. Harvey Scott scored his first after six minutes thundering in a volley from a rebounded shot. His second came from a David Towndrow pass on fourteen minutes. Chris Hudson and Jack Evans worked hard on the right wing. Everett reorganised for the second half but once again the defence of James Pellington, Carl Palin and Ben Attewell proved too strong, confidently stopping each attack. In the 35th minute Harvey got his hat trick finishing well after some determined ball winning from Dominic Oliver. Harvey returned the favour a few minutes later setting up Dominic who shot just a little too high! A very good team performance with captain James Pellington winning man of the match.

21st March 2004

Under 15's

North on a roll

The Under 15's North played London Colney in the Quarter Finals of the League Cup, a one sided game played in a strong wind, which gave no team an advantage. The first goal was very hard work from Ricky Miller, whose persistence paid off with a good finish. That started everything off, further goals from Russell Gallagher and goal of the match from Adam Potter - 2 touch football and a great touch by Chris Haslem to play the ball in to his path, with a good finish. 3-0 at half time killed the game.

The second half was one way traffic as well, more goals followed....Sam Dunn got 2 poachers goals, Russell Gallagher got another with a header and Hugh Trayte scored with his first touch, again a header from a decent cross form Ricky Miller. The final goal was also well worked......free kick specialist Jamie Eames planted the ball onto Ross ' stretch' Court's head and the scoreline was complete. Poor goalkeeper Jamie Jackson had little to do, as did the defence, marshalled by ex Colney player Scott Hubball.

Final score was  St Albans City North 8 - 0 London Colney

Under 13's

Finishing costs the Under 13's West

West playing away to Cassiobury Claret in the league, came away losing 5-2, mainly due to bad finishing.

Kicking with the wind in the first half, West only managed to score once through Ben White, finishing with a low drive into the corner of the net. Half time score 1-0 to West.

Second half Cassiobury equalised within 10 mins of the restart, then scoring twice to go 3-1 up. West hit back with a second from Nick Glasgow, sloting in, when the home goalkeeper failed to hold a Daniel Burtt shot.

Again creating some good chances, West failed to finish. Cassiobury rounded off the game scoring twice, final score 5-2 to Cassiobury.

Although having most of the play in the first half, the lack of finishing off, some good football played by West, eventually proved to be the only difference between the 2 sides.

Matt Bennett picked up the man of the match award, with an outstanding display in goal for West. 

Under 12's

Under 12 North 2 v 1 Whetstone

The Under 12s North cruised into the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup after beating Whetstone 2 – 1 at home. During the opening ten minutes, the Whetstone forwards looked dangerous until central defenders Tommy Hunt and Charles Norman reorganised to stifle the threat. Despite the tough opposition and the windy conditions, St. Albans played some lovely football and moved the ball around very well. Sam Wilson and Elliott Goward, both playing out wide, were a constant threat to the Whetstone defence. Luke Campion nearly scored with a left foot shot but unfortunately hit the outside of the post. Half time score 0 – 0.

At the start of the second period, St. Albans pressured Whetstone and after barely a minute, Mark Hiller struck a right foot shot through a crowded penalty area into the corner of the net to make it 1 – 0. A second goal would have probably settled the tie, but while it remained 1 – 0, the harder it became to hang on to the lead. Whetstone mounted the pressure mid way through the half and St. Albans were hanging on desperately. Suddenly, out of the blue and after successfully defending a seventh consecutive corner, a long ball out of defence found Elliott Goward and one Whetstone defender on the half way line. Both players chased the ball and after Elliott Goward eventually won the tussle, he let rip from the edge of the area with an unstoppable shot that flew into the top corner of the net to make it 2 – 0. The goal seemed to have put paid to any Whetstone comeback and St. Albans looked comfortable. However, with less than two minutes left, Whetstone were given a penalty and scored to make it 2 – 1. Fortunately, St. Albans kept their heads until the final whistle to set up a semi-final clash with Borehamwood.

 

A step backwards?

This was a step backwards for the Under 12's Girls after last weeks good performance.  Although Hoddesdon are hoping to be second in the league they only had 11 players and were not really better than us.  The girls were not positive in their approach, held back and gave the home team time to score.  When we attacked we were always under pressure and chances were snatched at, miss-hit or misplaced.  Goals were conceded at regular intervals throughout the game after yet another error.  The game otherwise was fairly even, flowing up and down the pitch  although spoilt by the wind.  Captain Rebecca Atkins gave another great display but the Player of the Match award went to Catriona Johnstone who worked very hard in midfield throughout the game.

