Richmond holds firm despite resurgent St Albans second half
By: JAMES MANTON
Photo: TIM CARR (ST ALBANS SAINTS)
Richmond has held off a late surge from St Albans to record its third win of the season in an otherwise dominant display at Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Monday night.
Despite being two goals and a player down, the Saints pushed hard late in the game and came close to stealing a draw, but Richmond held firm for the 2-1 victory.
Richmond controlled the early chances of the match, with Samuel Catherine testing St Albans' Stuart Webster just minutes after kick-off.
Jay Kelly came close to scoring a spectacular opener as his long-range shot nearly swerved past Webster, but it was acrobatically saved with Michael Catalano's follow-up effort deemed offside.
St Albans couldn't keep the home side out for long as 10 minutes later Peter Sawan's lovely volley squeezed into the net after Catalano chipped the ball to himself repeatedly before laying off a perfect pass to the edge of the box.
The Saints came close to equalising almost immediately, only for Barry Devlin to badly miscue a headed effort from a free-kick.
St Albans was completely at fault for Richmond's second goal as Webster's clearance slammed straight into the back of one of his defenders, with Kelly pouncing on the rebound to give the home side a two-goal lead heading into half-time.
Opportunities became less prevalent in the second half, with Tedros Yabio's wide effort after some nice footwork one of the few early on.
Webster's marvellous fingertip-save from a Ryan Lambert shot kept Richmond from taking a near-unassailable lead as he tipped over a certain goal.
The Saints' poor discipline throughout the match finally came to a fore when Nan-Yaw Otuo-Acheampang received his second yellow card after a handball, leaving his team to cope with 10 men for the final 20 minutes,
Despite the disadvantage, St Albans pushed and pressed Richmond with Ryan McGuffie's header just grazing the crossbar as it went over.
Trent Waterson gave life to St Albans' hopes as his low and powerful free-kick from 20 metres squeezed past Richmond's Christian Ross in the last minute of regular time, but it was too little too late as the hosts held on to finish 2-1 victors.
MATCH DETAILS
Richmond Soccer Club 2 (Sawan 25', Kelly 36') defeated Saint Albans City Saints 1 (Waterson 90')
Richmond: 1.Christian ROSS, 2. Andrew GOFF, 3. Matthew COLLIER, 23. Joshua VALADON, 12. Matthew WATERS, 6. Peter SAWAN, 17. Samuel CATHERINE (16. Ryan LAMBERT 54'), 19. Mickael CATALANO, 11. Liam FLYNN (7. Hamlet ARMENIAN 78'), 15. Jay KELLY (18. Kasper SCHIEBER), 8. Joshua KNIGHT
Unused substitutes: 4. George TSIAKALAKIS, 22. Trent HANSEN
Yellow card(s): Catherine 11', Waters 28', Flynn 52', Collier 72'
Red card(s): Nil
Saint Albans: 1. Stuart WEBSTER, 2. Ryan MCGUFFIE, 3. Nan-Yaw OTUO-ACHEAMPANG, 4. Nicholas SURBIN, 5. Tedros YABIO, 7. Trent WATERSON, 9. Barry DEVLIN, 10. Yusuf YUSUF (6. Matko BUDIMIR 72'), 12. Damien PETERS (20. Ante KOZUL 56'), 13. Anthony BORAS, 23. Daniel SWEENEY (15. Konrad DOBRAZSKIEWICZ 56')
Unused substitutes: 19. Gorgi NICESKI, 21. John SCOCCO
Yellow card(s): Sweeney 35', Otuo-Acheampang 55' 70', Sarbin 58'
Red card(s): Otuo-Acheampang 70'
Richmond has held off a late surge from St Albans to record its third win of the season in an otherwise dominant display at Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Monday night.
Despite being two goals and a player down, the Saints pushed hard late in the game and came close to stealing a draw, but Richmond held firm for the 2-1 victory.
Richmond controlled the early chances of the match, with Samuel Catherine testing St Albans' Stuart Webster just minutes after kick-off.
Jay Kelly came close to scoring a spectacular opener as his long-range shot nearly swerved past Webster, but it was acrobatically saved with Michael Catalano's follow-up effort deemed offside.
St Albans couldn't keep the home side out for long as 10 minutes later Peter Sawan's lovely volley squeezed into the net after Catalano chipped the ball to himself repeatedly before laying off a perfect pass to the edge of the box.
The Saints came close to equalising almost immediately, only for Barry Devlin to badly miscue a headed effort from a free-kick.
St Albans was completely at fault for Richmond's second goal as Webster's clearance slammed straight into the back of one of his defenders, with Kelly pouncing on the rebound to give the home side a two-goal lead heading into half-time.
Opportunities became less prevalent in the second half, with Tedros Yabio's wide effort after some nice footwork one of the few early on.
Webster's marvellous fingertip-save from a Ryan Lambert shot kept Richmond from taking a near-unassailable lead as he tipped over a certain goal.
The Saints' poor discipline throughout the match finally came to a fore when Nan-Yaw Otuo-Acheampang received his second yellow card after a handball, leaving his team to cope with 10 men for the final 20 minutes,
Despite the disadvantage, St Albans pushed and pressed Richmond with Ryan McGuffie's header just grazing the crossbar as it went over.
Trent Waterson gave life to St Albans' hopes as his low and powerful free-kick from 20 metres squeezed past Richmond's Christian Ross in the last minute of regular time, but it was too little too late as the hosts held on to finish 2-1 victors.
MATCH DETAILS
Richmond Soccer Club 2 (Sawan 25', Kelly 36') defeated Saint Albans City Saints 1 (Waterson 90')
Richmond: 1.Christian ROSS, 2. Andrew GOFF, 3. Matthew COLLIER, 23. Joshua VALADON, 12. Matthew WATERS, 6. Peter SAWAN, 17. Samuel CATHERINE (16. Ryan LAMBERT 54'), 19. Mickael CATALANO, 11. Liam FLYNN (7. Hamlet ARMENIAN 78'), 15. Jay KELLY (18. Kasper SCHIEBER), 8. Joshua KNIGHT
Unused substitutes: 4. George TSIAKALAKIS, 22. Trent HANSEN
Yellow card(s): Catherine 11', Waters 28', Flynn 52', Collier 72'
Red card(s): Nil
Saint Albans: 1. Stuart WEBSTER, 2. Ryan MCGUFFIE, 3. Nan-Yaw OTUO-ACHEAMPANG, 4. Nicholas SURBIN, 5. Tedros YABIO, 7. Trent WATERSON, 9. Barry DEVLIN, 10. Yusuf YUSUF (6. Matko BUDIMIR 72'), 12. Damien PETERS (20. Ante KOZUL 56'), 13. Anthony BORAS, 23. Daniel SWEENEY (15. Konrad DOBRAZSKIEWICZ 56')
Unused substitutes: 19. Gorgi NICESKI, 21. John SCOCCO
Yellow card(s): Sweeney 35', Otuo-Acheampang 55' 70', Sarbin 58'
Red card(s): Otuo-Acheampang 70'
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