- Banton (45')
- Mather (55')
It was an even start to the game at the Clarence Park Stadium in front of 928 supporters, as both sides were restricted to half chances.
The recently relegated Saints tried their luck from distance in the sixth minute with an effort which was easily gathered by Jonny Henly, before Luther Williams’ long throw into the box at the other end eventually fell to Denzelle Olopade, who fired wide of Magnus Norman’s upright (8).
Alex Dyer then fouled Olly Box on the edge of St Albans’ box, as the Dartford youngster threatened to breach the defence. It wouldn’t be the only occasion that he’d be fouled either… Jeremiah Pinder’s free-kick was deflected behind by a defender, before the resulting corner was headed over the crossbar by Callum Jones (24).
Magnus Norman then saved Denzelle Olopade’s effort following another Luther Williams throw (29), before Lewis Page missed an open goal after Jonny Henly had rushed out to thwart Jasper Mather (32).
Ten minutes later saw Ady Pennock’s game-plan ruined after Michael Olarewaju slid across the path of Mather, only to handle the ball inside the box. Referee, Mr Daniel Malyon, decided that the Dartford skipper had denied a goal-scoring opportunity (even though the Saint appeared to be offside) and sent him off for an early bath (42).
Zane Banton eventually stepped up to despatch the penalty, leaving the Darts with a difficult second-half ahead of them (45).
Spurred on by their first-half fortune, the Saints set about putting the game to bed at the start of the second forty-five. And, as the visitors failed to clear the danger from their area, Jasper Mather was on hand to fire home from close-range to all but end any hopes of a Dartford comeback (55).
Ady Pennock responded immediately by swapping Luther Williams with the returning Sam Okoye (56), before then bringing on Eddie Dsane for Olly Box (61). The Dartford boss would make a double substitution later in the game, with Ikechi Eze and Gabe Campbell coming on to replace Callum Jones and Denzelle Olopade respectively (90).
Saints’ boss Ian Culverhouse, meanwhile, would go on to swap Sam Smart with Troy Perez-Duah (67), Jamal Fyfield with Kieran Gauthier (70), and Jasper Mather with Leo Sery (75).
As we return to the action, we find Magnus Norman being called into action to save Callum Jones’ excellent effort in a bid to halve the deficit almost immediately (57). That was soon followed by Jasper Mather almost scoring his second of the afternoon after the visitors failed to clear the danger once again (64).
Kieran Gauthier then went into the referee’s book for a late challenge on Eddie Dsane on the edge of the St Albans box. The Dartford striker took the resulting free-kick, but the Saints’ wall did its job to block the effort (73).
The Darts were awarded with another free-kick six minutes later, but nobody could reach the dangerous ball which ended up flying wide of Norman’s far post (79).
And that was pretty much it as far as goal-scoring opportunities are concerned, as St Albans saw out the remaining minutes to record their first win of the season.
The result means that Dartford have just the solitary point from their opening three league games, a statistic that Ady Pennock will be determined to put right next weekend.
ST ALBANS CITY: Magnus Norman, Sam Smart, Jamal Fyfield, Jasper Mather, Songona-Mory Kone, Alex Dyer, Michael Bostwick, Zane Banton (c), Lewis Page, Jack James, James Sweet.
SUBSTITUTES: Ryley Scott, Troy Perez-Duah, Leo Sery, George Sippetts, Kieran Gauthier.
DARTFORD: Jonny Henly, Sam Odaudu, Sam Smith, Michael Olarewaju (c), George Whitefield, Luther Williams, Denzelle Olopade, Jeremiah Pinder, Olly Box, Callum Jones, Dan Smith.
SUBSTITUTES: Sam Okoye, Eddie Dsane, Hugo Taylor, Ikechi Eze, Gabe Campbell.
Chris Palmer
