Barnet Football Club

BARNET FOOTBALL CLUB

Preview: St Albans City (A) – Pre-Season Friendly

Darren Currie’s side go into the game off the back of a 3-2 defeat to an Arsenal XI on Wednesday night.

A first half hat-trick from Folarin Balogun gave the Gunners a three-goal advantage going into the break before Jack Barham and Charlee Adams pulled two back for the hosts in the second period.

A Look at the Opposition:

The Saints, who were formed in 1908, finished last season ninth in the National League South, six points off the top six.

After just missing out on the play-offs, the Saints will be looking to return to the National League next season for the first time since 2007.

St Albans faced the drop that year before slipping further down the ladder four years later, entering the Southern League Premier Division.

However, things soon began to look brighter and after beating Chesham United in the 2013-14 play-off final, they were back in the National League South.

St Albans finished 13th in their first season back and have stayed in the division ever since with promotion firmly in their sight.

The Bees will be travelling to Clarence Park this afternoon, a ground that has been home to the Saints for over 100 years.

Manager: Ian Allinson

Ian Allinson took charge of St Albans during the 2015-16 season and went on to secure a 10th placed finish at the end of that campaign.

However, his next two seasons at the helm would see the Saints narrowly miss out on a play-off spot.

Allinson began his managerial career at Baldock Town in 1989 before moving on to Stotfold three years later.

A short spell at Corby Town followed before he was back in the Stotfold dug-out in 1994 in a tenure that stretched to four years.

He then had two spells in charge of Barton Rovers either side of a year at Harlow Town before clinching the Boreham Wood job in 2004.

However, he returned to Stotfold for the third time a year later, but he was back at the Wood in 2008 until 2015, his final move before joining St Albans.

During his second spell at Boreham Wood, he guided them to play-off glory in the Isthmian League in 2010 and then again in the Conference South in his final year.

As a player, Allinson began his career at Colchester United before making a move to Arsenal in 1983.

Four years later, he joined Stoke City before spending a year with Luton Town ahead of a return to Colchester in 1988.

He hung up his boots whilst at Baldock Town as a player-manager in 1989.

Last Time Out:

The last time these two sides met was in a pre-season friendly back in 2015 with Barnet winning 3-2 on that occasion.

Michael Gash opened the scoring for the Bees with only 10 minutes on the clock before Simon Thomas equalised for the hosts.

The game was then turned on its head when Michael Malcom gave the Saints a 2-1 lead going into half-time.

However, the Bees hit back and won the game after second half goals from Shaun Batt and Jack Taylor sealed the win.

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