Saints find Camelot, but not the holy grail

Saints made the short, if slightly longwinded journey to Hemel on Saturday afternoon as disruption on the roads resulted in a more scenic drive for the Blue and Gold. It was a case of deju vu for the team, as like Verulamium’s two weeks before they let a lead slip and had to make do with just a losing bonus point.

The opening 40 was very even with chances limited, Saints eventually getting the first points on the board from a Joe Nelson penalty before Hemel drew level with one of their own. Joe got a second penalty to push Saints in front once more before Hemel got the opening try of the afternoon. Hemel had a sustained period of pressure in the Saints 22, before a mis communication saw the hosts go through a gap that seemingly wasn't there, extras missed Hemel up by a single score at the break.

HT - Hemel 8; St Albans 6

Saints spoke at the break about the importance of the next score and it was the visitors who struck on the hour mark. The backs got the ball on the right and inside centre Ewan Mills went through a gap to touch down, extras missed Saints up by three. The visitors had a couple of penalty opportunities to extend their advantage but couldn't add to the scoreboard and that would prove costly as the home side came back into the game and dominated possession and territory in the final 15 minutes of the contest.

Hemel had a couple of kick penalties missed but the scoreboard remained tight. They opted to tap and go from the subsequent penalties but Saints held firm before their backs stretched a tiring defense to score out wide. The final try would come from the restart, a speculative kick not gathered by Saints as the hosts gambled to gather the bouncing ball and score their third of the contest. There was still time for Saints to come again but they couldn't get the converted score they needed to level and Hemel saw out the game to take victory.

FT - Hemel 18; St Albans 11

Skipper Fraser Morris reflected after the game:

"Following the win against Harpenden last week, I challenged the team to take our home form on the road and I reiterated that point at the end of the game. The difference between us being where I believe we should be which is the top 2/3 teams in the league and mid table will be away form. Preparation today was not ideal with delays on the roads but we can't use that as an excuse, occasionally you get thrown a curveball and the best teams will perform at their maximum irrespective of what is going on elsewhere.

I actually thought our defensive display was better than the previous week, for me the most frustrating element was the soft nature of the tries we conceded. Hemel had easier chances and we wouldn't let them through, yet when there was nothing on we switched off and that was costly. Credit to Hemel they were relentless and worked hard for the win but we must be more clinical when we are in control of the game. Disciplined wasn't good enough in the final quarter and we were lucky not to get a yellow card in the second half for tackle height.

Disappointment to one side, I can't fault the commitment with players travelling from Lincoln and some lads playing two full games in the weekend to ensure the fixture went ahead. We will go again at home to Dunstablians next week and aim to put right the wrongs of Saturday".