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Post by Hatboy on Apr 25, 2015 10:19:22 GMT
Preview: Saints bring a season to a close at Hayes
Michael Edwards
St Albans City bring their remarkable, frustrating and ultimately successful season in the Vanarama Conference South to a close on Saturday when they travel to Hayes and Yeading.
It’s a great way to round off the season for the Saints against the team that beat them 1-0 at Clarence Park on the opening day.
For all the optimism and zest around the club after their promotion from the Southern League, City were flat and lifeless against Hayes and Yeading, who weren’t much better but got the win back in August.
It was a dreadful performance and had many wondering what the next nine months would entail. Few would have guessed what did happen: spectacular performances in taking some the division’s biggest scalps, awful cup losses, club favourites moving to pastures new and inconsistency that was enough to drive any fan mad.
St Albans got their revenge in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup when Lee Chappell of all people scored the only goal of the game.
And now, with the play-offs gone and survival assured, joint managers James Gray and Graham Golds have got their side playing possibly their best football of the year, all with James Comley at centre-back.
Few would have guessed that.
The awards have been handed out so there really is nothing to play for on Saturday except three points, and that should be enough to motivate the players. That, and the possibility to end the season with four straight wins, hit all of their targets, and head into the off-season on a wave of positivity.
The higher the Saints finish, the easier it is to recruit players is the rhetoric coming from Gray, who has already stated that he wants the entire squad to return for pre-season training, although how much can be gleaned from that, I’m not sure. There are definitely areas to improve and Saturday is the last chance for the current crop to stake their claim for a place in next season’s squad.
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Post by Hatboy on Apr 25, 2015 10:53:05 GMT
Form Guide:
Hayes at Home LWDLLW F 8 A 8 Pts 7
Saints.. Away LDLLLW F 6 A 10 Pts 4
Last 6 overall Saints top of the form guide WDLWWW F 9 A 3 Pts 13
All Saturdays best available odds;
Chelmsford (11/4) Draw (13/5) Borehamwood (1)
Ebbsfleet United (8/11) Draw (14/5) Bishop Stortford (15/4)
Farnborough (15/4) Draw (3) Concord Rangers (4/6)
Gosport Borough (21/10) Draw (13/5) Bromley (6/5)
Havant & Waterlooville (1) Draw (13/5) Whitehawk (5/2)
Hayes & Yeading (2) Draw (13/5) St Albans City (13/10)
Hemel Hempstead (4/5) Draw (14/5) Eastbourne (3)
Staines Town (7/2) Draw (3) Bath City (3/4)
Sutton Utd (1) Draw (11/4) Maidenhead Utd (13/5)
Weston Super Mare (17/4) Draw (15/4) Basingstoke Town (3/5)
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Post by Hatboy on Apr 25, 2015 14:28:30 GMT
Saints Starting XI: Welch; Kyriacou; Chappell; D. Green; Locke; Comley; Beckles; Corcoran; Frendo; Malcolm; J. Green.
Subs: Lowe; Wales; Kaloczi; Taylor; Hall.
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Post by casper on Apr 25, 2015 14:50:14 GMT
HT 0-0
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Post by casper on Apr 25, 2015 15:28:37 GMT
Att 303
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Post by Hatboy on Apr 25, 2015 15:38:15 GMT
1-0 City, Malcolm
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Post by casper on Apr 25, 2015 15:48:06 GMT
2-0 City, Wales
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Post by casper on Apr 25, 2015 15:58:49 GMT
FT 3-0 Frendo
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Post by EFMTFTV on Apr 25, 2015 16:00:20 GMT
Quite apt that frendo scored in what will probably be his last game for us after doing so much for us last season
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Post by Hatboy on Apr 25, 2015 16:00:39 GMT
Frendo got the third in the 6th minute of injury time, just one goal short of a + goal difrference
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Post by westwalessaint on Apr 25, 2015 16:15:17 GMT
Great result to finish season with. Four wins on the bounce is a very positive end to the first year back in Connie South. Well done players, managers, owners, backroom staff and supporters. Now let's see what pre-season brings.
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knockers
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 283
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Post by knockers on Apr 25, 2015 16:57:03 GMT
Why frendo`s last game for us? rumour mill running. Who would we get in next season who will score as many as him in conf south? Think we need to keep experienced players and add youth players of quality.
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knockers
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 283
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Post by knockers on Apr 25, 2015 18:26:24 GMT
Think be great to keep frendo, thomas and malcolm next season with young player coming thru behind those platers. Look who we started season with john, buchanan, ex barnet player, clearly not good e.nuff. coys
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Post by EFMTFTV on Apr 25, 2015 19:04:13 GMT
Think be great to keep frendo, thomas and malcolm next seasons Only one of them will be with us by all accounts |
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knockers
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 283
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Post by knockers on Apr 25, 2015 19:07:47 GMT
I hope replacements lined up, i want saints to push on not go backwards.
