ST ALBANS: 10
HARPENDEN: 0
27.10.2007

Harpenden suffered a miserable defeat at the hands of local rivals St.Albans on Saturday. The ex-national league outfit showed their class and experience at this level against the newly promoted HHC.

The opening exchanges of the first half were fairly even and the match promised to be the tight local derby that some had expected. Todd Baines was battling hard in the centre of midfield and epitomised the work rate of the visiting Harpenden side. However, the first goal came after just 10 minutes and opened the floodgates to what was going to be a torrid afternoon. Harpenden held an impressive St.Albans side at bay with a number of great saves by keeper Alan Clarke, until a flurry of goals before half-time saw them go in with an insurmountable 5-0 deficit.

The second half proved to be a similar story with Harpenden showing promising signs in parts. Keri Sharma came closest for Harpenden after a slick move down the left hand side only to be denied by the woodwork. It was St.Albans that took all the plaudits from the fixture however, dispatching clinically with almost every opportunity in the second half. 5-0 turned to 10-0 by the end of the match and left Harpenden with a great deal to ponder before their match against Havering next week.

Report by Dan Burgess

Scorers