Saint Albans City returned to west London twice in four days as pre-season continued with a convincing 4-1 win at Bedfont Sports.
The result was the perfect tonic after suffering a 2-1 defeat away at Hanworth Villa - where the Citizens fielded separate teams in each half.
Sam Donkin started behind a defence of Lewis Page, Frankie Musonda, Dan Austen and a trialist at Hanworth Villa, with Alex Dyer and Charlie Edwards in midfield. Kieran Petrie and academy player Jason Okai supported new signings Ollie Knight and Kai Brown in attack.
Donkin was called into action almost immediately to prevent an early Hanworth opener and later dealt comfortably with a set piece from distance. City's first meaningful attack came when Brown was unable to find a final pass after a break down the left.
The hosts took the lead from a corner that was headed against the crossbar by a Villa trialist before bouncing over the line. City responded through Okai, whose run and cross created an opening for Edwards and Knight, but the striker's effort was blocked.
With temperatures soaring, the match featured hydration breaks. Hanworth continued to threaten and twice fired narrowly wide, while Knight was denied by a crucial last-ditch tackle when through on goal. Brown also showcased his skill, flicking the ball over his marker before volleying straight at the goalkeeper.
A controversial moment followed when Donkin spilled a cross and then brought down two Hanworth players while attempting to recover possession, prompting loud penalty appeals. A trialist defender received City's first booking before the interval.
The wholesale half-time changes saw Jake Boxer replace Donkin, with Ollie Baker, Darion Furlong, Max Fergie and Jack James forming the new defence. Jake Gray made his debut in midfield alongside Haziz Kone, while Mikey Faulkner and Charley Fitzsimons operated wide of two trialists.
The Citizens created several opportunities after the break. Trialist C forced a save from close range, Trialist B fired over after cutting in from the left, and Trialist C later saw a free kick deflected wide before Baker headed over from the resulting corner.
Hanworth doubled their lead when Jack Timberlake squared for Abdullah Selloum to finish following a two-on-one attack. Gray then went close after being picked out by Faulkner, while Trialist B headed narrowly over from a James cross.
The Saints did grab a late consolation when summer signing Darion Furlong found the net, but Hanworth ran out 2-1 winners.
Bedfont Sports 1 St Albans City 4
Saint Albans City responded impressively days later with a thumping pre-season win.
The first-half side included Donkin, James, Remi Sutton, a trialist and Furlong in defence, with Gray and Dyer in midfield behind Petrie, Faulkner, Trialist B and Kai Brown.
The visitors started brightly and Petrie was heavily involved throughout. Brown opened the scoring after Petrie's low effort caused a goalmouth scramble, allowing the striker to convert from close range.
After Bedfont missed a chance from a ball over the top, City doubled their lead. Petrie released Furlong on an overlapping run and his low cross was turned home by Brown for his second goal of the evening.
Faulkner tested the goalkeeper from a tight angle and Brown thought he had completed a first-half hat-trick, only for an offside flag to deny him.
Nine changes followed at the break, with Donkin and a trialist remaining. Charlie Edwards, Lewis Page, Dan Austen, Haziz Kone, Joe Beardon, Trialist C, Charley Fitzsimons, Ollie Knight and Kye Scott all entered the action.
The Saints controlled possession and added a third when Trialist C's free-kick effort was parried into the path of Oliver Baker, who tapped home his first goal for the club.
The fourth arrived through Beardon, who combined neatly with Trialist C after Baker's excellent pass over the top before finishing low into the corner.
Bedfont pulled a goal back late on and Baker collected a yellow card, but the Saints comfortably saw out a 4-1 victory to record their first win of pre-season ahead of Saturday's meeting with a Luton Town XI.
Next up we welcome a Luton Town XI on Saturday.
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