A trio of Vanarama National League South fixtures against teams in the top ten await the Peacocks in the coming week beginning with the trip to St Albans City tomorrow (10th February), ko 3.00pm.
Home games against Torquay United and Maidstone United are coming up but first is the tough prospect of taking on a Saints outfit currently enjoying a rich vein of form. City occupy sixth spot in the table, having suffered just one defeat in their past 11 League matches which came on Boxing Day against Hemel Hempstead Town. They gained revenge by beating the same opponents on New Year’s Day, sparking a run of four wins on the bounce until leaders Yeovil Town held them to a 1-1 draw at Clarence Park. They then regained the winning feeling with a resounding 4-0 win at Torquay United last weekend before dominating at top six rival Hampton & Richmond in midweek but having to settle for a point from a goalless draw.
Goalless draws are something the Peacocks have become accustomed to recently, their last two outings against Welling United and Truro City producing that outcome and they will undoubtedly find it hard to end their scarcity of goals tomorrow against a St Albans side under the interim leadership of former assistant Jon Meakes and coach Harry Wheeler following the departure of manager David Noble to Wealdstone at the end of last month. The change of tenure seems to have done nothing to diminish the confidence of a side eyeing another pop at the play-offs come the end of April.
Taunton go to Hertfordshire as massive underdogs, having only won once on the road this season and having gleaned just 11 points from their last 17 games but with belief that their luck will change sooner or later. Head of Football Rob Dray commented:” Tomorrow is another massive test against the league’s in-form side and we know we will have to be at our absolute best to bring anything back with us. We are slowly resetting things on the playing side and there have been loads of positives so we look to keep building on that tomorrow.” There are injury doubts over Ollie Chamberlain and Nat Jarvis ahead of tomorrow’s match.
Traveller Info
Ground: Clarence Park, York Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 4PL
Ground to Ground: 160.1 miles (via A303), 173.5 miles (via M5/M4)
Directions: Exit M25 at Jnct 19 and take the A41 to Watford. Take the A405 ramp to M1/St Albans/Leavesden and continue on A405 towards St Albans. At the St Stephens roundabout, take the exit onto Watford Rd/B4630. Continue on B4630 until reaching roundabout and take A5183 St Stephen’s Hill. Continue onto Chequer Street A1081 before taking 4th exit at the roundabout onto Hatfield Road A1057. Continue over two roundabouts and take left turning into Clarence Road, then left into York Road.
Admission: Tickets can be purchased online in advance HERE or at the turnstile priced Adults £16.50, Concessions £11, 18-23 yr old £8, Under 18’s £6, Under 12’s Free (must attend with another ticket holder aged 16 or over). Please note that Clarence Park is a cashless stadium and all payments for admission and any purchases inside the ground must be made by card.
Match Commentary: live commentary will be available on Peacocks Radio
Last meeting: a thrilling game at Wordsworth Drive saw the Peacocks emerge 3-2 winners back in August. Ross Stearn gave Town the lead before Giorgio Rasulo equalised, only for Nick Grimes to restore the home side’s lead just before half time. After Mitchell Weiss had brought the sides level again in the second half, Stearn popped up with the winner eight minutes into stoppage time. Relive the match highlights HERE