North Greenford United U18 Vs St Albans City U18 – Match Report

St Albans City under-18's cruised to their seventh straight league victory after thrashing North Greenford United 6-1 on Wednesday night
City didn’t start as well as they would have planned and couldn’t get their usual passing game going, which resulted in United having a good effort which crashed against the crossbar as the first real effort in the game.
It was the home side, however, that started the game positively. An early effort rattled the St Albans crossbar, as the away side struggled to get their usual passing game going.
City took the lead when a well-worked short corner fell to Josh Davies six yards from goal. The centre-half made no mistake, slamming the ball into the roof of the net.
Despite taking the lead, City continued to struggle to get a foothold on the game. They were eventually punished when a North Greenford forward was given too much space on the edge of the box and finished well, curling the ball into the top corner.
The home side’s goal only seemed to galvanise St Albans, however, and went close when Marino Hadji-Savva guided an effort against the post.
With the first half drawing to a close, the away side’s pressure told. Gio Lee-Baptiste broke free down the left and delivered a fine cross which skipper Elliot Bailey met with a thumping header to put the Saints 2-1 up at half time.
 After the break, City continued to control the game, with Harry Carr pulling the strings in midfield.
It came as no surprise, then, that the away side soon made it 3-1. Hadji-Savva latched onto a loose ball in the area and saw his flick trickle over the line after a mix up between a home side’s defender and goalkeeper.
St Albans were dominating now, and quickly went 4-1 to the good with a goal from Joe Zazzera. North Greenford backed off the right-back and invited him to hit a drive across the goalkeeper and nestle in the bottom corner.
The goals just kept coming for the Saints, and midfielder James Shaw was next to add his name to the scoresheet. His inswinging free-kick from the right hand side deceived the home side’s ‘keeper, the ball looping into the top corner.
St Albans’ resounding victory was finally made complete when substitute Matt Taylor saw a deflected drive from outside the box take a wicked deflection and fly into the back of the net.
 
St Albans U18 Vs Aylesbury U18 Allied Counties Youth League Cup – Match Report

A dramatic last gasp winner saw St Albans under 18s progress to the second round of the Allied Counties Youth League Cup after a thrilling tie against cup holders Aylesbury.
Aylesbury started well, putting the Saints under pressure with a direct style.
They were rewarded with an early goal, as, after a looping free kick hit the crossbar, an unmarked Aylesbury forward eventually bundled the ball over the line at the second time of asking.
St Albans were finding it difficult to respond to the away side’s early goal, though they did create some chances from set pieces. Elliot Bailey had the best of the chances but could only direct his glancing header straight into the arms of the visiting goalkeeper.
Not long after, the away side doubled their lead. The Saints failed to clear their lines and were punished when a shot from the edge of the area eluded St Albans goalkeeper O’Connell.
Despite the away side looking comfortable, the Saints managed to halve the deficit on the counter attack.
Gio Lee-Baptiste flicked a ball through to Myles Scott who did exceptionally well to get to the ball ahead of his marker, before deftly chipping the goalkeeper to give the home side hope.
The goal invigorated St Albans as they started to play with more confidence and were nearly level when Lee-Baptiste dragged an effort just wide of the target.
Although St Albans looked more likely to score, Aylesbury maintained their threat and were close to restoring their two-goal advantage. An unorthodox strike beat O’Connell, but thankfully for the St Albans stopper, the ball hit the crossbar before deflecting away to safety.
The game was quickly turning into a thriller and it was St Albans who got the next goal. A short corner and subsequent cross was met well by centre-half Josh Davies who directed his header into the net to make it 2-2.
An entertaining and open half ended on a sour note, though, as each side were reducded to ten men. Gio Lee-Baptiste raised his arms at an Aylesbury centre half, who reacted by headbutting the Saints winger. The referee was left with no choice but to send both players off.
The home side seemed to cope better with going down to ten men in the second half and soon went 3-2 up. A nice pass by playmaker Matt Taylor saw substitute Tremayne Charles through on goal. Charles unselfishly squared the ball and left captain Elliot Bailey with a simple finish from close range.
St Albans’ lead did not last long though, and Aylesbury soon found themselves level.
A soft free kick was awarded on the edge of the St Albans area and the taker beat not only the wall, but also keeper O’Connell to make it 3-3.
With both teams trying to push on and win the game, and tired legs starting to take a hold of players on both teams, the game became even more open.
The Saints were denied what they felt was a clear penalty, when Charles looked to be felled in the area, only for the referee to wave play on.
That decision only spurred the home side on though, and they finally got the last goal of the game at the death.
Another well-worked short corner found its way to right back Joe Zazzera, who hit a shot back across the goal and into the bottom corner, winning St Albans a thrilling cup tie.