03 Jan 2026
St Albans City 2 – 0 Wingate & Finchley, Isthmian Premier League
From Jess Unwin at Clarence Park. Photos by Jim Standen
A comfortable 2-0 win in front of a bumper 2,212 festive crowd helped St Albans City see out 2025 on a high and perhaps gave Saints fans hope that a new year might also bring a new impetus to the club’s faltering promotion challenge.
With more than half the season’s fixtures now completed – Saturday’s victory was game 22 of 42 – the team has so far struggled to find consistency and sits in a disappointing midtable position in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
An immediate return to the National League South after last season’s calamitous relegation must still be City’s ambition, but with Folkestone Invicta top of the table on 60 points after winning their last 12 games in a row, automatic promotion by way of winning the division is surely already out of reach.
That means City will have to secure the second and final promotion spot via the end-of-season play-offs. It’s a scenario that is still possible but only if – and it’s a big if – the team can put the defensive frailty and attacking profligacy of the first half of this season behind them.
The play-offs will be contested by the four teams that finish below the division’s champions and with Saints currently trailing fifth-placed Cray Wanderers by nine points there’s some catching up to do.
Manager Gary McCann is well aware of the challenge. Talking to the club’s social media, he said: “We know where we’re at – we haven’t got too many margins for error if we want to achieve something this year.
“We need to get some consistency in our game, and we need to get some back-to-back points and start climbing the table if we’re serious about this year.
“But I’m sure the players are serious about it because I can see it in their eyes – there’s a focus and there’s a willingness to carry out our instructions.”
He was certainly encouraged by his team’s showing against Wingate & Finchley, which featured two great goals – a rasping volley just before half-time from Jasper Mather and
then a diving header from Michael Bostwick on 89 minutes.
McCann said: “It was a really good 2-0 win and what’s most pleasing in that is that 14 October was the last time we kept a clean sheet. That’s something that we’ve definitely got
to improve. Something I’ve always believed is a platform for any team that’s going to be successful is making sure you get plenty of shut-outs.”
If City are to climb the table, they’ll need to have more luck than they’ve had with injuries to key players – a factor that has undoubtedly had a significantly negative impact on
performances and results thus far.
The vastly experienced Bostwick, who has been in and out of the side recently because of a niggling hamstring problem, was once again impressive at the heart of the St Albans
defence. He was ably assisted by another veteran defender, Adrian Mariappa, who has himself only recently returned to first team action. Teenaged loanee Jake Grante also had a good game in City’s back three formation.
City boss McCann revealed Jamal Fyfield is now back in full training and the injury situation is generally looking “a lot healthier”. He added: “That only bodes well for the future because it’s starting to create a real competitive edge, which is what’s required within the squad. The players need to know that they’ve got to perform to stay in the 11.”
Saints supporters will have fingers crossed that McCann can lead the men in yellow back up the league table. If the team does clinch a play-off place, it will be all the more remarkable
given the disruption when ex-manager Ian Culverhouse and his assistant Paul Bastock unexpectedly quit the club to join Kings Lynn Town at the end of October.
After mixed results at the start of the season, City’s squad of new signings had begun to gel and get results, including an FA Cup run that took Saints into the 1st round proper and a tie against League Two side Burton Albion.
Culverhouse’s ill-timed departure just days before that game was a big shock and inevitably raised questions about City’s promotion chances. Gary McCann’s arrival as his replacement in mid-November brought only a short-lived ‘new manager bounce’ and a number of poor results, particularly at Clarence Park, means City must now pick up points – and pick them up fast.
- Next up for St Albans City is an away league game today against Hertfordshire rivals Cheshunt. Saints lost the reverse fixture 2-1 back in August. Kick-off at the Cheshunt Stadium is 3pm.
- On Tuesday next week, City return to Clarence Park to play another Hertfordshire side, Berkhamsted, for a Herts Senior Cup clash that begins at 7.45pm.
- Loan agreements for midfielder Elliot Betjemann and defender Jake Grante have been extended, with Betjemann staying at the club until January 16, and Grante staying until January 30.
