ONE of the supposed "worst times" to concede a goal brought the best out of Cambridge United in a clash which confirmed their promotion credentials.

Chester City's penalty equaliser on the stroke of half time might have given the in- form visitors the edge. But combined with some well-chosen words from manager Roy McFarland, and noisy backing from another good Abbey Stadium crowd, the shock of the setback had the effect of a prince's kiss on his slumbering side.

They tore into Chester from the restart, and once Jamie Campbell restored the lead nine minutes into the half, United always looked on their way to their eighth consecutive home win, and second place in the Third Division table. It was a dramatic contrast to the first half performance, as McFarland was quick to admit.

"We picked it up well," he said. "We like playing that way towards our fans don't we. But we needed to improve quite a bit. We were slow and sluggish in the latter part of the first half. There was no urgency, right from the goalkeeper through the team. We were too static, and there were quite bad lapses of concentration.

"When I looked at the fixtures for January this was the one which stood out as a tricky one, because Chester play good football. And when they hit back it confirmed that. So I said, come on we've got to get those second balls, sort out our shape and play our football.

"And there was an excellent response. We caught them right from the restart. Paul Wanless was important I thought in getting us on top, and with the wind at our backs we were able to control things once we scored, although without really pressing home our advantage."

The absence of virus victim John Taylor was probably a factor in United failing to go on and beat a beleagured Chester side by a couple more goals. His composure and experience were lacking as too many chances fizzled out in poor runs or wayward passes.

Rookie Richard Walker could not be expected to have the player/coach's ability to arrive in the right area at the right time, but overall it was another encouraging display from the Aston Villa loanee who just needs to build the confidence to be more positive around the 18 yards box.

Once United's midfield got the kind of grip however which led to Chester's Shaun Reid being substituted after 71 minutes, Trevor Benjamin was able to give fullback Ross Davidson a torrid time, and Martin Butler's skill and strength might have brought him a couple of goals with a bit more luck.

Chester keeper Neil Cutler made a superb save to push away his stinging drive in the 74th minute. And the striker was blatantly pulled back in a crowded penalty area when he threatened to score midway through the first half.

Referee Matt Messias took no action until he blew his whistle a few seconds after the incident to halt the goalmouth melee, then amazingly awarded a free kick to Chester. It was to rebound on them though, and indirectly make a major contribution to United's victory.

The Abbey supporters, disgusted by the decision, and further incensed by the penalty award against their team - as most true fans are, irrespective of the degree of justice (which was quite high in this case) - had a notable effect on the game after the interval. They howled their expletive derision at Mr Messias, and pumped up the volume to such an extent as United raced straight into the attack that it appeared to unsettle a Chester side in a division where crowd noise is not always noticeable.

"Their fans got behind them well," said goalkeeper Cutler. "With Cambridge having that wind behind them as well, the ball just kept on coming back, and we felt under pressure for most of the second half."

His manager Kevin Ratcliffe had no doubt where the game was won and lost: "Cambridge took over midfield in the second half," he said. "We just couldn't get enough pull to push them back."

In the first half the angles of the passes into the box gave the United attack little chance to make Cutler work, apart from Russell's 38th minute cross for Wanless's goal, and the Neil Mustoe move which set-up Walker for an attempt he skied over the crossbar from close range just before the break.

But the entire Chester defence had a tough time keeping United at bay in the second half, in which Arjan Van Heusden had no need to make anything like the kind of reflex save which foiled Chester's only moment of real danger from open play, a Chris Priest shot through a throng of players in the 40th minute.

Cambridge United rocketed up to second place in Division Three, and recorded their eighth consecutive home victory. Once again though, United diced with death and were fortunate to gain all the points after a poor first half performance that never really grasped the imagination of the crowd.

United started the match off reasonably brightly, with on-loan striker Richard Walker making some good runs down the right flank. He was felled twice in the opening five minutes, but on both occasions poor distribution from the free kicks enabled Chester to clear their lines with ease.

United should have used this early promise as a platform to build on, but never really got going during the first period. The standard of play was a disorganised, undisciplined mess for much of the half. Chester forced a succession of corners and near misses during a spell where they looked the more creative and ambitious side. John Murphy had a free header following a corner, but headed wide when it looked easier to score. Arjan Van Heusden had to make a fine save low to his right hand post on 30 minutes after Conroy had out-jumped the United defence to power a header towards goal. Then giant striker John Murphy broke free of Campbell down the right, but the defender recovered just in time with a last ditch tackle. United were all over the place, giving possession away like some late Christmas present, and struggling to keep Chester at bay.

