Saints answer Magpies’ prayers (23.03.04)

A LATE flurry of goals carried United to a slightly fortunate but crucial 4-2 win over St Albans at York Road on Tuesday night.
In a match to test the nerve of any loyal supporter, the initial exchanges suggested the Magpies were going to walk it.
In fact, they could have three up inside 10 minutes.
Rob Haworth forced a great save from George Clarke with a sweetly struck volley on five minutes, Ben Hammond beat the keeper but not retreating defender two minutes later, while Ryan Ashe went within inches of turning home Craig Farley’s driven cross on nine minutes.
But then came a sign of things to come, as Farley lost the ball in midfield, allowing St Albans to break with four on three.
Fortunately, Andy Dugdale cut out the danger and promptly launched a counter-attack, which resulted in a corner for United. Farley curled the ball to Brendan Gallen, who steered a header between keeper and bar to give the Magpies a deserved lead.
And so it continued, with Haworth testing Clark with a bullet header from four yards out, and Gallen blazing a shot over the bar from a good position minutes later.
The pressure was mounting and St Albans cracked again on 31 minutes, when Gallen skipped through the defence to force a rushed clearance, which Farley swept wide to Hammond, who fairly smashed it home.
The game seemed headed for a whitewash, but only very briefly, as St Albans struck back almost immediately, when Steve Watts chased down a nothing ball out of defence, rounded Wilson and fired the ball into an empty net.
The remainder of the half belonged to St Albans’, with Lee Clarke flashing a shot just wide of the upright, and Gary Wraight drawing a fine low save from Wilson, before Watts netted the equaliser in added time, following another one-on-one with Wilson.
The second half began as the first had ended, with St Albans in complete control, while United’s wobbly defence was exposed over and over again by direct attacking play.
Even the referee seemed to have turned against the Magpies on 60 minutes, when the man in black ignored his assistant’s flag and allowed three St Albans players to race through on goal from blatantly offside positions.
Fortunately, Watts’ shot from four yards out crashed into the bar, before being hurriedly cleared.
Gallen and Dugdale had to combine to clear another goal-bound shot a few minutes later, as United began to look more like headless chickens than proud Magpies.
The onslaught continued unabated for another 20 minutes, although somehow – by hook or by crook – United kept them out.
Then, with eight minutes remaining, the visitors were hoist by their own petard, when Hammond chased down a route-one ball over the top and calmly lifted it over the advancing keeper.
Minutes later, St Albans substitute Chris Zoricich was harshly adjudged to have handled a shot that was thrashed at him from four yards away.
The referee was unsympathetic, as was inspirational skipper Gallen, who crashed the ball home from the spot to secure maximum points for the Magpies.