ROY McFarland may need to recruit two more men to ensure Cambridge stay on course for promotion - a carpenter and a portrait painter. Because there was more evidence as Carlisle became their ninth consecutive Abbey Stadium victim that his team are in danger of becoming "half-hearted" at home.

When they are playing towards the massed ranks of the Corona Kop they can batter their opponents into submission as they did before the break on Saturday. But when they turn to face the often empty Allotments end the passion seems to drain from their game. Maybe the answer is a huge plywood mural of a cheering crowd like the one Arsenal erected when one of the Highbury stands was being re-built.

It is not so bad for the hardcore supporters at the Newmarket Road end when United play their match in its traditional, and deliberate order, towards the away section before the break. They put up with the inevitable slow start, scrappy play and only occasional goal attempts because they know the second half will bring the men in black and amber sweeping towards them in wave after wave of attacks.

But when Carlisle sabotaged the basic plan by choosing to defend the Corona goal in the first half it made for a nailbiting second session in which United, so dominant before the break, only once looked like getting that second goal to put them in comfortable control.

The difference between the two 45 minute spells was startling. United centre-back Mark Joseph was not far wrong when he said he thought the high-tempo first half display was probably their best of the season at the Abbey. But as the match became bogged down in a midfield struggle after the restart McFarland was screaming at his men to get their game back on course.

"I thought we deserved more than the one goal lead at the break," he said. "Their goalkeeper had another blinder against us. But then we lost our way a bit. We started over-elaborating and even Alex Russell was giving the ball away and putting us in trouble.

"We got away with it, but I made it very clear at the end that we can't afford that sort of thing."

Carlisle, starting with the confidence of a side who won on their previous trips, to Brighton and Southend, were soon having to defend in depth. And between the fourth minute when Trevor Benjamin blazed over the bar from a good position, and the 40th when Martin Butler had a shot deflected for a corner United logged 10 goal attempts, plus a furious appeal for a penalty from John Taylor when he was upended midway through the half.

Goalkeeper Tony Caig, who denied United victory at Brunton Park just after Christmas had to make superb saves from Benjamin in the 26th and 39th minutes, and from Taylor and Butler in the 14th and 40th. He hardly deserved the bounce which directed the ball into Butler's path from yet another Benjamin shot to produce the 38th minute winner.

Contrast that with the second half in which Taylor had a header cleared off the goal line at a corner kick, and Benjamin twice fired wide. The last of those attacks coming as early as the 59th minute.

Powerful midfielder Scot Paterson ensured McFarland's men did not dominate after that. But fortunately for United their defence was tighter than in the first half when breakaways gave Paterson and Scot Dobie the chance to fire in shots Arjan Van Heusden had to scramble to save.

It was a significant sign though that United are now regarded in the division as one of the promotion favourites when Carlisle boss Nigel Pearson commented: "I can't fault my team. We matched a top side in the second half, and we would have beaten most with this display."

It took him approaching 1,000 minutes of football to do it, but Martin Butler has finally ended his three-month, ten-game league goal drought for Cambridge United. His 39th minute tap-in following a powerful shot from Trevor Benjamin secured another vital three points, and moved United another step closer to Second Division football.

Roared on by over 4,000 fans, a dish of precision passing and skill was dished up by the whole team, whose play in spells bordered on sublime. When United had possession, they made the Abbey turf seem twice it's size, using superb movement off the ball along with vision and creation on it, to overpower a hard-working Carlisle team and ultimately win the game.

The score line was hardly flattering for United, who could and should have won their ninth consecutive home match far more comfortably. Trevor Benjamin was presented with a chance to give United a 4th minute lead, but his finish from an accurate John Taylor ball into the box left a lot to be desired as it only troubled the sardine tin terrace occupants behind the goal.

It was not United though who looked the most dangerous force during the early exchanges, as Carlisle displayed the play which has lead them to successive away victories. There were to be no clear-cut opportunities for the visitors to capitalise on their dominance, and it was only a matter of time before United clicked into gear. Alex Russell fired in a shot from 30 yards, which rocketed inches wide of Caig's near post on 13 minutes, and this started a spell of concerted pressure. A well-worked short corner routine enabled Alex Russell to cross for John Taylor to head wide in the 15th minute.

