United line-up: Barrett, Joseph, Granville, Preece (Wanless 33), Craddock, Raynor, Ashbee, Barnwell (Richards 59), Taylor, Kyd (Thompson 85), Beall.
Booked: Preece, Raynor.

Match reports a-plenty for this well-attended match, first in was Gareth Challis:
Without an away 'end' to their ground, we all squeezed into one corner of the main stand, although thankfully entry wasn't a tenner (only 8 quid) as was mentioned in the Hull programme. The view was terrible, but the general atmosphere in our 'end' was one of good optimism. The ground itself is worse than the view - my first trip to Orient's ground is not one I'm particularly fond of ... makes the Abbey look like the San Siro. Anyone else notice the 'hill' in the goalmouth at the end of the ground where the stand has been ripped down ? The groundsmen were attempting to flatten something before the game and at half-time but I have not idea what. If you rolled a ball into the area from the corner spot, it would have rolled most of the way back ! Anyway ...

Yet another game of two halves, with the U's playing some of the best football they've played all season in the first half, leaving the lacklustre O's behind in a brilliant display of stylish passing football ... then it all went wrong.

The U's could of been two or three up by half time. After only a few minutes a goalmouth scramble almost brought a goal but Kyd (?) just couldn't get his foot to the ball before the keeper grabbed it at the second attempt. Of course, pressure is nothing if you don't make the chances, and chances are nothing unless you convert them. Completely against the run of play, Judas McGleish headed home on 15 minutes, but was ruled (quite rightly) offside. Being level with the incident was strange, but at least we could shout offside with real conviction for a change ;)

The U's goal came on 21 minutes ... I haven't seen it on TV and my view was impaired, but I believe it was a cross from Barnwell, a great dummy by a U's player (or did he miss it ?!) leaving it for Kyd who's shot appeared to be blocked/saved .. Shaggy was left unmarked on the far post to ram the rebound into the net. A great goal by U's standards.

Preece was then taken off on 33 minutes, just seconds after being booked for a nasty challenge on an O's player - Not sure if was injured in the challenge ... either way, Wanless played a much better game, winning the ball in midfield and setting up a lot of the U's play.

Orient did little else in the first half, until almost right on half-time when a shot from Clapham (one of our second half tormentors) just cleared the far post by a whisker ... the U's defence backed away from him as he closed down on the penalty area - a sign of what was to come in the second half.

The funny thing about the second half was that we went to sleep and the O's woke up. That's the way it stayed through a nailbiting 45 minutes where Orient continuously raided down on our goal. Their tactics amounted to little more than hoof it into the corner and run after it ... but the bloody annoying thing was that it worked. Combined with our defence not wanting to hurt their little feet in a tackle, it was inevitable that an equalizer would come. Orient came close on numerous occassions, but luckily the ball ended up missing Scotty's left-hand post more times than not. Some of the misses were pathetic ! In theory we could have conceded 4 or 5 if not for the bad finishing and considering the Orient-Cambridge situation, I'm sure all were relieved when the final whistle sounded.

As it was, Judas scored the only goal for Orient on 59 minutes. An excellent run on the left from Clapham resulted in a diving header from Judas giving Barrett no hope. The other funny thing about the second half was the way Orient fans only started making a noise once the goal went in ... and that bloody drummer ! For those who went last year, and didn't this time, the tanoy announcer still does his Brazilian commentator 'goal' shout when the O's score.

Richards came on just after the goal was scored, although I don't think many people realised until the it was announced 4 or 5 mins later. He was full of running, and created one or two half-chances - getting back to fitness by the looks of it. Ashbee certainly needs resting - and lots of training. He was nothing short of useless, giving the ball away continuously - when he did win a challenge, he promptly gave it away again ...

Overall, a very good first half which was ruined by the second ...

Ratings : (almost worth two sets of ratings for each half)

Barrett		5 - Scary mistake in the second half
Joseph		5 -
Granville	6 -
Preece		3 - Passes always going astray
Craddock	5 -
Raynor		7 - Dependable as always
Ashbee		1 - Escapes a zero (just)
Barnwell	6 - Interesting runs
Taylor		5 - Good strike for the goal
Kyd		5 - Got tired before the hour was up
Beall.		7 - Good match

Subs:
Wanless		7 *MoM - On for Preece (33 mins) Dominated midfield
	   	for much of his time on the pitch.
Richards	5 - On for Barnwell (59)
Thompson 	- Brought on for the knackered Kyd and played up front  (85)

Terry Wilby's report:
Not so long ago we couldn't last 90 minutes, then it seemed we could play well for 45 minutes, last Saturday we played well for the first 30 minutes!

Normal team, normal formation. We could have been 3 up in the first 15 minutes, probably the best chance falling to John Taylor from a corner, the keeper luckily got in the way. Everyone was playing well, even Ashbee! We scored after good work on the left by Billy Beall and Michael Kyd, the cross came over to Paul Raynor whose shot hit the keeper from about 6 yards, but Shaggy followed up and put in the rebound.

