| Notts County | 1-0 | Cambridge United |
| G. Jones 49' | ||
| Att: 4,279 |
Cambridge Utd: Marshall, Matt Joseph (Beall 77), Wilson, Marc Joseph, Foster, Campbell, Wanless (Hayes 77), Finney, Kyd (Taylor 66), Butler, Rees.
Booked: Wilson (foul), Foster (foul).
Ref: G Singh (Wolverhampton).
Due to the lack of full match reports here is my match summary, gleaned from all available media sources, followed by some short first-hand accounts of the game:
Michael Kyd made an unexpectedly early return to the starting line-up, but a 48th minute header by Gary Jones kept Notts County on course for promotion as they stretched their undefeated run to 11 matches at Meadow Lane.
Jones struck from a cross by Shaun Derry but County were unconvincing against a United side who were looking for their first win in eight outings. The U's were solid in the first half with Kyd looking the man most likely to score, while the Magpies failed to test 19 year old goalkeeper Shaun Marshall. Kyd had a good opportunity to score in the 36th minute when a defender failed to clear Martin Butler's pass. Kyd nipped by him but his 20 yard shot flashed inches over the crossbar.
After the break United got off to the worst possible start as a corner was not properly cleared and Jones notched the only goal within four minutes. Kyd understandably tired after his six week absence from action and John Taylor replaced him on 66 minutes. Two minutes later came United's best chance of an equaliser when Marc Joseph's cross was headed down in the box by Colin Foster, but the unmarked Steve Finney mis-hit his volley high and wide. The U's battled well to stop County extending their lead and the home side needed a good late save from Darren Ward to deny Taylor and clinch the points.
United slide one place down the table to fifteenth while County's win keeps them a point behind P*sh who go top with a 2-0 defeat of Torquay at London Road. This season's surprise package and the morning leaders, Exeter City, slipped to third after Scunthorpe beat them 3-2 at St James' Park.
[The Abbey Rabbit match report] [Ben Mynott's match ratings] [Jon Mansfield's match report]
The Abbey Rabbit match report:
Personally I thought we defended very well - save for the one lapse which cost the goal. This was County's only real shot on target. Unfortunately the game was a throw back to "Johnson - The Declining Years", in that whilst the score remained 0-0 we never looked troubled. However, once we had to chase the game, we never really looked like scoring - save for Finney's glaring miss and a couple of half-chances.
McFarland blew it big-time in taking off Matty and Wanless. Speaking to a County fan at work he was amazed as he thought that Joseph was our best attacking option and that Wanless was the powerhouse in the middle of the park. The substitutions totaly baffled me and it didn't take long for our more vocal supporters to hurl abuse at RM - although to their credit(?) they still got behind the team - sort of. How long before "McFarland out" is heard around the Abbey (how about half-time Saturday?)
I though Rees was OK. Unfortunately, playing just in front of the back three, he lay far too deep to have an influence on the game. According to Mark Johnson (who watches the game from the vantage of the press box), Rees is a good player - he just plays too deep to have any influence on the game.
The big worry has to be the look on the players' faces at the end of the game. They are absolutely drained of confidence and haven't got a clue where the next win is going to come from... it's gonna be a long hard winter...
Marshall 5.5 Some very poor kicks (one almost gifted a goal), otherwise acceptable. Unfortunately like Barrett, he won't come for crosses - which resulted in their goal. Matt Joseph 6.5 OK. Why on earth was he taken off when so many others were playing so much worse. Wilson 6.5 Showed good spirit winning the ball back whenever he lost it. Marc Joseph 5 Went walkabouts for the goal - I think he's more of a liability than an asset. Foster 8 Sheer class. Campbell 6.5 OK. Wanless 6.5 Put in a lot of decent work as usual. Why subbed?! Rees 5 Poor, as usual. Was begging to be subbed. Butler 5 First touch let him down too often, won next to nothing in the air and generally ineffective. Was begging to be subbed. Finney 4 Again, didn't look interested. Is McFarland only playing him as he feels obliged to make full use of his loan? Or is he just blind, as his substitutions on Saturday might imply. Was begging to be subbed. Kyd 7 Despite being out for a month, he still looked sharp. Was our only player who looked like scoring, and almost did with a snap shot on the half volley which went just over. Was predictably subbed as he tired. Subs: Taylor 6.5 Much more effective than Finney. Forced a very good save from their keeper near the end. Hayes 6.5 Not bad. Only hit the ball to "nobody" once. Beall 6.5 Did reasonably well in a strange position of full back.
Ben.
Jon Mansfield's match report:
On Saturday we matched County for the whole game, but we never really looked like scoring, then McFarland subs the 2 most industrious players on the park, while meanwhile players like Rees, Finney, etc get to stay on.
To me Finney is a waste of time, he has all the commitment of a loan player, he takes half the game to get on to his feet and the other half to get back on-side, he looks at everyone else as if he's too good to be on the same park as them. As for Rees when he is good he is very very good and when he is bad (usually) he is awful, we desperately need a midfielder that can run with the ball at defenders, and make things happen, and preferably can tackle as well ( basically another Micah).
Why oh why are attacks so predictable, the build up so slow, square pass after square pass, we tend to go backwards instead of forwards, meanwhile the opposition have 10 men behind the ball. Colin Foster showed us what can be done when a skillful player who can keep the ball pushes into midfield, going forward and making things happen, so why do all our bloody midfielders ie. Rees, Preece ( Wanless excluded) put their foot on the ball pass it square (or back).
I suppose it can only get better,
Many thanks to Steve, Ben and Jon for their match reports.
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