John Taylor was crudely cut down on the edge of the box shortly after his near miss, but the resulting free kick was struck low through the wall and into the hands of Caig by Jamie Campbell. It was all United, rampaging their way through the weak Carlisle United defence like milk through a baby. Jamie Campbell was set free down the left from another accurate Russell ball, but his cross was too close to the keeper who plucked it from the air just before Martin Butler dived in.

Carlisle then looked as though they had scored a dramatic goal against the run of play. Former U's player Steve Finney found Scott Dobie, and the player skipped around two challenged before firing a low shot along the turf. Arjan Van Heusden allowed the attempt to slip through his hands, but luckily for the Dutchman was able to scramble back to his goal line and reclaim possession. Overall his performance was adequate, apart from this and a few other distribution mistakes he had little if anything to do for much of the one-sided encounter.

Just after the half hour mark, a long throw in was flicked on by John Taylor who found Martin Butler at the near post, who watched his brave diving header fly just wide of the post. This near miss must have been agonising for the goal-starved centre forward, but he wouldn't have to wait very long to make amends.

Trevor Benjamin once again found himself free at the far post four minutes later, and rasped in a shot which Caig found too hot to handle. He pushed it out, straight onto the forehead of Butler who nodded in for his 12th goal of the season. Shortly after the goal Trevor Benjamin did well to turn a Carlisle defender before drilling a fine shot which was saved well by the impressive Caig. United then took their foot off the throttle, and allowed Carlisle to control the late exchanges of the half. Once again though, their creation in the final third was woeful as the United defenders never really looked bothered.

The second half was similar to the first, with United using their passing game to always look the most likely to score. Just two minutes after the restart John Taylor rose in the box to meet an Alex Russell cross. His attempt looked destined to nestle in the back of the net before Andy Couzens intervened with a goal line clearance. On the hour mark Trevor Benjamin burst free down the left, but with just Caig to beat scuffed a poor shot across and behind the gaping goal.

Martin Butler was fouled 40 yards from goal on 61 minutes, but the referee decided to play on and allow John Taylor to take advantage of the ball at his feet. The workhorse nipped past two defenders before unleashing a shot from 22 yards, which flew over the Carlisle goal and behind for a goal kick.

The visitors were offering little contribution to the match, and their only real second half chances came in the form of two free kicks on the edge of the penalty area. Both were wasted in spectacular fashion. There was though to be one heart stopping moment in the 3rd minute of stoppage time, as Steve Finney broke clear of the United defence inside the penalty area. He was quickly surrounded by amber shirts, but during the melee the ball was clearly controlled by the hands of Andy Duncan. Fortunately Mr J. P. Robinson from Hull was unsighted and allowed the danger to be cleared before blowing his whistle to indicate the end of the match.

Overall it was another fine team performance, during which both Chenery and Campbell played very well indeed. Paul Wanless continued his recovery of form, and alongside Neil Mustoe and the exquisite Alex Russell broke down Carlisle with a disciplined and professional display of possession and passing.

Roy McFarland has often stated that he want's the Abbey Stadium to be a 'fortress', where teams dread to play. With nine consecutive victories at home it appears clear the manager has his wish. Perhaps though, 'Fort Knox' would be a more accurate way of describing a stadium which is protecting its team's points like the precious nuggets of gold they are.

Man of the match: Alex Russell signed off before his one game suspension in style, ruthlessly masterminding a breathtaking team performance of passing, possession and skill. This man has class and ability oozing from every pore, and is one of the most aware and skilful footballers I can ever remember having at United.

This week the "thin chap" behind the door of the Supporters Club won the first two prizes in the draw. It's amazing how lucky those chaps are!

I presume Carlisle won the toss and chose to attack the allotments first half. Carlisle have had a good run of form in away games recently, and started the game looking a lot quicker than United, Van Heusden having to sprint out of his penalty area in the 2nd minute to hack the ball away from a forward who'd beaten the offside trap. Almost immediately Benjamin shot just over from a Shaggy knock down. On 8 minutes Shaggy was scythed down late by their #8 who was rightly booked.