Once again United were fortunate not to have their elongated lack of concentration punished by their opponents, who at times looked a better team than their lowly league position might suggest. The U's slowly, then surely crept back into the game. Trevor Benjamin started to take defenders on, and Martin Butler began to look sharp in and around the box. Alex Russell and Neil Mustoe were capitalising on woeful Chester defending as United pegged the visits against the wall, and eventually took the lead.

Paul Wanless, the scorer of two goals against Chester in our 3-0 victory at the Deva Stadium earlier this season, popped up at the far post to meet an accurate Alex Russell cross and directed a powerful header downwards, and eventually into the back of the City goal. It was a welcome strike for the midfielder, which was his first since scoring during the victory over Hull some three months ago, and his first goal at the Abbey since United defeated Doncaster last season.

United could not build on the lead however, and continued to look shaky in midfield and uncertain at the back. Marc Joseph was carrying on where he left off against Exeter in midweek, and it was up to Andy Duncan to once again keep our heads above the water. There is no defending however against poor refereeing decisions, and Mr Messias seemed happy to reward John 'Ginola' Murphy a penalty for his 45th minute dive in the United box. Perhaps the tall centre forward would consider a cameo role in Neighbours, as he displayed the level of acting necessary to entertain the average viewer, and fool a very average referee.

Andy Crosby dispatched a fine penalty, sending Arjan Van Heusden the wrong way and denying the Keeper' the opportunity to make up for some appalling first half distribution which was a major contributing factor to the unbalanced first half team display. Chester were back in the game, but would no doubt be wary their controversial stoppage time equaliser would rattle the U's cage during the second half, and they would be proved right. In fact, the lead should have been reclaimed even before the half time whistle had been blown, but Richard Walker failed to control the ball at the far post and fired a shot high and wide of the gaping target.

The U's emerged for the second half in energetic mood, closing down on Chester every time they gained possession. Neil Mustoe started to run his socks off at both ends of the pitch, and led surge after surge of swift attacking moves, taking the play deep into the heart of the City defence at every available opportunity. Martin Butler was set free shortly after the restart, but the confidence starved centre forward did well to beat a Chester defender, but found his final shot lacking enough power to test Neil Cutler in the opponent's goal. The United midfield simply started to look irresistible, a rampant unit who were dismantling Chester with a swift fluent passing game.

The United faithful would not have too wait long for their team's added enthusiasm to be rewarded. After 54 minutes Jamie Campbell latched onto a Paul Wanless pass and struck a low shot through a body of players and watched the ball deflect off the instep of Alex Smith before slipping between keeper' and post to put United back in the lead. His original shot was going well wide, but the welcome intervention and slice of luck produced by the boot of Alex Smith served as yet another reminder that this season we appear to have something we have been lacking over the last few years, luck.

It would not be easy though to dismiss this latest conquest as being down to luck, as for the remainder of the match United set about toying with the Chester defence, seemingly able to twist the knife and watch them squirm whenever they wanted. Chester knew they couldn't cope, and set their stall out to defend in numbers and break with pace. To put it bluntly though, this never really looked like working, and Chester were fortunate that Martin Butler and Trevor Benjamin were below their best for much of the encounter, or they could have been facing a cricket score. Butler had the chances, which on another day would have seen him net a hat trick. Another lively Mustoe run set him free on 76 minutes, but he struck a poor shot into the feet of Cutler to ensure his league goal famine would continue into it's fourth month.

United eased off the throttle for the final few minutes, and had to endure a rare occurrence, Chester City inside their penalty area. The Welshmen (or is that half Welsh?) had a strong penalty appeal turned down on 80 minutes, which perhaps evened things up from the first half. Mike Conroy was upended in the box following a strong Campbell challenge in which he didn't appear to get much of the ball, but to the relief of the crowd the appeals were ignored.

A fine second half performance from United secured the three points, and their highest league position for over a year. The most disappointing thing to come out of the game was Alex Russell's 32nd minute yellow card, taking him to five for the season and thus an automatic one game suspension. I am not sure if he was aware of this, as for the remainder of the game showed only glimpses of the play he has been able to sustain through the full 90 minutes of many of the matches he has played this season.

It was pleasing once again to view United upping the tempo, capable of stepping up a gear in order to get the result. With six consecutive home league victories, it is starting to become apparent that this year we are not planning to crash and burn into mid-table oblivion. We are made of stronger, determined and ultimately championship material.

