Following a humbling loss for the Darts last weekend, three late St Albans goals condemned them to a second consecutive humiliating defeat.
On what was a blustery December afternoon in DA1, St Albans started the better of the two teams. City saw an early chance present itself through George Hoddle, who beat Dartford captain Luke Coulson to the ball and jinked into the box on his favoured left foot. His shot, however, curled wide of the far post.
Giorgio Rasulo was heavily involved for the visitors in the game’s opening stages, after creating the previously mentioned chance and another for their joint-top scorer Mitchell Weiss, whose shot from distance was saved by Ryan Sandford. They continued to pile on further pressure, as Dominic Hutchinson drove down the left and stabbed a ball to the back post, but no one was there to meet it.
Dartford eventually grew into the game. A long ball from Sandford found Harvey Bradbury with decision, who held the ball well before dispatching to Coulson. The skipper burst inside from the left before a powerful shot forced a save from Josh McNamara at the near post. Coulson was involved again shortly after, as he made his was over to the right and released to Max Statham, and then underlapped to receive the ball in the box but was unable to make anything of it.
Up the other end, St Albans had two penalty claims ignored by the referee in close proximity. Hoddle was aiming to latch onto a ball into the box from Weiss, but the former fell under pressure from George Alexander, who had covered a remarkable distance to be in position to do so. Swiftly after, Shaun Jeffers regained possession from Moussa Diarra on the byline while seeing the ball out. Jeffers laid the ball off to Weiss, who was greeted by Odaudu and dispossessed, leading to further calls for a spot kick, and rejection once again.
Towards the end of the half, momentum swung back in favour of the hosts. Richard Chin (on loan from Charlton) slipped Tyrell Miller-Rodney in behind, who crossed the ball to the head of Diarra, who saw his attempt cleared off the line by Hoddle. Just a minute later, Coulson swung a ball into the box, which George Alexander struck unsuccessfully before Statham had a bite at the cherry, but the right back was also unable to convert.
The Saints claimed the last chance of the half; Rasulo dinked the ball over Odaudu, with Hoddle claiming it and sending the ball into the box, leading to an initial shot being blocked, and Ben Smith sending the rebound sailing over the bar.
Despite being second best for the majority of the first half, Dartford started the second the more dominant. A nice interchange in the middle of the park between Chin and Jordan Wynter allowed them to bypass St Albans’ press, and afforded Miller-Rodney space ahead to burst into. The latter rode the opposition challenges well before laying the ball out wide to Alexander, who sent a great ball into the box for Chin, but his diving header was saved by McNamara. They crafted another great chance after a long range shot from Bradbury forced a corner, but Diarra’s lunging effort to meet Coulson’s delivery rose above the goal.
St Albans remained a threat throughout, however, with Sandford being called into action on a number of occasions. Diarra was able to block a shot resulting from a Saints counter, but the ball bobbled through to Hutchinson in front of goal. With his mind set on scoring, Sandford had other ideas, as he got down masterfully to save the shot from point-blank range. Hutchinson had another chance to beat the keeper shortly after, as he drove into the box and flashed a left-footed shot at goal, but Sandford once again denied him at the near post.
Finally, in the 70th minute, St Albans broke the deadlock. Jeffers was played in behind the Dartford defence and was able to hold the still bouncing ball up well against Joash Nembhard. In that time, Sandford had rushed off his line to try and assist Nembhard, but in seeing this, Jeffers lobbed the ball brilliantly over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net, sparking jubilant celebrations among the travelling supporters.
Defender Michael Clark compounded Dartford’s misery shortly after. Some great footwork from Weiss forced a corner, and Clark headed powerfully past Sandford from the resultant delivery, making it 0-2 in the 74th minute.
In added time, David Noble’s side made it three. Calamitous defending on Dartford’s part allowed Ibby Akanbi to go one-on-one with Sanford, who ultimately saw his effort saved by the keeper. The ball found its way to Harun Hamid, and the former QPR youth player dispatched a beautifully curled effort into the top corner.
Full-time sparked boos among the home fans, as the Darts slipped further down the table into 18th. St Albans remain static in 13th, as wins from Farnborough and Chippenham prevented them from moving any higher.
Dartford: Sandford, Statham, Nembhard, Diarra, Odaudu, Miller-Rodney, Wynter (Rooney 80), Chin (Allen 80), Alexander, Bradbury (Wall 80), Coulson.
Subs not used: Manor, Box.
Yellow card: Rooney
St Albans: McNamara, Brown, Smith, Clark, Blackman, Rasulo (Gauthier 76), Jeffers (Akanbi 81), Weiss (Hamid 85), Partington, Hutchinson, Hoddle.
Subs not used: Morrall, Fage.
Yellow card: Blackman
Attendance: 907