It seemed the players had been practising long range shooting as for a change a few shots from outside the penalty area were tried, Russell put a curling shot just past the far post from about 20 yards. From a corner Shaggy headed just wide. Carlisle played some good close football in the middle of the pitch which belied their 4th from bottom position, without really penetrating our defence, and on one or the rare occasions when they threatened Van Heusden was fouled as he punched the ball away.

Russell had a weak shot saved easily, then another shot from a free kick saw the ball deflected away to safety. On 23 minutes their #3 got himself booked, presumable for comments to the referee. Benjamin then got in on the shooting game, a good cross by Russell from one side of the pitch to the other was controlled on his chest and a rasping shot well saved. Shaggy tried a run through the middle and was only stopped by a trip in their penalty area, but no penalty was given much to his and the supporters behind the goal's surprise.

Mustoe too tried shooting, his shot went well over after a corner was only half cleared. Russell and Benjamin combined well to put Campbell free down the left wing, his low cross was just cut out by their 'keeper. On 31 minutes a Carlisle shot was easily stopped by Van Heusden, but he allowed the ball to roll behind him and towards the goal line before almost in slow motion picking it up. It was probably nowhere near the goal, but caused a heart-stopping moment at the other end of the stadium! From a Joseph long throw Shaggy headed on and Butler headed just wide of the near post.

We scored after 37 minutes, another powerful Benjamin shot was stopped by their 'keeper, but the ball came back off him to the in rushing Butler to tap into the unguarded net from 6 yards. Benjamin tried an action replay of an earlier chance when another accurate Russell cross was controlled on his chest before a powerful shot, though as before the 'keeper saved well, a feat he repeated a minute later again from a Benjamin shot.

Attacking the empty Allotment end in the second half, from an early corner Shaggy had a free header that either was kicked off the goal line or came back of the post, I couldn't see. Chenery seemed to be elbowed by their #6 as they went up for a cross, their player being booked as Chenery was being attended to. From the free kick the ball fell to Benjamin whose angled shot went past the far post.

Carlisle were awarded a dubious free kick a few yards outside our penalty area, they tried to be clever by laying the ball back to a player who lifted the ball up a couple of feet in the air with one touch before volleying over the wall but high and wide of the goal. It's the sort of thing that gets replayed a lot on MOTD when it works in the Premiership, I suspect that chap scores about 1 in 10 in training!

From a long throw Shaggy had a header saved, then from a corner again the 'keeper saved a Shaggy header. For some reason Mustoe was replaced by Walker on 32 minutes, so Butler dropped back into midfield. As a tactical ploy it didn't work too well, however perhaps Mustoe was carrying a slight injury and was being saved for next week when Russell is suspended.

So another game where we created loads of chances, but their 'keeper was definitely their player of the game, keeping the score to only 1-0 with a number of fine saves. Despite some quick interpassing, Carlisle didn't cause us many problems, although being only one goal up there was always the worry that a mistake would happen to gift them an equaliser!

My MoM is Benjamin, for getting more powerful shots on target in one game than he has for most of the season!

Van Heusden's kicking was fine this week, perhaps he too had taken part in the shooting practice! The defence looked sound, and both Campbell and Chenery supported the attack by getting forward and crossing well. In the middle Russell was back to his normal outstanding self, controlling the ball, spotting free players and delivering the ball into the right space. How did we pick him up for nothing?

Wanless and Mustoe ran everywhere as usual, and at the front the aerial power of Shaggy gave us more options than last week when he was injured. Butler went all along the front line, holding the ball and making chances for others, and scored his first league goal since October. Walker, when he came on, saw little of the ball.

Ratings:
Van Heusden 7, Chenery 8, Mustoe 7 (Walker 7), Duncan 8, Joseph 8, Campbell 8, Wanless 7, Taylor 8, Butler 8, Benjamin 9, Russell 8

Subs. not used: Kyd, Eustace

The crowd was up on normal (judging by the number of cars parked in Mercers Row at 2pm!) to over 4,100. A good result next week at lowly Scarborough should mean a big crowd the following week for the visit of Scunthorpe, who are just behind us.

