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| St Albans 0 Woking 1: 12th September 2006 Scorers From the day I started watching Woking I don't think I've ever seen a predatory finisher. I only caught the last season or so of Darren Hay. The on loan Chris Sharpling was devastating (nine in fourteen, I recall) but he got his goals by pace, speed and guile. He wasn't predatory. Warren Patmore, maybe. It may only be eight games into the season, and he may not have played all of that and on the left wing too but I think we have the makings of a real goalscorer. It's Giuseppe Sole, in case you hadn't realised. His instinctive 62nd minute strike made it four goals for the season and was enough to clinch victory over a decent St Albans side. It may be true that he did go missing for parts of the game, to be expected really at such a young age, but when he is popping up to blast in goals like that one on a regular basis, he is just to good to leave out. Shola Oyedele replaced an injured Steve Evans in central midfield leaving an otherwise unchanged side to start at Clarence Park but they were under the cosh for the first ten minutes or so. Hutchinson had to make two last minute aerial lunges to stop headers at goal and Karl Murray, covering from right back, had to make a sliding challenge on Matt Hann to stop him when one-on-one with Jalal. The Cards did fight back though when Nurse found McAllister in the area who managed to turn his man but his finish with just the keeper' to beat was tame and easily held. St Albans continued to dominate despite McAllister's chance though and kept possession well, the defence sitting way too deep and allowing the home side to have the ball. Magnus Okuonghae headed over from a corner and a long shot whistled just past the post after some neat, but unchallenged, build up play. Neil Smith rallied his troops, telling Shola to first win the battle and then to start trying to pass it and gradually Woking found their feet and got back into the game. McAllister had another great chance following a bit of a scramble in the area he latched onto the loose ball but once again Paul Bastock was equal to his attempt and parried it away from goal. Sole managed to get onto the rebound but his effort was blocked on the line to keep the game goalless. The game quietened down a bit after that, the only other real chance of note was Nurse hammering a left footed attempt just over before half time though Jalal did have to save from Paul Hakim as well. Woking stopped St Albans dominance and although the latter finished the half with much more possession, the Cards had just as many chances. Woking started the second half brightly and conjured up the first chance when Nurse broke down the left and toyed with his man before released Lambu in the area. His shot was clawed away by Bastock but the rebound fell to Sole whose blasted attempt was well blocked by a defender. On the 62nd minute the Card's newfound goalscorer struck with aplomb. Another good move saw the ball fall to Murray on the right side of the area and his drilled cross was just behind McAllister but was in just the right place for Sole to latch onto and hammer it into the roof of the net without him even thinking, sending Cards fans and players into wild celebrations. The goal seemed to spur Woking on even more, and Nurse broke down the right and found McAllister inside of him but the striker's shot was well tipped wide. MacDonald so almost made contact with a corner, which would almost certainly have resulted in a goal, and then after a very nice passing move Bunce hammered a thunderbolt just over with the aid of a deflection. However, the Cards defence then got deeper and deeper and panic set in for the final fifteen minutes as frantic clearances and diving blocks were the order of the day. Despite a lot of pressure and a couple of close run things the defence managed to keep Lippiatt's team at bay and there were cheers of relief when the final whistle went. Overall, it was probably just about a deserved victory though St Albans played very well and another day it would have been a draw or perhaps even a home win. Another decent performance and great result though. Long may this run continue! Woking (4-4-2):
Jalal; Murray, Hutchinson, MacDonald, Bunce; Lambu (Jackson 60), Oyedele, Smith, Sole (Sankoh 90); McAllister, Nurse (Ferguson 78).
Man of the Match: Neil Smith - a true leader for nights like that. Moment of the Match: Giuseppe Sole's winner - instinctive and clinical, the boy's a goalscorer. Attendance: 1018 |