Then it seemed to change. Orient started running with the ball at defenders having gone past the midfielders. Ashbee is not really a left full back, lots of crosses came over from his side. McGleish did score but was offside. Preece got injured (pulled muscle?) and was replaced by Paul Wanlees after 33 minutes. Wanless added a bit of bite in the middle, but couldn't stop the flow.

The second half continued in the same fashion, Orient having a number of good chances before McGleish equalised from a near post header. There followed a bout of shirt kissing by the little git. We tried to lose the game by not working back, by giving the ball away and not closing down, but survived. We were not helped by some odd decisions from the referee, especially when Shaggy was being held down in their penalty area. I guess a draw was a fair result, apart from the goals both keepers did not have to do anything spectacular. Barnwell and Kyd were both substituted towards the end with Richards and Thompson, but neither made any impact.

The sooner we revert to 4-4-2 the better. I hope that on Friday Carlisle give us time to play football because otherwise we will get beaten. I don't think Preece going off was the reason for the change in fortune, more it was Orient realising that any attack down our left side would result in a chance.

Granville was my Man of the Match for being solid, Joseph and Craddock did well too. Beall did a lot of running as always. Barnwell and Kyd did little, Kyd looked knackered long before he came off. Barnwell needs a bit of weight if he is going to try running between 2 defenders. Raynor did OK, but lost his head a little towards the end, probably from frustration.

Not surprisingly McGleish was booed every time he got the ball, and there were a few chants of "cheer up Tommy Taylor".

Ratings:
Barrett 6, Joseph 7, Granville 7.5 MoM, Preece 7, Craddock 7, Raynor 7, Ashbee 4, Barnwell 5, Taylor 6, Kyd 5, Beall 7
Subs:
Wanless 7, Richards 6, Thompson 5

Terry Wilby.

Simon Gleave ("Shaggy") writes:
Well, this was the first game I'd been to since the beginning of November and I see that Utd are still a 'game of two halves team'. The first 25 minutes in particular were a devastating display of skill, great passing and outstanding running off the ball. I was very impressed indeed. As for the rest of the game, we had to expect Orient to come back but I'd agree with others that we all but fell apart.

However, there are great signs there and assuming that we don't lose everyone at the end of the season, I'm very optimistic indeed for the future. Incidentally, this constant threat of out of contract players going to Orient - how will they afford them because they still command a transfer fee and why would they want to go there anyway. From what I saw on Saturday, Orient just play a physical power game which would be totally unsuited to most of our players. The treatment of Taylor incidentally was little short of a disgrace and he received nothing from the ref throughout the game.

Anyway, a few other points:

Ian Ashbee looks a decent player to me but he is being played in completely the wrong position. He should be up on the left side of midfield where his excellent crossing would be of more use to us than his atrocious defending.

The attack looks well balanced despite Taylor's obvious problems with speed. He never was particularly fast but you could see why we've bought him back on Saturday. His touch was excellent and he has an eye for things which the younger players don't.

When Hyde returns, we should make certain of at least a play-off position because we miss his guile and passing from midfield. Anyway, I remain optimistic because this looks like a very good side to me. They also play football the way that I like to see it which makes a change from previous Utd sides.

Ratings:

BARRETT    6          Didn't save anything much but no chance with goal.

JOSEPH     6          His usual industrious self

ASHBEE     3          Appalling at left back but looks good enough to play

                      further forward.

CRADDOCK   6          Much improved on previous games that I've seen

GRANVILLE  8          Superb match - his first half defending in

                      particular was excellent.

PREECE     4          Looked too slow to me - is he fit?

RAYNOR     6          Would have received a higher mark if he hadn't been

                      so stupid in the second half. Should have been sent

                      off.

BARNWELL   7          Much more comfortable than he was in the left back

                      position. His pace is a real asset to us but his

                      passing still needs to improve.

BEALL      5          Needs resting

KYD        7          Another impressive player for me.

TAYLOR     6          Not one of his great games but hardly surprising as

                      he was constantly fouled.


WANLESS    6          Adequate but we need more skill in that position

RICHARDS   6          Should have started - does McFarland not like him?

SHAGGY

Last but not least Ben Mynott, soon to return from his French exile:
Yep, it's a funny old game. Not only can a football team be a real Jekyll & Micah outfit, but fans' opinions can differ greatly! Here are my views on the match and performance:

Well, I hate to use the cliché, but what a game of two halves!

Cambridge were awesome in the first half, and, particularly in the opening 30 minutes, their football could have graced the Premiership. No exaggeration! This was perhaps partly helped by Orient’s ineptitude - and dreadful hoof it tactics. I’m one of the few that was pleased to see the back of TT, and the opening 30 minutes of Orient "football" certainly backed up this opinion.

Cambridge’s football was neat, attractive and, contrary to what others have said, very penetrative. Had we had a slice more luck we could have had a hatful early on. As it was we had to settle for a solitary Shaggy goal for our efforts; a good move down the left resulted in someone, I thought Ashbee, hitting a shot too close to the keeper. However he could only stop it with his legs and the ball fell nicely to Taylor who had a relatively simple task to score from about 10 yards.

