Hitchin Town's hopes of a FA Cup run were dashed after a frustrating 5-0 defeat at the hands of St Albans at Clarence Park on Saturday.

The final scoreline was cruel on Mark Burke's side, who battled for the majority of the game a man short.

Despite fighting for the entire 90 minutes, ten-man Hitchin were always struggling to reach parity after Shaun Jeffers' first half brace put Ian Allinson's side firmly in the driving seat.

Three late second half goals - from Zane Banton, an own goal via Hitchin sub Kai Tearle and Saints' Joseph Chidyausiku made the final score deceptively harsh on the visitors.

Earlier, Jeffers, the Bedford-born former Yeovil and AFC Newport striker, put the Saints 1-0 ahead in the 12th minute, slotting past Tiernan Parker, after a concerted spell of pressure.

The game was effectively over as a contest six minutes later when the Canaries were reduced to ten men. Max Ryan was handed a straight red card after hauling down Luke Warner-Eley, with Jeffers calmly slotting home from the spot to double the lead and make it 2-0.

Ironically, Burke's battling side performed better with ten men as they pinned St Albans back with Lewis Barker, Luke Brown and Jhai Dhillon all attempting to feed highly-rated forward Callum Stead.

The tireless Stead's best chance of the opening period saw him weave into the box just after the half hour before dragging his shot wide.

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Dhillon, who has provided a number of assists this term already, was also inches away from his cross connecting with onrushing Hitchin forwards before the interval.

After the break, Hitchin could feel hard done by after referee Jason Richardson refused to give what should have been a stonewall penalty - after the lively Brown was felled by former Canary Michael Johnson in the box on the hour mark.

Inexplicably, the man in black, nor his linesman on that side, thought the foul was worthy of a spot-kick. Perhaps it was the idea that St Albans keeper Johnson would have had to join the errant Ryan on the sidelines that prevented the decision from being made.

Fine margins change the course of matches and while there was still an awful lot of work to do, it would have been very interesting to see how the match panned out at ten-a-side against a rejuvenated Hitchin, especially if the resultant penalty had been scored.

However, the reality was a case of 'could have, should have, would have' as Saints exploited tired legs in the final minutes.

With former Hitchin keeper Johnson between the sticks for Saints, fond memories of the Canaries run to the first round in 2018 were recalled.

Yet, late strikes from Banton, an own goal from Tearle, and Chidyausiku, put the seal on a miserable day for the Canaries – banishing hopes of further progression in the world's oldest knockout tournament.

Despite the best efforts of the hard-working Canaries, memories of past cup runs would not be supplanted by new ones this season, as St Albans eased to victory to send Burke's side spinning out of the FA Cup.

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