Result: United 2-1 Scarborough
Scorers: Richards (78), Benjamin (82, United); Mitchell (39, Scarborough)
Att: 2387
United line-up: Barrett, Matt Joseph, Granville, Thompson, Craddock, Richards, Raynor (Benjamin), Hyde, McGleish, Barnwell (San Miguel 45), Beall.
Sub not used: Wanless.
Terry Wilby's report:
The comments on Radio Cambridgeshire gave the impression that it wasn't a good game, I disagree. I thought United played OK, keeping possession and passing the ball around and making quite a few chances. Admittedly Scarborough were not up to much, they insisted in playing the ball over the defence for the runners which meant the defence had to be alert. The Scarborough 'keeper made a couple of vital saves in the first half which
kept them in the game. They scored from a break on their right to the bye
line, a cross into the edge of the six yard box was watched by Joseph and
Craddock which allowed them to score easily.
At half time San Miguel came on for Barnwell. We still looked the better team and continued pushing forward without making a lot of good chances. Raynor was replaced by Benjamin who almost scored with his first touch in a goalmouth scramble. Soon after he made the miss of the match when he hit the bar from the six yard line after good work from Richards on the right. The crowd got behind him though as did the players and it didn't affect him too much. It looked as if it was to be one of those games where we do everything but score.
Luckily Richards had other ideas and scored with a header that crept inside the post about 10 minutes from the end. Other half chances went begging before Benjamin scored from a tight angle as he held of a defender. After his miss it looked a big relief to have scored.
In general a good all round performance, Granville looking more confident on the ball and going forward, Thompson did well especially at our corners, Micah and Tony Richards my men of the match. McGleish was busy without doing much, Benjamin caused problems with his size and running for anything which unsettled their defence. He is young and raw but looks to have a future.
Terry Wilby
Ben Mynott's report:
That's four out of four now for me. I agree with Terry's thoughts; I was astonished to hear Trevor Peer and Paul Stainton describing a fairly "poor" match. Cambridge played more football than I can remember in a long time, with the only criticism being a lack of penetration from time to time.
Cambridge thoroughly dominated nearly the whole match. Right from the start there only looked one winner, as Cambridge mounted attack after attack. Scarboro's attacks more very limited - Scott Barrett had very little to do. Two chances spring to mind early on; A great move by Billy Beall saw his first effort saved by the keeper's legs and his follow-up attempt charged out by a defender. Then five minutes later Richards got through the defence on the right thanks to a delightful backheel by Hyde, only to drag his cross/shot inches wide. Surprisingly Richards had kept the ball on the ground and the keeper was well-beaten. Unfortunately he hit the ball so hard it had gone wide before anyone had the chance to throw themselves at the ball to try and get on the end of it.
Corners were again very effective. The first three were all aimed at the far post by Raynor, and met every time by Thompson. On two occasions he headed the ball back towards the six yard box causing panic in the 'boro defence, and once he headed for goal himself forcing a good save from the keeper.
The Scarboro' keeper looked more than a bit dodgy at times too; his kicking was atrocious. On one occasion McGleish blocked his clearance but was unable to control the ball. It rebounded goalwards where Richards was standing in an offside position.
There was one poor bit of refereeing midway through the half; Hyde waltzed through the opposition defence and was fouled along the way, but still had the ball and was homing in on goal. Undoubtedly the ref should have played advantage, but he didn't. Needless to say the resulting free-kick, in a very dangerous position, was wasted. Something that needs working on I think.
Richards tried a cheeky lob from 40 yards, but didn't quite get the weight right. Cambridge kept plugging away, seemingly not losing patience and continuing to pass the ball about. Surely a goal was just a matter of time ....
Well it was, but the scorers were a surprise. Scarboro's only real attack of the half resulted in a poor goal; the Cambridge defence were caught ball watching allowing a very short striker to nip in at the near post and head the ball home.
The last five minutes of the first half following the goal, and the opening ten minutes was the one period of the match when Cambridge struggled. Scarboro's confidence was lifted, while Cambridge's had taken a knock. San Miguel came on for Barnwell at the break. A good choice by TT as Barnwell was not playing well as left wing back - although what was he doing playing there in the first place? As time for an equaliser went by, TT decided to put 3 up-front by bringing Benjamin on for Raynor.