Prior to this Judas McGleish had already found the back of the net with a header, but the linesman had flagged immediately. The double somersault and the smug look about him during the period of what seemed a lifetime before he looked at the lino made my w/e. You’d struggle to find a Cambridge fan not laughing, shouting or making gestures at him!

Several half chances came and went for Cambridge. Had we been better at shooting from distance then it would have been a different story as the O’s defence constantly backed off inviting a shot. Taylor, Beall, Joseph, Granville, Raynor and Kyd all tried I think, but nobody even forced a save from the keeper.

Preece went off injured after 33 minutes after bruising a rib while fouling a player (and earning himself a booking) after he’d lost possession. Wanless replaced him and although we kept the momentum going until half time, the second half was a different story.

If we dominated the first half, it would be difficult to find a word strong enough to describe Orient’s control of the second half. They had the lion’s share of possession and chances, and they finally remembered how to pass the ball. Fortunately the one thing they couldn’t remember was how to score - their finishing was woeful. McGleish did score by going in bravely to meet a cross, but apart from that Barrett hardly had a save to make. Amazing considering the number of chances the O’s had. McGleish himself was one of the main culprits, and had he not been so greedy all the time then Orient could easily have got all three points. There were occasions when his teammates were far from impressed with his selfishness!

It is difficult to pin-point the main reason for Cambridge’s complete loss of control in the second half. In my opinion the main reason was the bloody referee. When we’re under pressure we use our target man more and more as a source to get out of defence, and Shaggy is more than capable of the role of target man. He’s strong in the air and quite capable of holding the ball up and waiting for support. But no-one is capable of doing that when they are constantly fouled without intervention from the referee. The more Orient realised the ref was letting them get away with it, the more they did it. He was fouled (and hence lost possession) virtually every time the ball came to him, and the ref managed to award just one solitary free kick to him in the entire second half. That was only because the ref realised (cor!) that it was physically impossible for the defender to jump twice his normal height without the help of a third party! Had a few fouls been given early on, again, as with so many other things, it would have been a different story.

Two other reasons for losing it in the second half: 1. Wanless never got into the game and the players missed Preece’s calming influence. 2. Ashbee decided to play kamikaze football, giving the ball away in dangerous positions on more occasions than I’d dare to mention. And Orient exploited the fact that he couldn’t defend.

Despite all Orient’s pressure and near misses, Cambridge did manage to muster a few decent chances. Beall sliced open the defence to put Joseph clean through, and perhaps he really should have scored instead of firing wide. Kyd played a superb ball to put Richards (who had replaced Barnwell) clean through, but a combination of the keeper’s quick reaction, the pace on the ball and Richards slight lack of full match fitness meant the keeper was able to just make it to the ball first. Raynor also had an effort deflected, and an Ashbee cross could easily have been turned into the net by a defender instead of being sliced clear.

The Cambridge fans (& no doubt players) were relieved to hear the final whistle and were more than happy to settle for the point; an amazing state of affairs given the first half performance. Overall a draw was just about right; Orient edged it on overall domination but this was principally due to poor officiating by Mr. referee. Shaggy did amazingly well to keep his cool all game - I know I wouldn’t have been able to!

Let’s hope we can repeat the first half performance for a whole 90 minutes on Friday - we’ll be praised no end if we do and will without doubt win the match.

Performances:
Barrett 6       Actually had very little to do.  But no ‘mares today.

Joseph  5.5     Reasonable first half, poor second.

Ashbee  4       At last showed that he’s a good footballer - but NOT a
fullback!  He seemed to spend more time attacking than when he was a wing
back, and left Granville with a hell of a lot of defending to do.

Craddock  8     Just shades it for my MoM.  Superb defending throughout,
and for a change showed evidence that on his day he’s a pretty good passer
of the ball too.  One of the few who didn’t lose it in the second half. 
Perhaps I’m not so upset he didn’t go to Oxford after all.

Granville  7.5  Another rock at the back.  Had to cover for Ashbee far too
often, but he did it admirably well.

Preece  6       Probably the worst passer in the team while he was on, but
he was everywhere and tackled well.  He seemed to be a great calming
influence.

Beall   7.5     Superb first half - our best player in my opinion, involved
in every good move, but faded as the team did in the second period.

Raynor  6.5     A reasonable game and didn’t give up, but almost lost it a
mad 60 seconds (hence a slightly lower rating) he was lucky to see just
yellow after a disgracefully late tackle, then tried to pick a fight with
an opposing player.

Barnwell 4.5    Lacks any decent control, and was only as productive as he
was thanks to the great support he received.  Right to be subbed.

Taylor  6       Took his goal calmly, but was effectively ruled out of the
second half with the disgraceful incessant fouling from his markers.

Kyd     6       Also faded badly, but had a very good first half.

Subs
Wanless 4       Never got into the game.
Richards 6      Provided one of our few threats in the second half.
Thommo  Not on long enough.

Thanks to Gareth, Terry, Shaggy and Ben for their excellent reports.

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