Ryman League - Hornchurch 0 St Albans 1

[Urchins]

This was a bit of a disappointment after recent victories as we lost to a hardy, well organised St Albans side.

 

The first half was fairly even and keenly contested but with few chances for either side. The winning goal came on the half hour, Nic McDonnell spinning on a shot from the edge of the area after some good inter-passing down the right flank. Our best chance of the half came just before the break when a low cross in from John Keeling spun off the boot of a defender and just missed the angle between post and bar.

 

Early on in the second half Sean Hankin and John Martin came on for Gavin McGowan and Andrew Martin with Steve West being pushed up front, after which we became more of a threat. West headed wide from a Sterling corner in the 57th minute and sent a looping header against the bar from a John Keeling cross ten minutes later, Andy Douglas following up but not being in quite the right position to be able to force the ball home as St Albans quickly regrouped. Two minutes later St Albans' Miguel de Souza was sent off after bringing down Andy Douglas as he broke clear after which a Jamie Southon header from a Scott Gooding corner failed to hit the target. We pressed even harder for the equaliser in the last 10 minutes or so but even when we did beat the St Albans defence our finishing let us down. Andy Douglas was presented with a golden opportunity 3 minutes into injury time but with a clear sight of goal shot straight at the keeper - though to be fair it was a narrowish angle - and Sean Hankin had a chance to make a name for himself 4 minutes later when he ran onto a far post cross but he shot wildly over the bar.

 

Line-up:- Gay, Gooding, Kerrigan, Adedeji, West, Southon (Maynard 81), Keeling, Sterling, A Martin (J Martin 52), Douglas, McGowan (Hankin 52). Subs not used:- Locke, Collier (GK)