Under 11's

West crash

On a very blustery day St Albans U11 East had to be satisfied with a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw against a very competitive Enfield Rangers team at Killigrew.

Points shared

The galeforce wind was always going to dominate this match, and St Albans chose to play with it at their backs in the first half hoping to build a lead. The scoring was opened on 20 minutes when Dean Kemp's Beckhamesque strike from a direct freekick on the edge of the box sailed over the wall and into the top right hand corner. A few minutes later left back Harry Gray popped up in the box at a corner to hammer home his first goal of the season for St Albans to take a two goal advantage at the break. This would be have been three if good link play and pressure from midfielders James Lowthian, Max O'Shea and Jacob Wroe who consistently found winger Louis McNamara in space had been converted for the elusive third goal. For 20 minutes of the second half Enfield rarely troubled the City defence with Eddie Gray and Ryan Maher outstanding at the back, and the boys nearly had the elusive third with strikes from Goro Nishioka and Lee Close being saved. Next followed the Enfield fightback and in two frantic minutes Enfield were level when first their centre forward broke through the back line and shot past Tom Coulton, and then a penalty was awarded for a hand ball which was converted. With substitutes Scott Howlett and Mark Wilson on the pitch St Albans pushed hard for the winner, but with the wind as strong as ever in their faces there was some relief to take a point at the final whistle.

This was a good display from the City Youth boys and it was nice to see the Enfield Manager praising them individually at the final whistle for always trying (and succeeding) to play good football in difficult conditions.

U11 East: Coulton; E Gray, R Maher, H Gray; McNamara, Wroe, Kemp, O'Shea, Lowthian (Wilson); Nishioka (Howlett), Close.

Under 10's

Missed chances?

 

 

14th March 2004

Under 13's

'West' overcome Northwood, in the Spring Trophy.

Playing away to Northwood White, in the 1st round of the Spring Trophy, West came away with a 3-1 win, and 3 points.

Attacking Northwood straight from the kick-off, West was on the end of a few dubious offside decisions. The pressure finally paid off, when Daniel Burtt burst through from midfield, to hit an unstoppable shot, in off the crossbar, 1-0 to the West.

Northwood hit back straight away, scoring when West failed to clear a corner. Michael Gamble found his goal scoring touch, calmly slotting home west's second goal, passed the out coming goalkeeper. Halftime score 2-1 to the City boys.

The second half was fairly evenly contested, with probably the best goal chances falling to the West, the only winner was the pitch, which was increasingly becoming harder to play football.

Michael Gamble scored West's third goal, shooting just inside the post, from inside the penalty area, making the final score 3-1 to the West.

The 'Man of the Match' award went to Ethan Fogarty, for a solid performance at left back.   

 

Under 12's

Under 12s North 2 v 0 Nascot Wood

The Under 12s North beat Nascot Wood by two goals to nil to stay in third place in the Red Division. However, despite Nascot Woods lowly league position, this win was by no means straight forward. St. Albans adapted to the very windy conditions the quickest out of the two sides and scored after twelve minutes when Luke Thatcher scored his 15^th goal of the season from fifteen yards out, with a well struck shot into the far corner of the net. On twenty minutes, Nascot Wood nearly equalised. A shot from the edge of the box looked to be going in until Harry Honeywood dived backwards and somehow pushed the ball against the underside of the bar for a remarkable save.

In the second half, St. Albans struggled to get going and their play became scrappy. Nascot Wood took advantage and gained control of the midfield and looked the more likely team to score the next goal. They came close when a shot from the edge of the area, was again saved superbly by Harry Honeywood with a full length dive to his right. St. Albans weathered the mini storm and wrapped up the three points with five minutes to go when the Nascot Wood keeper saved a shot but couldn’t stop James Laws from poking the rebound into the net. The whole squad that consisted of Harry Honeywood, Andrew Harris, James Killen, Ben Talbot, Charles Norman (capt.), Tommy Hunt, Sam Wilson, Luke Campion, Jack Ashcroft, Nathan Byrne, Mark Hiller, Toby Irish, James Laws and Luke Thatcher worked extremely hard and showed good character to grind out a result.

 

Northwood 3 v Under 12 Girls 1

Never mind the score, this was a great performance by the team and they can take great pride in the performance and the continued improvement.  We were up against it from the start, three experienced players had dropped out before we had confirmed the game and a fourth was to go leaving only 3 players with experience.  More absentees meant the team was reduced to a bare 11, throwing the inexperienced and unfit players in at the deep end.  But, how they all responded.

