PLAYING at home to Alexandra Park were U18 East who romped to an excellent 4 – 0 win with goals from Owain Page 2, Cameron Leigrave and Kieran Yapp who was also joint man of the match along with George Dale.
Also playing Alexandra Park were U16 East who, due to injuries, could only raise a bare eleven players. After a close game the East finally lost 2 – 0 to two second half goals. The man of the match went to midfielder Matt Pearce.
U16 North took their unbeaten run in the Blue Division to five matches thanks to a 3 – 3 draw away to Northwood Red. The North led 3 – 1 at half time with all the goals being top class finishes. The scorers for the North were Chris Litchfield, Kieran Irons and Shay Emerton.
Having won the League Cup in dramatic style last week twice coming from behind to beat Rickmansworth 6 - 3, U15 North this week clinched the Challenge Cup beating Alexander Park 5-2 after being 2 - 0 down.
A lethargic start cost City dear and they found themselves 2 - 0 down after 10 minutes, however the introduction of Akim Akinbinu galvanized the team and a goal from Alex Howard just before half time gave the platform for a strong comeback in the second half. A further goal from Alex Howard, followed by a Charlie Ward penalty and goals from Callum Clifford and man of the match Akim Akinbinu secured the victory.
This completed a hat-trick of cup wins for team as they had previously travelled over Easter to Holland to win the Holland Cup. Manager Nigel Gibbins put down much of the success to the coaching of St. Albans City first team coach Harry Wheeler. Lawrence Levy, team sponsor and co owner of St.Albans City was delighted with the success and said that he was very hopeful that a number of the boys would continue to develop and eventually challenge for places in the men’s team.
U15 West won 3 – 1 at home to Acorn Raiders with the goals coming from Max Bull 2 and Sam Reynolds.
Playing their last league match of the season, U15 Boreal took on Oxhey United at home. The Boreal earned a point with a 1 – 1 draw. Scoring the goal for the Saints was Tawanda Manenji with a first half strike. The man of the match went to Numan Hakin who had a fine game in midfield.
Playing at home to Garston Boys were U15 Warriors, however the visitors took all the points with a 2 – 0 victory. The man of the match for the Warriors went to the hard working Tom Daly.
With goals galore in each half U14 Orient went on to win 8 – 0 at home to Watford. Leading the scorers was Shiloh Wallace with a great hat trick in the first half. The other scorers were Owen Ladbrook 2, Zac Moore, Harry Hussain and Matthew Pollard. The man of the match went to Toby Zell.
Playing away to Hemel Aces Wasps, Stephen Heather put the U14 North 1 – 0 up with a low drive, but Hemel quickly hit back to make the score 1 – 1. Just before the break the North won a penalty which was duly converted by Charlie Bennett. In the second half, with play switching from end to end it was Hemel who scored two more goals to win the game 3 – 2. The man of the match went to defender Kevin Kisson.
U14 South, who needed all three points to secure the Division Two title of the West Herts League did so in style with a 5 – 2 victory over Harpenden. Scoring the goals were Billy Lawrence 2, James Nasah, Tom Goldstone and Luke Winks who was also joint man of the match along with Kyle Harris.
U13 North played tow matches, in the first they defeated Whetstone Pumas 2 – 0 with goals from Ollie Hann and Will Sharpe, Daniel Emovon was named man of the match. In their second match they took on Omonia in the Watford Friendly League Challenge Cup final and went on to retain the trophy they won last season with a 4 – 1 victory. Man of the match Daniel Diviney opened the scoring for the North, their were then goals from Alfie Booth, Will Sharp and Ethan Radus.
U13 South, who were not at full strength lost to Edmonton.
Goals from Matty Gallagher and Gianpaulo Manzi gave the U13 West a 2- 1 victory over Herons Orange with Keelan Burgess being voted man of the match.
U12 North won 4 – 3 in a seven goal thriller against Omonia with goals from Harry Smith, Jack Hughes, Mario Eguilez and Matt Breeze. The man of the match was shared between keeper Nathan Glasscoe and defender Ben Dimmock.
Away to Kings Langley saw U11 North come back with a point after a 1 – 1 draw thanks to a goal from Jarvis Wilkins. The man of the match went to Joe Williams who gave a great performance on the left wing.
Away to Harpenden Colts were U11 South who secured a point with a 1 – 1 draw thanks to a goal from Nick Swan, which also made them runners up in the West Herts League. The man of the match went to Joe Parrett.
U10 South played in the Emerald Division Cup final against Wormley Rovers Reds on Saturday. St Albans started the game really well, having the majority of the possession and coming close to taking the lead through strikes from Louis Baker-Madec and Dan Eaves, however the Wormley defence stood firm.
Just before half time Wormley were awarded a penalty which produced a fantastic save from Sam Pollard ensuring that it was goalless at half time. The second half saw Wormley edge in front and despite City coming close to an equaliser, they conceded a second from a corner. City continued to push in search of a goal but could not find a way past the Wormley keeper and conceded a third goal right at the end. Louis Baker-Madec was MOM
U10 West played St Margaretsbury at home but lost 5 – 3. The man of the match for the West, Tim Davies, added some sparkle by scoring all three goals for the Saints.
In a friendly away to Wheathamstead U10 Central had a convincing 5 – 0 victory with goals from Dan Bayliss, Nick Powdrell, Corey Rodriguez, Jack Kelly and Matty Bleakley.
Great performance from U9 East 4 v 0 Panshanger Goal scorers: 2 x Luke McAndrew 2 x Tom Merritt Wonder goal from Luke McAndrew (15m drive into top corner) Pass of the game from Finlay Killner setting up 3rd goal. Man of the match Jamie Hilton & Dominic Burgess.
U9 Central lost 1-0 to Redbourn in the final of the Mid Herts Rural Minors League Divisional Cup. Redbourn started the stronger team, and having had a few good openings took a deserved early lead.
St Albans worked their way back into the game and were denied by the woodwork on a couple of occasions. Both goal keepers made a number of good saves but St Albans were unable to capitalise on good possession in the second half and force the game into extra time.
St Albans City Youth Girls
U13 North Girls faced Bury Rangers in the County Cup final on May 12th. Missing a strong defender and having a number of girls suffer from nerves, the Saints went 3-0 down in the first half, yet carved back a spectacular goal from Danielle Tyler just before the break. Despite working tirelessly and creating many further chances, the girls could not find the back of the net in the second half and, after having the best of the play, were caught twice more on the break in the last five minutes. A 5-1 scoreline does not reflect the girl’s performance and they should be very proud of themselves for making it so far and experiencing playing at the County Ground. POM went to ‘keeper Ellen Fox, who made a number of strong saves throughout the game.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here