| Cambridge United | 1-1 | Torquay United |
| Butler 24' | Gibbs 73' | |
| Att: 2,314 |
United line-up: Barrett, Matt Joseph, Wilson, Marc Joseph, Foster, Campbell, Wanless, Rees, Kyd (Finney 82'), Butler, Hayes.
Subs not used: Taylor, Beall.
Booked: Marc Joseph s.o. 71' (fouls 38' and 71'), Wilson (92' foul)
Ref: Mr S.G. Bennett (Redhill)
[Keith Webb's match report] [Terry Wilby's match report] [Gareth Challis' match report]
Keith Webb's match report:
Not the desired result but a much better performance all round. One of the most pleasing aspects was that we managed to sustain the pressure for most of the match and actually managed to get behind the Torquay defence several times. We paid the price yet again for missing chances, if we can crack that then things will definitely improve as once again we looked solid in defence until that is, the intervention of Coco the clown dressed up as a referee.
It was difficult to see clearly what happened but from where I stood it looked as if Wilson was pushed and then fell on the ball. As for Joseph's sending off it seemed incredibly inconsistent with Mr Bennett's earlier decisions as Martin Bultler was clattered time and again during the match, several times players came through the back of him. That said if we had taken our chances earlier then those incidents would have been nothing more than talking points rather than decisive factors.
Keith
Wanless could have scored in the first minute, he was put through from the angle of the penalty area, but chose to pass rather than shoot and the ball was cleared. He had a similar chance midway through the first half, again he passed instead of going for goal and the chance was gone. We scored soon after, a good move down our left resulted in Wilson getting to the bye line, crossing to the far post where Wanless headed back for Butler to nod in from a yard or so.
Torquay's only chance in the first half came from their big number 10, an angled shot saved at shoulder height by Barrett. In the 38th minute Marc Joseph was booked for an innocuous looking challenge. The referee let play go on before booking Joseph. He wasn't so strict with their defenders who seemed to take out Butler at every attempt but not get booked! Wanless had another chance late on with a free header from a corner which he put over.
In the second half we were on top, again making chances. In the 71st minute a challenge from behind by Marc Joseph gave him his second yellow card so off he went. 30 seconds later from the free kick a melee near the edge of our penalty area resulted in a penalty which they scored from. 10 minutes from the end Finney came on for Kyd. We still made chances even with 10 men, a well worked free kick was saved by their keeper being the best.
Rees had a reasonable first half, not so good in the second. The forwards, despite not being very tall, did well in the air against their defenders and looked dangerous on the ground. Our defence coped easily, Foster having no trouble with their big centre forward, and Rodney Jacks caused no trouble. The full backs Joseph and Wilson pushed forward whenever able, Wilson's crossing was good, Matty seemed to want to beat one defender too many and lost the ball on a number of occasions. In midfield Hayes did very well, he has got a lot of skill, he seems to be growing in confidence. He was my Man of the Match. Wanless could have had a hat trick, he seemed frightened to shoot though. Marc Joseph was OK in defence, but his distribution still lets him down. There was a occasion in the second half when from a long throw near their corner flag the ball came back out to him from a defender, instead of letting it go out for another throw he tried to cross the ball and put it well behind the goal.
In general a very good performance, definitely 2 points lost. On the radio coming home there was a lot of moaning about the referee, not so much for the sending off but for inconsistency in not booking their players for similar fouls, and they probably would have lost at least one player.
Ratings: Barrett 6, Matt Joseph 6, Wilson 7, Marc Joseph 5, Foster 7, Campbell 6, Wanless 7, Rees 6, Kyd 7 (Finney 6), Butler 7, Hayes 8
Gareth Challis' match ratings:
Still can't believe we didn't win ... the team looked quite impressive until the sending off zapped any of the confidence they may have had for the first 70-ish minutes.
Barrett 6 Nothing to do
Matt Joseph 6
Wilson 7 Some good crosses, particular at the end. Shame no-one was on the end
of any of them!
Marc Joseph 6 Unlucky to be sent off
Foster 7 Fairly solid
Campbell 7 Good match. Defence is looking much better.
Wanless 7 Plenty of effort
Rees 4 Did better when he played rightback after Marc was sent off
Kyd 7
Butler 7
Hayes 8 MoM ... excellent match in the middle.
Sub: Finney 4 Should have won it for us.
G.
Many thanks to Keith, Terry and Gareth for their reports and ratings.
Back to Match fixtures, results and reports
Back to Cambridge United index