St Albans City 0 – 3 Wealdstone
0 - 3
Wealdstone battered a flat St Albans City 3-0 at Clarence Park on Pancake Day. Goals from Joe White, Tom Hamblin and Danny Green stretched the Stones winning run away from home to six games, conceding just once in the process.
Gordon Bartlett named an unchanged eleven and substitute’s bench from Saturday’s victory against Welling United and the Stones should have taken an early lead on four minutes. Aryan Tajbakhsh’s through pass put White in on goal, but he chose to go round Saints keeper James Russell and was forced too wide by the keeper, eventually shooting wide.
But that would be the first chance of many and the Stones took the lead on 21 minutes. Green whipped a low corner in for Hamblin, he jumped over the ball and White bundled in from close range to score his first Wealdstone goal.
St Albans started the second half with more of the ball and Manager Ian Allinson had made all his changes by 65 minutes, launching a full on attack with strikers Jamie Cureton and Charlie Walker being introduced.
However, the Stones, marshalled superbly by Hamblin at the back, comfortably dealt with the situation and played some calm and clever football when under pressure.
White then spurned another golden opportunity when played in on goal by Green, hitting his one-on-one effort too close to Russell in the home side’s goal.
Substitute Nathan Mavila then had an effort tipped wide by the home keeper and from the resulting corner Stones doubled their lead. Elliott Godfrey crossed the initial ball in, it was headed clear but put back into the box to Hamblin who had all the time in the world to bring the ball down, pick his spot and slot past the keeper.
The hard-working Green was rewarded with a goal late in the contest, Ricky Wellard found him with the freedom of Hertfordshire inside the St Albans penalty area and the winger put the easiest of finishes past Russell.
Stones are now undefeated on the road since New Year’s Day, haven’t conceded in four games, undefeated in five and move up to eleventh in the National League South table.
WEALDSTONE: North, Oshodi, Brown, Sellers, Hamblin, Godfrey, Green, Cox, White (Wright 85), Wellard (Walker 89), Tajbakhsh (Mavila 46). Unused subs: Parker, McGleish
By Chris Woods
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