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Post by casper on Apr 25, 2015 20:12:21 GMT
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yellowalf
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 301
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Post by yellowalf on Apr 26, 2015 8:40:19 GMT
Think be great to keep frendo, thomas and malcolm next seasons Only one of them will be with us by all accounts So the consensus is that Frendo is on his way. He's taken some stick this season, rightly in many ways as his performances haven't been as good as he has shown historically. 11 goals from 34 league games is not as many as a player of his ability should be scoring. I'd like to see him play at this level with a full pre-season in place as I still think he has the skills to do well. He's disappointed us this year, especially compared to last year, and I can't help feeling that is because he didn't start the season in full fitness; while Nou-gate did him no favours. I disagree that this is a level too far for him and, until I see him playing Conf South fully fit and prepared, I think that it is circumstantial that he hasn't played well in a higher league. I'd like to see him come back in July refreshed and raring to prove that he can score regularly in the Conf South. It will be a shame if, as seems to be the case, he won't be with us when pre-season starts. |
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Post by davymac55 on Apr 26, 2015 8:48:02 GMT
A dour and largely forgettable first half punctuated by the odd good save by our POS. Anyones game at that point. the second half starte dwith TMS being more positive and forcing the play but lacking any threat really. However it was only a matter of time and once the first goal went in I felt my predicted 8 goal romp could become a reality-time was the enemy. A 3 goal victory did not flatter us and it was easy to see how dejected the H&Y players and fans were. What a season they have had. Well done to their fans who make the journey to Maidenhead to watch their team play on a churned up field. By far the worst in our league. Truly atrocious.
A big shout for our fans who came dressed in the team strip and donned the FENNERS masks. Brilliant. Fenners was visibly moved.
Finally, this is the best end to any season I have watched TMS -excluding relegation dogfights/playoffs etc. We have finished on a high and beaten several promotion hopefuls, begging the question ,of course, why not sooner. But this is the basis of a squad who could be competitive next season. I hope that your 1 in 3 comment is off the mark EMFTV as at least 2 are good enough. For the rest of what remains of the season I will be supporting anyone playing The Wooood!COYS
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Post by Boomer on Apr 26, 2015 10:54:32 GMT
Have to agree about the first half, when we could quite easily have been 2 down had they capitalised on a couple of gilt edged chances. No Simon Thomas to win the ball in the air yet we still continued to pump it skywards, which their huge No 3 Monthe seemed eager to swallow up throughout the half. The game changer came on 55 minutes, when Jamal Lowe came on. Almost immediately, we changed tactics and our formation. We started running at their defence and after the first goal, the result was never really in doubt. An excellent scoreline in the end, with some very good performances especially from Welch, Corcoran, Lowe and the superlative Coms at the back. A great season and a great end to the season. COYS!  |
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Post by davymac55 on Apr 26, 2015 11:44:53 GMT
A really nice touch by some players giving their shirts to fans at the end-appysaints boy looked well chuffed with the goalies jersey.
our league was a very competitive, if not high quality, one this year with anyone being able to beat anyone else. winning the league with only 77 points , I think Bromley have become champs with the lowest points total of any English league covered by the NLP-_or am I wrong.
Well done to Corby for probably keeping us in the Conf South.
And well done to the Saints second team(Neots) for getting into play offs- might go to see.
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Post by Hatboy on Apr 26, 2015 12:54:22 GMT
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Post by casper on Apr 26, 2015 17:55:40 GMT
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Post by Boomer on Apr 26, 2015 18:15:10 GMT
Here is a video clip of the game from fcvideo at Hayes and Yeading.
Michael Malcolm made that 1st goal look a site easier than it actually was and I loved the way Jamal Lowe tracked back and pinched the ball from their no 8, before setting off on the run, which led to our 2nd.
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Post by Hatboy on Apr 27, 2015 18:16:55 GMT
Tav's footage of the game
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Post by Hatboy on Apr 30, 2015 18:30:00 GMT
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Post by stanj on May 8, 2015 15:31:29 GMT
Rec`d an interesting E.Mail From S.A.F.C. today----It say`s,I Quote... a good end to the season with 4 straight wins followed by a 3-0 defeat at Hayes and Yeading?  ? I thought the Saints won that one> well I never ...Must have been a labour voter getting a bit twisted?? |
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Post by westwalessaint on May 9, 2015 9:32:37 GMT
I know - I think we all received the same one. Ha ha. If it'd said defeat OF instead of AT H & Y, I think it would've come over better. Cleary wasn't proof read before being sent out. Lol.
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? I thought the Saints won that one>