City boys speculate on St Albans

Mike Rowbottom on the well-heeled opponents facing Bristol City today

"Book your ticket to Bristol" entreated the posters at the St Albans City turnstiles last Saturday. "Come and watch the dream."

To that end, a contingent of more than 1,000 supporters will travel to Ashton Gate today to watch the Hertfordshire club make their third appearance in the FA Cup second round.

Bristol City, prospering in the Nationwide Second Division, look entirely likely to prevent the Icis Premier Leaguers going further in the FA Cup than ever before. But St Albans can at least dream about a competition where they have already made their mark.

Seventy-four years ago, Billy Minter scored all seven St Albans goals in a Cup replay at Dulwich Hamlet. Unfortunately for Minter, his side, fielding a stand-in goalkeeper, conceded eight. He thus became the highest scoring loser in FA Cup history.

There have since been claims that Denis Law matched that performance in 1961 when he scored six goals for Manchester City in a tie at Luton that was abandoned at 6-2 because of rain, and got City's only goal in their 3-1 replay defeat.

St Albans followers, who discount Law's claim on the basis that the first match was null and void, had further Cup goalscoring exploits to applaud in 1994-95, when Steve Clark scored six in an 11-1 win over Hillingdon Borough.

Clark, head sixth-form teacher at a school in Bishop's Stortford, is still leading the St Albans line effectively at the age of 32, having turned down approaches from several League clubs. He finished 1994-95 with a club record of 56 goals and his overall total now stands at over 200.

The teacher will be the obvious target for Bristol City's attentions. But they will do well, too, to look out for the printer - Jon Daly, an inspirational, shaggy-haired midfielder who knows all about FA Cup upsets having played in the Kingstonian side who beat Brighton 2-1 two seasons ago.

"We will give it a real go," Daly said. "This run has got everyone excited. There will be 12,000 at Bristol. I've never played in front of that many."

In Naseem Bashir and Gary Cobb, St Albans have two other experienced FA Cup men - both played for the Aylesbury side (remember those celebrating Ducks) who reached the third round in 1994-95, eventually losing to QPR. Midfielder Rob Haworth played nearly 30 games for Fulham, the keeper Gareth Howells is the brother of Spurs midfielder David, while defender Andy Polston played one game for Tottenham before spells with Cambridge and Gillingham.

The tie will provide a serious test not just for the visiting players but also for their supporters. In last Saturday's FA Trophy match at home to Kings Lynn, the home fans were outshouted by the visitors, responding to two goals from Daly with little more than polite applause. "Our supporters are very pleasant, but they take some getting going," Clark said. "I think it's the area."

St Albans is nobody's idea of a football hotbed. City's ground at Clarence Park stands in a leafy street of detached Victorian houses with Volvos and Range Rovers parked in gravel forecourts. But it is well enough regarded to be favoured by Tottenham's reserves, who play their league games there, and the Netherlands, who trained there during Euro 96.

In the middle of the terrace behind one of the goals stands an ancient oak which, three years ago, denied them promotion to the GM Vauxhall Conference. A preservation order forbade meddling with the awkwardly placed feature, which could not be accommodated within the Conference's ground regulations.

Since then, gallingly, the Conference has become more broad-minded about such oddities. But so indifferent is City's form in the Icis Premier Division that the shift in policy is unlikely to be put to the test imminently. Cup performances, however, have been in marked contrast as London Colney, Yeading, Stansted, Witney Town and Wisbech Town have succumbed in turn.

Among those supporters going west today for the next instalment will be James O'Reilly; he travels in hope rather than expectation. "I think it's more about a day out than anything," he said. "And Manchester United in the third round," chipped in his friend, Tom Higman. Dream on, you City boys.