11 Nov 2026
St Albans City 1 Welling United 3 (Isthmian League Premier Division)
Defensive errors and missed goal opportunities contributed to Saints’ second successive
defeat and helped visitors Welling to seize their chance to move into top spot in the Premier
Division, writes Jess Unwin.
St Albans manager Gary McCann had told his side they needed to be “a lot better” after losing away at Aveley last week and while there was some improvement at Clarence Park, it wasn’t enough against an in-form and confident Wings team.
McCann said: “I didn’t think it was a 3-1 game. I think the performance warranted more that the result is served up.”
However, he added: “It’s about results and today we’ve been a little bit the architects of our
own downfall. The fundamentals of football are that both boxes are where it all happens and we haven’t quite got it right.”
He told the club’s social media that City had been beaten by a Welling team in a “really good
place”, but said: “We’ve had a performance, for me, where four or five individuals on our
team haven’t got to the level that we expect.”
Welling put Saints under a lot of pressure early in Saturday’s game and should really have
gone 1-0 up but Chris Harris’s header came back off the post. At the other end, Ollie Knight
responded for City, curling his left foot shot just wide.
When Wings did go ahead, on 44 minutes, City’s defending was poor. First, Kaan Bennett
was able to get away from Alex Dyer too easily in midfield, but what followed was worse as
he was able to advance unopposed into the penalty area and pass his shot into the net without being closed down.
Just moments later it looked as if City’s leading marksman Inih Effiong would raise the spirits of the Saints fans in the 1,244 crowd by levelling the scores, but his header from Dyer’s free kick flashed just centimetres wide.
Playing downhill towards the Hatfield Road end after the break, St Albans began well and
were awarded a penalty after 51 minutes when Wings goalkeeper Mackenzie Foley was adjudged to have fouled Effiong as he tried to collect Jake Grante’s long pass. Skipper Zane Banton duly converted the spot-kick.
Hopes that Saints would take control of the contest didn’t last long as 10 minutes later,
Welling retook the lead. Sam Smith’s free kick was parried by Sam Donkin and City were
unable to clear the danger, allowing Fumnaya Shomotun to scramble the ball home.
Remi Sutton could have made it 2-2 but his left-foot volley was straight into the arms of
Foley before, on 67 minutes, Jake Gray’s headed clearance went straight to the lurking
Bennett who lashed home on the volley to make it 3-1 to Welling.
There were late chances for Effiong, Mikey Faulkner and Zak Sowden-Fletcher but Welling held firm to clinch the points.
Five years ago, on the same date as Saturday’s Welling defeat, St Albans City pulled off a famous FA Cup giant killing, beating Forest Green Rovers 3-2.
The anniversary is an uncomfortable reminder of the club’s recent relative decline, which included relegation from the National League South in season 2024-25.
Promotion back to that level in the English football league pyramid is still the club’s aim this season, and McCann is right to remind supporters not to get too concerned about two
defeats and two disappointing performances after just 13 games played.
“It’s too early to come to any conclusions about anything,” he said. “Let’s put it in context
–There are 29 games left and 87 points still to be played for. We have a target that we know
we need to get to.
“We are still focusing on that top three position. We’ve got to keep belief within the
changing room. I certainly believe this is a good team – we’ve just got to be better in certain
moments.”
- Next up for St Albans City is an away league fixture against Leatherhead this Saturday
(14 November). Kick-off is 3pm.
Also on Saturday, Harpenden Town return to league action after a short break, taking on
Potton United at 3pm at Rothamsted Park. - St Albans City came back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 in their Tuesday night Herts Senior Cup tie with Welwyn Garden City at Clarence Park. Kai Brown and Inih Effiong got the goals for Saints. However, the club’s list of injured players lengthened with defender Jack James going off early in the game because of a hamstring problem.
