Cod Almighty | Article
by Paul Ketchley
8 February 2005
I know we moan about Blundell Park but a visit to Clarence Park, the home of St Albans City, puts it all into perspective. There are two covered stands on either side and two open terraces at each end, and at half time the home supporters move from the end behind one goal to the other. A noticeable rise in front of the goal no doubt makes it easier to score from the penalty spot.
The purpose of my visit was Luke Cornwall, once of Fulham on loan to Town but now of Lewes in the Conference South on loan to St Albans. How would he get on in what, to use old football parlance, is the equivalent of Division Six?
The first surprise is that at this level the programme shows players squad numbers but they actually turn out in shirts numbered 1 to 11. So Cornwall had a squad number of 29... but surely that was him wearing number 9. It was.
St Albans played in yellow and blue, like the Arsenal away kit, and the opposition Bognor Regis Town in white shirts and green shorts. St Albans not only had Cornwall but also a sharp inside forward called Lee Clarke, who put them 1-0 up within five minutes. After this Bognor pressed them back with some neat possession football. As with Town's game last season, this got them nowhere fast, and St Albans, who got nine players behind the ball quickly when they lost possession, were clearly going to hit them on the break using Cornwall's pace.
Cornwall has plenty of pace at this level and got away twice in the first half through long balls played out of defence. The first time he bore down on the advancing keeper he drove wide of the right post; the second he got away and tried to cut inside, allowing the Bognor defenders to get between him and the goal and block the shot.
Saints' second goal came towards the end of the half from a cross from the left, which Clarke rose to head down powerfully. Just before the break Clarke was clattered hard on the edge of the area and went off the pitch with blood streaming from a head wound. Presumably it got stitched at half time because he re-emerged heavily bandaged for the second half.
During the break everyone streamed from one end to the other. The club shop looked like a tea stall and there was a mobile burger bar. Replica shirts made by Errea and sponsored by Philips retailed at £30. The second red kit looked rather smart. Old men in the queue for Bovril couldn't remember when St Albans had last been 2-0 up at the break.
It got better in the second half as Cornwall got away on the left and deftly lobbed the Bognor keeper - much as Reddy did for us with the third goal at Cheltenham - confirming his cult hero status with the St Albans faithful. This knocked the stuffing out of Bognor, who continued to play nice football but to little effect. Cornwall continued to threaten up front and the fourth goal came with a neat one-two to Lee Clarke, who took a dive in the box and netted from the spot.
Cornwall looked the best player on the pitch by a long way and his pace set him apart from the rest. I guess he's on maybe £100 a game with a £50 win bonus at this level and probably has a real job in the week, but he's lost neither pace nor touch and above all wants to play football. Would he have been a better acquisition than Phil Jevons? Well, maybe we wouldn't have beaten Liverpool at Anfield but equally, we might not have been relegated twice with a settled and committed goalscorer.
Cornwall has three more outings for the Saints against Thurrock, Weston-super-Mare and Basingstoke before his loan is up and he's presumably back to Lewes.