02 Sep 2026
Cheshunt 1 St Albans City 1 (Isthmian League Premier Division)
Saints started and finished well against the Ambers but just could not quite find a winner to
claim local bragging rights in this all-Hertfordshire bank holiday clash, writes Jess Unwin.
It looked like City were going to pick up where they left off in their high-scoring 4-1 Saturday win against Stanway Rovers when Ollie Knight met Kai Brown’s right-wing cross at the near post to put St Albans ahead after just two minutes.
But City could not build on their 1-0 lead and both sides traded chances after that – most notably with Cheshunt skipper Raul Fernandes Da Silva shooting wide and then Inih Effiong unable to head home yet another right-wing delivery from Brown.
Cheshunt had their best spell of the game in the half hour after the break and hit the bar
early on as they pressed for an equaliser.
The quality of Cole Dasilva, who played a big part in Saints’ Herts Senior Cup semi-final defeat against Bishop’s Stortford last season, was a constant threat and when the usually reliable Jack James miskicked his attempted clearance of a Dasilva cross, Sam Granville levelled the scores on 58 minutes.
Saints looked like they might wilt but the introduction of substitutes Mikey Faulkner, Alex Dyer and Sam Ayolie, who all started and impressed in the Stanway game, brought a real sea-change in the last 15 minutes.
Dyer shot straight at Ambers keeper R’avan Constable, Brown’s goal-bound strike was
deflected wide by a defender and a looping effort from Charlie Edwards drifted just wide of the target – but the game finished 1-1.
St Albans manager Gary McCann told the club’s YouTube channel his side had “found another level” after the late player changes. He said: “We have created four or five
unbelievably good chances … all chances that on another day we take and win the game.
But we’ve not had the efficiency in those moments, and we’ve ended up having to share the spoils.”
The draw leaves Saints in 9th position on goal difference in the Premier Division table with 10 points. Enfield Town and Carshalton Athletic are the early season pace-setters with 15 points each, with Towners top on goal difference. Their one defeat so far this season was at home to St Albans – a match in which Enfield had two players sent off.
Next up for Saints is a tricky home FA Cup first qualifying round game this Saturday (5
Sept) at Clarence Park against Hashtag United, who played City in the Premier Division in
season 2025-26 before being relegated.
United currently top the Isthmian League North Division after winning all of their first four games, scoring 13 goals and conceding just one goal in the process. What’s more, United beat Enfield 10-1 in the FA Cup preliminary round to earn their shot at St Albans.
Saints manager McCann said: “We’re going to need to be sound defensively because they’re free-scoring and an attacking threat. We’ll do our due diligence on their players and make sure we’re where we need to be because progression in the FA Cup is very much the remit
for us.”
Last season City enjoyed a lengthy run in the FA Cup that took them to the first round
proper and an away tie against League One outfit Burton Albion. Saints fans made the trip to the Pirelli Stadium in Staffordshire in impressive numbers. They saw their team hold their own in the first half before collapsing towards the end of the game and finally crashing out of the competition in a 6-0 defeat.
Of course, current St Albans City skipper Zane Banton is the one remaining current player who appeared in City’s famous 2021 cup victory over Forest Green Rovers – then of League Two. In a game that was televised live on the BBC, Banton was a scorer as Saints won 3-2.
Kick-off for this Saturday’s Hashtag game is 3pm. Match tickets are now available from the club’s newly launched St Albans City Football Club mobile phone app, as well as from City’s website and, of course, at the turnstiles on the day.
All photos by Jim Standen