As usual, Benjamin really put himself about, making a real nuisance of himself. However he was also a nuisance for Cambridge; at one point he played a great through ball for Scarboro' (which fortunately saw the player miscue his shot well wide) and then he had "miss of the season". Some great work down the right by Richards resulted in a delightful little cross which lobbed the keeper. Benjamin had got into a great position, unmarked, central an just a few yards out. He couldn't miss ... or could he. The ball was at about waist height making it a little awkward. Perhaps a diving header would have been better, but "Fash" tried to connect with his foot and somehow, from just a few yards, put the ball over. The poor lad was gutted, but everyone was quick to console him, most notably Micah Hyde - doing his job as captain.
At last the goal came. A great build-up which saw Cambridge hold possession in the opposing half for quite some time, resulted in Miguel finding himself in acres of space on the left. He put over a great cross, curling away from the keeper, that was begging to be converted. Fash and a defender both went for the ball and missed it, but behind them at the far post was Richards, who made no mistake with his blonde head from close range.
Having dominated so much, Cambridge were not going to sit back. They pressed hard for the winner, and were soon rewarded. A lovely run through the middle by Hyde (one of many) caused panic in the Scarboro' defence, leaving Fash unmarked to Hyde's left. Micah spotted him and played a simple ball to his feet. Benjamin almost made a mess of it as he got the ball stuck at his feet, but with the keeper advancing he stabbed a low shot goalwards and saw it creep under the keeper's body and into the net. To say he was relieved I imagine would be a huge understatement.
McGleish had a chance late on, but tried to hit the ball first time from the edge of the box and didn't quite connect, leaving the keeper to make an easy save. Cambridge did have one late scare when a great effort from 25 yards from a player under pressure from Beall looked to have Barrett beaten. However it also always looked like it was going over but in the end it only just did, via the top of the crossbar.
All in all a very good performance, that really deserved a bigger scoreline. However if we can only just manage to beat a poor side like Scarboro' (and they were very poor) then there's still work to be done.
Performances:
Barrett 7 Wasn't called in to action too often, but when he was he made no mistakes. The goal was a defensive (Jody Craddock) error, not Scotty's fault. And his good kicking meant Cambridge fans were far more at ease when he had to deal with backpasses that the Scarboro' fans would have been with their keeper. Raynor 6 Playing on the right this time, didn't do a great deal. Barnwell 3.5 A very poor performance. He played most of the half as wing back, but occasionally swapped with Beall. This was definitely not his position; his defending was atrocious. Craddock 5 Defended OK, but his distribution was diabolical. Rumours of interest from Luton (200k offered, we wanted 500k) may have got to him. Thompson 7.5 Another great performance. Solid in defence, much better distribution than Jody, and dangerous when he went forward. Even showed some good close ball control. Granville 7.5 Also very impressive. Extremely composed on the ball, even when under pressure. Matt Joseph 6.5 Sat just in front of the back three in a sort of holding role, which he did quite well. Beall 7.5 His best game I've seen this season. Not that that says a lot, but he did do well. Hyde 8.5 My Man-of-the-Match yet again. He was all over the pitch both defending and attacking. Showed great invention on occasions (if only Butts was still here I can imagine how well they would link) and was easily the most skillful player on the pitch. Created most of Cambridge's chances. Richards 8 A very impressive performance partnering McGleish up front. He often played quite wide on the right, and seemed to beat players with ease. And no shots ballooned over the bar - it must be that haircut! McGleish 7 As TT has said, he's a real crowd pleaser. Chased everything in the first half and I thought played quite well. Faded in the second half though, in what may be his last game for the U's after Lincoln are rumoured to have tabled a 30k offer for him. It would be nice if we could match it, but I REALLY doubt that. Subs: San Miguel 6 Lost possession a bit too often, but a great cross for the goal. Benjamin 6 Bit of a Devon White performance. As was once said about Bruno (Devon), "he confuses the opposition as he himself doesn't know what he's going to do next". How he missed THAT chance I just don't know, but he made up for it with his goal. Worked hard.
Ben
With thanks to Terry Wilby and Ben Mynott for their views.