Match Report
National League South
St Albans City
Concord Rangers
Danny Green 79
Wouldn't it be nice to be consistent as Saints are sunk at home by Beach Boys
Michael Johnson made yet another penalty save for St Albans City. - Credit: JIM STANDEN
Michael Johnson launched into a huge defence of manager Ian Allinson as St Albans City lost at home to Concord Rangers.
The keeper, who saved yet another penalty in the first half of the 1-0 defeat, feels the boss has been getting too much stick over City's form of late, which has seen them drift from the top of the table to the fringes of the play-off race.
And he says the players need to suck it up and start performing better at either end of the pitch if they are to reach the National League South post-season.
St Albans City fell to a 1-0 home defeat to Concord Rangers. - Credit: JIM STANDEN
He said: "I was hoping the saves I made in the first half would be important and help us get three points.
"I’m fuming and gutted. The manager gets a lot of stick for what goes on during games and results but it is not on him, it is on us as players.
"We have to take responsibility on the pitch. We make too many mistakes.
"I am at this club because of Ian and I’ll stay for as long as he is here.
St Albans City assistant manager Chris Winton (left) and manager Ian Allinson. - Credit: JIM STANDEN
Most Read
- 1 Suspected loan sharks arrested in Hemel Hempstead
- 2 Meet the artist behind The Queen's Platinum Jubilee mural in St Albans
- 3 Building company resurfaces bridleway to provide safe route for riders and walkers
- 4 St Albans shop showcasing small independents by renting out shelves
- 5 See inside this loft style apartment in a former hat factory
- 6 Foodies queue to try street food sourced, cooked and served in Herts
- 7 Train timetable shakeup due in St Albans and Watford from May 15
- 8 MoonWalk success for the St Albans cancer survivor and her Belgian Buns
- 9 Company of Ten's A Bunch of Amateurs production 'milks the comedy for all its worth' at the Abbey Theatre
- 10 Harpenden neighbours condemn plans for builders merchant next to residential properties
"I came because I wanted to play under him and I’ve enjoyed every second of it.
"But the way we are conceding at the moment, it is not teams scoring worldies of playing beautiful football, it is us making individual mistakes.
"It cost us against Oxford City and it has cost us again [against Concord].
"It has to stop. We have to step up as players and back our manager in the right way and it has to be through actions on the pitch.
"We look like we’ve lost a lot of confidence in front of goal. We have one striker who has got 30 goals this season but there are others who probably haven’t got enough.
"At the back, we’ve not kept enough clean sheets.
"That’s a really bad recipe but we have 11 games, 11 cup finals, and it is still in our hands."
Alex Lankshear goes forward for St Albans City against Concord Rangers. - Credit: JIM STANDEN
It isn't the first time the dressing room has had sharp words with each other this season and Johnson says it will happen again if needed.
He said: "Everyone can have their say. If anyone has any thoughts or opinions they need to get off their chests, they get it out.
"We are all men and it is an open dressing room.
"You have to take the rough with the smooth but it wasn’t a crisis meeting.
"Yes we’ve lost but if we win eight, we’ll still be in a good position."
