11 Aug 2026
St Albans City 3 Chatham 1 (Isthmian League Premier Division)
From Jess Unwin at Clarence Park, photos by Jim Standen
St Albans City went toe-to-toe with one of the fancied teams in the Premier Division and delivered a knockout performance, but it was their ability to roll with the punches that most pleased Saints boss Gary McCann.
Visitors Chatham, who finished fourth in the table last season and are tipped to challenge for promotion again in 2026-27, were the better side in the first 15 minutes of this game, yet by half-time it was City who had gone into a 2-0 lead.
And straight after the break, the Kent outfit pulled a goal back, suggesting they might stage a comeback. Instead, Saints scored again, with Jake Gray showing quick feet in the penalty box before perfectly placing his shot into the top corner of the net to restore City’s two-goal advantage.
Talking to the St Albans Times, McCann said: “We started the game with some apprehension and didn’t have too much conviction in anything we did in the first 15 minutes… but we played our way into the half and started to show what we’re capable of.”
He added: “The biggest take-away for me is that when you get a punch like we received really early in the second half, the question then is how do you respond? Are you going to wobble and end up with another one in the back of the net or do you show mental resolve. Ninety seconds later we’re 3-1 up and it’s really game over.”
Saturday’s welcome victory hadn’t looked at all guaranteed in the opening stages of this first game of the new league campaign, with Chatham’s Harry Lodovica unlucky to see his left foot strike on 13 minutes beat St Albans keeper Sam Donkin but then hit the base of the post.
Mikey Faulkner did his best to run at the Chatham defence whenever he got the ball, but Saints struggled to threaten their opponents’ goal. So, it was a relief for the home supporters when City went 1-0 up with their first real chance, which was created in the 34th- minute by Kieron Petri, who pulled off a smart turn on the edge of the penalty area before drilling home.
Kian Moynes should have equalised for Chatham soon after, but he completely miss-hit his shot with the Saints goal at his mercy, and on 44 minutes St Albans went further ahead on the counterattack with Petrie eventually delivering a cross from the right that was met by Faulkner for his first Saints goal.
In first-half stoppage time Chatham’s position seemed to go from bad to worse when striker Lodovica was shown the red card following an off-the-ball clash with City’s Darion Furlong, but 10-man Chatham got back into the game almost immediately after the restart through a goal from substitute James Wild.
However, any doubt that St Albans would secure three points was quickly extinguished when more good work from Faulkner provided Gray with his chance to open his account for Saints, and he curled in City’s third goal, effectively settling the contest.
After the game, McCann was clearly pleased with City’s two young attacking wide players, 20-year-old Faulkner and 21-year-old Petrie. Of Faulkner he said: “He exudes positivity – he wants the ball, he wants to have an impact and make something happen and that’s in his make-up – he’s been a breath of fresh air.
“Despite his size, he’s a robust, tenacious player and not many full backs are going to enjoy playing against him.”
And on Perie he added: “He’s working on improving his game on a week-to-week basis and that is pleasing. He took his goal brilliantly and we’re going to see a better version of him as the season progresses.”
Kai Brown, who scored nine goals in seven pre-season games, didn’t get on the scoresheet but McCann pointed out: “We’ve got to have other scorers – we can’t rely just on Kai and Inih Effiong.
“I’ll take Kai’s work rate today – he’s was up against one of the better defences in this division and it was a tough game, but he worked extremely hard and led the line brilliantly.”
- St Albans City FC revealed there was racist abuse of one of the Saints players after the game. A club statement said: “The club fully supports our player and condemns this behaviour…We are investigating the incident.”