Keeping it very simple the team cut out mistakes, held a better shape and not only snuffed out any dangers but took the game to Northwood.  We could have scored from the kick-off but took the ball too close to the keeper.  This error was repeated later in the game when we broke down the good home defence yet again.  The stalemate was broken with a penalty, resulting from a mistake by one of the new girls.  A second goal in the first half was an unfair reflection of the game.

Although the third went in early in the second half the girls did not give up.  Emma Seeby made a great save and this seemed to turn the tide as the chances were then all at the other end.  A great run and cross from Tiffany Harbron was not put away, the ball ballooning up and safely into the keepers arms.  It seemed we would never score but then Jane Jardine played a ball through for Tiffany who made no mistake.  If only we had scored earlier, the home side was falling apart and a draw was possible.

Although all 11 played their part and deserved credit, Rebecca Atkins gave a faultless performance at the back and was an inspiration to everyone else.  Player of the Match, no question.

 

Under 11's

East crush Evergreen

St Albans U11 East put their league aspirations back on track by crushing Evergreen Youth with eleven unanswered goals at Killigrew.

A blistering start from the boys saw them open a 7-0 half time lead with a brace from Jacob Wroe and Goro Nishioka whilst new signing Lee Close hit his first goals for the club with a hat-trick. The comfortable lead enabled several positional changes to be made at half-time and keeper Tom Coulton marauding at left wing was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet when his header went narrowly over the bar. Some fluid attacking football saw James Lowthian, Louis McNamara, Eddie and Harry Gray go close to scoring but further braces from Goro and Jacob completed the rout.

After last week's shock defeat it was pleasing to keep a clean sheet in defence and credit in this department goes to Will Northage, Ryan Maher, George Figg and Mark Wilson. For his hard work in the centre of the park and delivering several killing through balls and corners, the man of the match award goes to Dean Kemp.

U11 East: Coulton; Northage (Wilson), E Gray, Maher, H Gray; McNamara, Wroe (Figg), Kemp, Lowthian; Nishioka, Close.
 

Great result for the West

Under 10's

Spring in the air for the West

 

7th March 2003

Under 12's

North earn a point

The Under 12’s North and local rivals London Colney, shared the points in a 2-2 draw in this fiercely contested league match. During the opening period, neither defence was tested. However, with ten minutes gone, Sam Wilson took on the Colney left back and sent over a perfect cross for Luke Thatcher, who scored with a text book downward glancing header to make it 1-0. James Laws was desperately unlucky when he lobbed the keeper from the edge of the box only to see his follow up shot from close range go sailing over the crossbar. A lapse in concentration in the City defence ten minutes before half time allowed London Colney to score from close range to make it 1-1.

Seven minutes into the second period, Colney took the lead when their left winger found space to shoot, unchallenged, into the far corner of the net. Apart from Elliott Goward hitting the crossbar from twenty yards, City didn’t look like scoring. With fifteen minutes left, City threw caution to the wind and replaced a defender and midfielder with two more strikers. With less protection from the midfield and a weakened defence, Colney caught City on the break on three occasions with only the keeper to beat. Fortunately, Harry Honeywood is in superb form and saved all three efforts brilliantly to keep his team in the game and earn the ‘man of the match’ tag. With time running out, a goal bound Sam Wilson free kick was bizarrely deflected onto the post by the hand of team mate Luke Thatcher as he slipped. The rebound was put into the net but ruled out for handball. With seconds to go, City were awarded a free kick on the half way line. Sam Wilson pumped the ball forward into a very crowded penalty area where it fell to Luke Thatcher who crashed an unstoppable shot into the back of the net to make it 2-2. While the City players were still celebrating, the referee blew the final whistle.

 

Cup over, back to the league

Playing Denham in the League Cup this was a pleasing improvement for the Under 12 Girls despite the scoreline.  The girls again showed greater skill and discipline as they applied themselves to learning this game.  Given that Denham are the runaway leaders of the League and have even beaten the Q.P.R. team that inflicted a 0-19 defeat on us a month ago, this was a good performance.  The girls did learn however that against a good team you can’t afford to make mistakes or allow concentration to wander as they punish with a goal.

Rebecca Atkins was outstanding in the centre of defence helped by Hannah Reardon who again stood in and played well.  Rebecca Kellner was given Player of the Match because after a shaky start she improved during the second half winning the ball and clearing well.  The 5 new girls also showed continued improvement as they come to terms with the demands of the game.  The old hands played a key role in keeping some shape and took the game to Denham whenever they could.  Tiffany Harbron was a welcome return at the front but she had no luck at all.

Under 11's

 

Excellent