This combined Geoff Richards League and Cup fixture began openly, and gave no notice of the tight and low scoring game it would turn out to be.

The home side was immediately on the attack through Butcher, his jinking run down the right being the first of many by the lively winger - on this occasion though his shot sailed just wide of the far post. With the windy conditions favouring the hosts in the first half, their dominance continued, but they could not create any clear cut opportunities until Weatherley latched on to a poor clearance to slot the ball neatly into the corner of the net to give them the lead.

The game then evened out with the visitors breaking away with some neat passing moves while the homesters controlled the midfield, but both defences were coping well with both their forward opposition and the worsening climatic conditions.

The second half saw the intensity increase along with the strong winds. St Albans had all the play in the early stages but the city defence of Knight, Sallis, Collins and Pinkney continued to hold out, working together very well as a team and as individuals.

Keeper Balkwill saved well down to his right and was then off his line sharply on two occasions to deny the Saints. Weatherley was at the heart of all of

Gloucester’s best attacking moves, working hard in midfield for the whole game, though he could not prevent Young from hitting a long range effort against the bar.

The visitors were not able to force the ball over the line despite having most of the play, with Sallis providing the best piece of defending of the day by throwing himself into a brave last-ditch tackle just as the Saints looked certain to gain a deserved equaliser.

Both sides take great credit for trying to play good football in very difficult conditions, with Gloucester just edging the result by that single first half score.

Gloucester B: Balkwill; Sallis, Collins, Pinkney; Williams, Weatherley, Butcher, Elliott; Mason. Subs: Knight, Sutherland.