James Comley has been challenged to score more goals by St Albans City’s joint manager Graham Golds.

The midfielder netted his first of the season against Billericay Town in the FA Trophy. His goal cancelled out the hosts opener in a game that ended 2-2 after extra-time.

The skipper put himself forward to take the first penalty and duly tucked it past Billy Lumley to set in motion a 4-2 win for City and booked a place in the third qualifying round of the competition against Chelmsford, which will be played in Essex this Saturday. Comley will be unavailable for the tie, however, after picking up his fifth booking of the season. It is a “massive blow” for City, according to joint manager James Gray, as Comley has been in a rich vein of form recently.

While City’s midfield has been in good form, with the likes of Ram Marwa, Richard Graham, Chris Watters, David Keenleyside and Comley putting in consistently good performances, the lack of goals from the unit is a worrying trend.

The midfielders have registered two league goals this season but it has been glossed over by the excellent form of John Frendo and Mark Nwokeji.

However, it is Comley, who has looked reinvigorated since being rested for the Hitchin Town game due to injury, who was highlighted out by Golds.

“With his quality, he should be scoring 15 to 20 goals a season,” Golds told the Herts Ad.

“He gets himself into great areas but he doesn’t pull the trigger. He’s got a good ping on him he just needs to [shoot] more often.

“It doesn’t just fall on Coms, though, the whole unit needs to score more.”

Comley’s next chance to net for the Saints will be on Wednesday, November 20, when the team travels to Cambridge City, kick-off 7.45pm.