Man of the Match: Neil Mustoe led the second half onslaught, and was the driving force in a very good midfield team performance. Showed the vision, creation and fighting ability necessary to turn the match after a poor decision had given Chester a lifeline.

What a day! Peter, Dave and me put our Supporters Club draw tickets in a heap, and each drew out 2 strips each, and guess who won? Unexpectedly it was Dave who won a lottery ticket, so he could by now be a millionaire! As expected "Fat Bloke" who takes the money at the door won, again!!

United started a bit below par as they had on Tuesday, passes being over hit or miss-placed. The first real chance came on 9 minutes, Benjamin beat his defender to put over a long cross to Walker at the back post, who knocked the ball back to Butler, but his header was saved easily.

5 minutes later a low cross from Walker was cleared from just in front of Butler for a corner, from which their keeper punched out to Duncan who shot over. Chester made a chance on 19 minutes by getting to the goal line, the cut back cross however was headed high and wide from around 12 yards. Almost immediately we caused problems in their penalty area which was halted by a free kick to them. The referee then started the first of a few odd decisions, giving Chester a corner from a free kick when no-one touched the ball, but nothing came of it.

Butler made a bit of space and crossed to the far post but Benjamin was a bit slow getting into position, then a interpassing good move involving Butler, Russell and Walker gave Butler a chance but his shot went just wide. Chester managed a shot on target on 28 minutes, it deflected off Campbell and despite a lot of spin was saved easily by Van Heusden.

Russell got booked for a late tackle, probably due to his annoyance over a poor pass he'd just made. Walker was showing some good turns, and from one his curling shot to the far post was just tipped away for a corner by their 'keeper. We scored after 37 minutes, a short corner involving Russell, Mustoe and Butler resulted in a long cross to Wanless unmarked at the far post where he headed in.

2 minutes later Van Heusden made a good save low to his right to block a powerful header from around 16 yards which came through a crowd of players. He must have seen it very late.

On 44 minutes a low cross into the edge of our penalty area was knocked away by Joseph getting his foot in front of the forward, who then fell over Joseph's leg. To the surprise of everyone the referee gave a penalty, which was converted easily. Just before the half time whistle blew Mustoe and Butler combined to give Walker a shooting chance, but he blasted the ball high over the bar.

At the start of the second half they had a player booked for blocking a quickly taken free kick, soon after Walker had a shot easily saved. We regained the lead when the ball fell to Campbell after a corner and his shot spun into the corner of the net just out of reach of the 'keeper after being deflected by a defender. It seemed to go in slow motion!

Chester's only real opportunity of the half came from a poor back pass from Duncan, luckily for him Mustoe got back to make a good tackle. We continued attacking, Butler had a header from a Benjamin cross saved, Wanless had a shot blocked then almost immediately had another chance but sliced his shot wide when a pass to Benjamin would have put him clear. Butler got clear from a good pass from Walker, but the 'keeper came out quickly and saved with his feet.

Walker was replaced by Kyd with 6 minutes left and had a shot blocked with his first touch. Mustoe had a shot blocked after a low corner to the edge of their penalty area, then Butler had a shot saved from the following corner.

So another 3 points without really hitting top form, the home winning run continues and we move up to second place. I think it is good to see goalscorers from all over the pitch.

My MOM is Martin Butler. He continually chased lost causes, harried defenders, made chances and was unlucky not to score. His last league goal was at Mansfield at the end of October, the league goal drought must surely come to an end soon.

Apart from one good save Van Heusden had little to do, however more work is required on his kicking from back passes. The rest of the team performed adequately, which may seem a bit harsh, but as Arsene Wenger said, sometimes you have to make do with sausages when you're used to caviar! Campbell this week managed to keep most of his passes up the line to Benjamin on the pitch instead of into the stand. The defence looked solid, helped by the running of Mustoe, Russell and Wanless from midfield. Benjamin got past his defender a few times and put in some decent crosses, but without Taylor as a target we were a little lightweight at the front when it came to the aerial ball. Walker as I said looks good on the ball and can lose defenders with a turn. Kyd had little time to do anything much.

Ratings:
Van Heusden 6, Chenery 7, Mustoe 7, Duncan 7, Joseph 7, Campbell 7, Wanless 7, Walker 7 (Kyd 6), Butler 8, Benjamin 7, Russell 7

Next weekend it would be nice if Brentford can take a point at leaders Cardiff, and Scunthorpe lose at Scarborough, which after our thrashing of Carlisle would consolidate our second place and widen the gap to third.

