St. Albans City 3
Welling United 1
Saturday 07 January 2006

Adrian Pennock made several changes to the side that drew with Thurrock on Tuesday evening. Lee Gledhill was back in the squad for his first league start since late October, replacing the recalled loan player Luke Howell. Matt Lee and Lee Shearer were also in the starting line-up replacing the injured Barry Ashby and midfielder Steve Perkins.

The Wings got off to the worst possible start after conceding within 10 minutes of the kick-off. Saints midfielder Matt Hann found Simon Martin with a perfect ball, which allowed him to round Wings keeper Jamie Turner and put the home side in front.

The Wings drew level on 25 minutes when a Jamie Day corner eluded keeper Paul Bastock straight into the back of the net. However, the celebrations were short lived as only five minutes later St. Albans restored their lead. The Wings were again caught napping as they allowed Tom Davis a free strike on goal. His 25 yard strike took a deflection off a Wings player leaving keeper Jamie Turner stranded and he could only watch helplessly as the ball flew into the back of the net.

The home side then deservedly added another goal to their ever-increasing tally. A Lee Clarke chip bounced off the bar into the path of Dean Cracknell who nodded the ball from close range to make it 3-1 to the Saints.

The second half saw a much better performance from Welling but unfortunately the ghosts of the past few matches came back to haunt them as they failed to convert any clear cut chances.

Danny Kedwell should have pulled one back for the Wings when his volley from close range flew over the crossbar, much to the relief of Paul Bastock. Jamie Day and Leon Solomon both saw their long-range efforts flash just wide of the post.

The Wings best chance fell to Lee Shearer when a Jamie Day free-kick was headed just over by the central defender.

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