Martin Butler scored his first league goal for exactly three months to decide this game, as a superb first half performance gave way to a tense second, but Cambridge United passed their way to a deserved victory and maintained second place in the table.

There was one change today as John Taylor reclaimed his place from Richard Walker after missing out through illness last weekend. Marc Joseph was fit to start despite a scare over a thigh injury, confining new signing Scott Eustace to the bench.

United lost the toss and had to attack the Newmarket Road End in the first half. The game got off to a lively start in cold and damp conditions, and Carlisle underlined their recent resurgence in form by dominating the opening exchanges. They got men behind the ball and counter-attacked well, but United had the first chance as early as the fourth minute. Martin Butler fed the ball to John Taylor, his flick-on found Trevor Benjamin 15 yards out in more space than he realised, and the youngster blazed the shot over.

In the 12th minute no-one closed down Alex Russell as he took possession about 40 yards out, and he was allowed to advance to 25 yards out before rasping a shot just wide. Two minutes later Taylor headed Russell's cross narrowly wide as United got to grips with the game. After 21 minutes United won a freekick 20 yards out and for a change Russell did not take it. Instead Jamie Campbell threaded the ball through their six man wall but Paterson was behind the wall and cleared. Five minutes later United had faint claims for a penalty when Benjamin worked himself an opening but saw his shot parried by Caig, and as Taylor followed up he was sent tumbling to the ground. Referee Mr Robinson was not impressed.

On the half-hour Benjamin hit a great ball down the line to Campbell, whose cross was cut out by Caig as Martin Butler was poised to finish the chance. A couple of minutes later Steve Finney - who had a spell on loan at the Abbey early last season - found Dobie whose shot from the edge of the box was fluffed by Arjan Van Heusden, but the shot was so tame that the Dutch keeper had time to recover. In the 35th minute a Marc Joseph long throw found Taylor, he flicked the ball on to Butler whose diving header was just wide.

Then United took the lead in the 38th minute with the goal that all U's fans have been hoping for. John Taylor put in Trevor Benjamin whose powerful long-range shot was parried by Caig, but the ball was not cleared and Martin Butler pounced to stab home his first league goal since October. Butler's head and workrate have never dropped in that time and the goal was well-deserved.

The U's had dominated the first half but Carlisle exerted some real pressure just before the break, and with a couple of minutes left Paterson's shot from 25 yards took a nasty bounce just in front of Van Heusden and the keeper did well to tip it round the post. (Half-time 1-0)

After the break United started strongly and after just two minutes the unmarked Taylor met a Russell corner only to see his header cleared off the line by Couzens. A few minutes later Tony Hopper was booked for a foul on Ben Chenery that left the young defender looking groggy for a short while, and in the 52nd minute Taylor found Benjamin with a good ball but the striker screwed his shot well wide.

The second half was a tense affair as despite some superb passing and movement, Cambridge failed to kill the game off and Carlisle looked as though they might get back into it. Luckily their play broke down in the final third and chances were few and far between, although they won a freekick just outside the box in the 62nd minute when Dobie appeared to slip just outside the box. The ball was tapped to Couzens who cleverly flipped the ball into the air before volleying over the bar.

Searle rasped a shot just wide in the 77th minute just before three substitutions were made. United's change was an interesting one as Richard Walker replaced not the tiring Taylor but midfielder Neil Mustoe, and scorer Martin Butler dropped into a deeper position. However, Taylor proved his value on the field in the closing stages as his experience helped United to run the clock down, and Carlisle were restricted to just one final chance, when Couzens barged his way into the box but ran into the massed ranks of the U's defence.

This was Cambridge United's NINTH consecutive home victory and proved vital as leaders Cardiff and third placed Scunthorpe won to keep the pace hot at the top of the table. The home crowd of 4,128 is also welcome as word gets around that something exciting is happening at the Abbey Stadium.

Reporter Mark Johnson agreed with the match sponsors in their choice of today's Man of the Match: Martin Butler - "he worked as hard as ever and got that long-overdue league goal".