A stunning second half performance from Cambridge United swept aside a good Chester City side and propelled the U's to second in the table.

There was one enforced change to the side with Richard Walker replacing John Taylor who missed out through illness. Neil Mustoe was fit to start despite being a slight doubt yesterday.

This was a game that was a great advert for third division football; skillful, exciting football played in chilly mid-winter conditions. Striker Trevor Benjamin gave Chester's Ross Davidson a torrid time all afternoon, and in the tenth minute he got away from him again before putting over a deep cross that was retrieved by Richard Walker. The Aston Villa youngster passed to Martin Butler but the shot was straight at Neil Cutler, a man who was going to have a busy afternoon in the Chester goal.

Moments later Andy Duncan's freekick was inches away from Benjamin's outstretched boot, and in the fifteenth minute Benjamin found Walker whose cross towards Butler was headed over his own bar by Davidson. Walker had probably his best game in front of the Abbey crowd this afternoon, showing glimpses of his class, and a few more games should see him on the same wavelength as his teammates more frequently.

United had what looked like a justifiable penalty claim turned down in the 22nd minute after Walker met Jamie Campbell's freekick and headed the ball back to Martin Butler. The striker was hauled back which prompted appeals for a penalty but referee Matt Messias was not, however, impressed. Chester came closest to scoring just before the half-hour when Nick Richardson struck a 25 yard effort, but the ball curled conveniently into Arjan Van Heusden's arms.

Walker was involved again for United when he jinked into the area after 35 minutes and wrong-footed Matt Woods, but his curling, goalbound shot was tipped round the post by a diving Cutler. United then forced a string of corners which culminated in the first goal after 38 minutes. Paul Wanless did brilliantly to reach a long cross from Alex Russell and he glanced home his fourth goal of the season, but the first at the Abbey.

Two minutes later Chester could have levelled the scores from a corner of their own, but Chris Priest's goalbound header was seen late by Van Heusden who produced a reflex save. Then in the 45th minute John Murphy cut into the area, Marc Joseph seemed to have won the ball but Murphy hit the ground and a penalty was awarded. Andy Crosby stepped up and placed the ball straight under the crossbar as Van Heusden dived. In first half injury-time Neil Mustoe found Butler in the area, he miscued a shot that found its way to Walker, but from eight yards out he blazed wide. (Half-time 1-1)

You could be forgiven for expecting that a penalty late in the first half would give Chester the momentum to attack and possibly go on and win the game, but instead Cambridge United produced a breathtaking 20 minutes of football. The midfield unit of Mustoe, Russell and Wanless was at the heart of it all, running, passing and probing as the U's displayed their full range of skills, and it is to Chester's credit that they were not completely swept aside.

In the 51st minute United broke out in a sweet four-man move, culminating in a curling left foot shot from Martin Butler that was saved by Cutler, after Alex Russell had released the striker. United were on a charge and produced another string of corners, and in the 54th minute the lead was restored. Russell's cross was flicked on by Wanless to Jamie Campbell who swept the ball in from just inside the penalty box.

After 62 minutes Murphy beat Mustoe but the ball ran away from him as he advanced into the box, and that was Chester's only chance of the half. They are a good side but their manager Kevin Ratcliffe admitted after the game that our midfield unit won the game for United. With twenty minutes left Butler and Walker combined to put in Wanless, but the skipper's shot was blocked by Crosby.

Martin Butler's unselfish work upfront was nearly rewarded a couple of times before the final whistle, first in the 74th minute when a great through ball from (possibly) Mustoe left him one-on-one with Cutler, but the Chester keeper was out quickly to block the shot with his legs. Then in the 87th minute a neat corner routine ended with Butler's shot on the turn, but his shot flew straight at Cutler.

Today's was a very exciting game between two good sides, decided by a superb second half showing from United, and it is fitting that reporter Mark Johnson's man of the match should be the heartbeat of the U's side. His choice is Paul Wanless for "a buccaneering performance in midfield and a great goal".

This eighth consecutive home win lifted United to second in the table, two points clear of Scunthorpe and Brentford (who have a game in hand), and five points behind Cardiff with a game in hand on the leaders.

Roy McFarland revealed afterwards that a half-time roasting did the trick for his team when he said, "We were slow and sluggish in the first half and I made my views very clear."