City 2 St. Albans 1
Jan 7, 2023 20:36:21 GMT
Post by Rijs on Jan 7, 2023 20:36:21 GMT
Two impressive teams earned their wages in a feisty but entertaining match here, serving up good quality football in often atrocious weather conditions with gusty winds and torrential rain. City deserved their hard-fought win in a match which could easily have ended 6-5, but the in-form Saints will rue their missed chances in the closing stages, which might have caused City to let another two-goal lead slip. The fact that they did not, owed much to a fine defensive display, particularly from Canice Carroll who kept the league's leading scorer limited to half chances most of the afternoon. Shaun Jeffers did head straight at Dudzinski from a good position, and Carroll's late diving block denied him at the death.
It could have been 1-1 after just four minutes. Josh Parker was put clean through and really should have scored but was unfortunate to see his effort hit the inside of the post but not cross the line. The visitors then squandered a good opportunity at the Clubhouse End. Josh Ashby also had a very good chance to score after half an hour but shot just wide of the near post. City had two strong penalty appeals turned down by a ref who annoyed the home fans considerably, both for those decisions and for two soft bookings of City players while their opponents seemed to be getting away with worse. For the first shout, Alfie Potter was bundled over directly in front of the Shed Enders but the ref thought he had handballed. The second appeal was immediately followed by Potter blazing over the bar from another good position. The final pass and the finishing let both teams' good approach work down at times, but there was no denying the intensity of the battle and the energy being expended all over the pitch.
The Oxford goals came on either side of the interval. When Lewis Coyle came in from the left to find the corner of the net, it was just about City's first move down that side in the match, so persistent had been their forays down the right. The latter were unprofitable until the nippy Potter worked an opening with Bushell-Williams in the 47th minute and Parker was able to begin this half more successfully by chipping over the keeper. He certainly put in a shift all afternoon, but so did everyone else. City's high press worked well in the early stages of the second half and their visitors were rocking. A third goal might have put the game to bed, but a high press is exhausting and they gradually retreated. The possession then went the visitors' way and with twenty minutes left they scored a superb goal from distance - a debutant sub coming on to bring them back into the game. They would not surrender their good run easily so they threw the sink at the home side, but to no avail. Their frustration was expressed by their keeper, who needlessly booted two of our balls out of the ground to the ring road during a stoppage. I can't think why else he did that.
Every City player did well today, but a special mention for our midfield men. Reece Fleet was absolutely magnificent for the first hour, after which Josh Ashby took on his mantle, and Zac was wonderfully Zac-ish until being substituted in the final minutes. His close control, turns and runs and dinked passes kept at least two opponents busy and perplexed whenever he had the ball. I find him just a joy to watch at times like this. These three, and Lewis Coyle out on the left, never stopped running. Credit too to Ben Dudzinski, who was faultless with what must have been a very slippery ball and rain in his face.
If City could play like this each week they would stay in the play-off positions and hopefully, attract more fans to their games. They certainly deserve support.
It could have been 1-1 after just four minutes. Josh Parker was put clean through and really should have scored but was unfortunate to see his effort hit the inside of the post but not cross the line. The visitors then squandered a good opportunity at the Clubhouse End. Josh Ashby also had a very good chance to score after half an hour but shot just wide of the near post. City had two strong penalty appeals turned down by a ref who annoyed the home fans considerably, both for those decisions and for two soft bookings of City players while their opponents seemed to be getting away with worse. For the first shout, Alfie Potter was bundled over directly in front of the Shed Enders but the ref thought he had handballed. The second appeal was immediately followed by Potter blazing over the bar from another good position. The final pass and the finishing let both teams' good approach work down at times, but there was no denying the intensity of the battle and the energy being expended all over the pitch.
The Oxford goals came on either side of the interval. When Lewis Coyle came in from the left to find the corner of the net, it was just about City's first move down that side in the match, so persistent had been their forays down the right. The latter were unprofitable until the nippy Potter worked an opening with Bushell-Williams in the 47th minute and Parker was able to begin this half more successfully by chipping over the keeper. He certainly put in a shift all afternoon, but so did everyone else. City's high press worked well in the early stages of the second half and their visitors were rocking. A third goal might have put the game to bed, but a high press is exhausting and they gradually retreated. The possession then went the visitors' way and with twenty minutes left they scored a superb goal from distance - a debutant sub coming on to bring them back into the game. They would not surrender their good run easily so they threw the sink at the home side, but to no avail. Their frustration was expressed by their keeper, who needlessly booted two of our balls out of the ground to the ring road during a stoppage. I can't think why else he did that.
Every City player did well today, but a special mention for our midfield men. Reece Fleet was absolutely magnificent for the first hour, after which Josh Ashby took on his mantle, and Zac was wonderfully Zac-ish until being substituted in the final minutes. His close control, turns and runs and dinked passes kept at least two opponents busy and perplexed whenever he had the ball. I find him just a joy to watch at times like this. These three, and Lewis Coyle out on the left, never stopped running. Credit too to Ben Dudzinski, who was faultless with what must have been a very slippery ball and rain in his face.
If City could play like this each week they would stay in the play-off positions and hopefully, attract more fans to their games. They certainly deserve support.
