RANDALL BUTT reports on an Abbey goal spree, which this time only took in the second half, plus another record for United's veteran striker

DAVE WORTHINGTON settled down in the Abbey Stadium directors box at the start of the second half with the contented air of a man floating along in a punt on a sunny day, blissfully unaware of the raging weir just around the bend. It was developing into a happy return to Cambridge for the former Milton Road manager, who had suddenly found himself caretaker boss of Halifax Town three days earlier.

Always dressed in his City days as though he was on his way to a wedding he sat as immaculately as ever in the grandstand while track-suited United boss Roy McFarland shouted, gestured and encroached as far on to the field as the linesman would allow.

Worthington had seen his patched-up team of reserves and kids hold the League leaders during a goalless first half, watched his partially-fit keeper save a controversial penalty and discovered just before the restart he held the team's winning Grand National sweepstake ticket.

"I really thought at the break we could get something out of the match." he said afterwards, bringing back memories of his unbounded optimism during a not particularly successful spell with City. He was not to know, I suppose, United had yet to start playing.

It was 'one of those' first halves, facing the away end, against the kind of hard working, but limited, team, which so often seems to bring the worst out of them.

"We weren't at the races," said Scott Eustace, confusingly, because they weren't in the game much either.

But deservedly savaged by McFarland who told them in essence during the break to "stop messing about," they turned into the best team in the division again as instantly as if someone had thrown a switch. That was the effect of Richard Walker's goal six minutes into the second half, breaking the stalemate and sending Worthington scuttling down to his team's dugout. A gesture which achieved little other than give him a different view of his side's destruction.

United were off and running -- and passing, and thinking much more soundly and sharply than during the disjointed first half. Said McFarland: "It was a laboured performance early on. I wondered whether we'd hit some kind of wall in our play, but once we got them on the run we looked awesome."

Worthington admitted: "We just couldn't handle the power. Cambridge are so strong once they get near your box. I think we did a good job on Benjamin, but they always have somebody else there, especially at the set-pieces."

Powerful Scott Eustace and Paul Wanless are "some body" if you are trying to mark either of them as a high ball drops into your penalty area. Eustace won the penalty before setting up Walker's goal, then Wanless got the equally important second midway through the second half.

Goodness knows what the score might have been if Martin Butler had provided the spark United needed, a little earlier, from the 38th minute spot kick. Handball on the goal line, missed by the referee but spotted by a linesman, gave the striker his chance. But according to Benjamin, Butler changed his mind about the direction of his kick, which led to him hitting the ball straight at the keeper then somehow doing it again when presented with a simple tap-in from the rebound.

The let-off boosted the Yorkshiremen's resistance, but with goalkeeper Shaun Marshall's uncharacteristic nervousness the only threat to United's goal, they always looked like the supporting act on the bill.

United were completely in control as the match developed into the John Taylor show. Five minutes after going on as substitute he supplied the pass to help Butler forget about the penalty, then produced a fabulous finale. A superb solo goal in front of the dancing Corona Kop added the club's League goals record to his overall best -- 75 in the League, 91 in all competitions.

"Two points clear at the top, a record goal, and all the other results going for us again," he said. "If that's not a perfect day I don't know what is. I probably would have picked the National winner, but I've given up gambling."

An admirable example in these days of "bad boy" soccer stars which will no doubt be applauded by all United fans, including those who got 25-1 and 33-1 at the start of the season against United finishing as champions.

"We could have got a point" the Halifax manager fussed. United let their football talk ... "eat our Championship dust."

This season appears to be flowing according to some dream like script, perhaps it is being written and controlled by God him very self. I can picture him now sitting in the clouds over the Abbey Stadium, wearing his United top, pulling the levers which guide United to promotion in the most emotional and stunning way possible.

It could have happened on a cold Wednesday night in Swansea or a dreary half filled stadium in Darlington ... but destiny forbade it. John Taylor's 86th minute strike in front of the Newmarket Road end and a packed Abbey Stadium took him past Alan Biley's goalscoring record and etched another page in his legendary United history book. If the Abbey Stadium had a roof ... it would have been blown off.

The game had started with United having territorial advantage, but found the Shaymen's defence in resilient mood for the opening exchanges. The game then lapsed into a rather strange pattern, with United looking the most likely team to score, but with Halifax being given hope as Shaun Marshall was having a nightmare between the sticks. His kicking was nothing short of diabolical for the first period, and it would be fair to say this unsettled the whole team. Just after the half hour mark he kicked the ball straight into a Halifax player, but luckily Ian Ashbee was on hand to clear the resulting danger.

For the last few minutes in the half United started to show signs that they were discovering the penetrating attack play needed to score. A succession of corners and swift attacks lead to chants of "We're gonna score in a minute" from the Abbey. It seemed they would be proved correct as seconds later United were generously awarded a penalty by referee Mr. Kirby after the Sheffield official spotted a foul on the goal line. Martin Butler stepped up and missed not only the penalty, but two rebounds as well. This summed up the half perfectly: Halifax were hanging on bravely whilst United were ultimately left frustrated and not playing to the height of their ability.

The second half story was as explicitly different as you can get. We didn't just beat Halifax ... we battered them to submission with a ruthlessly high standard of attacking football, first demanding, then taking the points off them like some cruel playground bully who was using superior size and power to get what he wanted. It only took a few minutes before United grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. Richard Walker scored his third goal of the season as he smashed the ball home from 4 yards after first Wanless then Eustace had scuffed attempts into his path.

This goal was the key to the floodgates, and it is remarkable it wasn't until after the hour mark that the lead was extended. Paul Wanless had an acrobatic scissor-kick saved shortly after Walker's goal, but made up for it by powering a downward header past the helpless keeper to maintain his prolific strike rate as he met a 67th minute corner.

Halifax looked a pale shadow of the team who twice led United at the Shay earlier this season. They showed none of the vision or awareness on the ball which earlier in the season saw them occupy top spot. This second goal seemed to crush any remaining hope, but they can look to one incident that certainly didn't go their way and could have altered the match. Shaun Marshall managed to improve his kicking slightly during the second half but shortly after the Wanless goal, came out of his area, stumbled, and controlled the ball with his hands. The referee was obviously not in a mood to upset the man hovering in the clouds ... so waved play on.

Trevor Benjamin is getting back to the form we remember from the early stages of the season, and saw a stunning header fly inches over on 75 minutes. Roy McFarland then made three changes in the space of two minutes. Unfortunately one of them was enforced, as Neil Mackenzie was stretchered off with a suspected sprained ankle that could see him miss the rest of the season. Marc Joseph replaced the former Stoke midfielder, who had been busy and creative on the ball up to this point. The other two changes were tactical substitutions. Richard Walker and Neil Mustoe made way for Paul Bruce and John Taylor as United looked to cruise home to victory.

One thing the team has been lacking of late are Marc Joseph guided missiles into the box. It didn't take him long to get back into the swing of things as he launched a long throw into the Halifax penalty area which John Taylor neatly flicked on to allow Martin Butler to hammer home his 21st goal of the season.

Taylor then began to play like a 20-year-old, and looks to have benefited from the brief rest he has had. Ian Darler won groundsman of the year this week. This may well have been due to the fact he has had to make the Abbey Stadium tuft conduct electricity as John Taylor's boots have been supercharged this season. The entrance of the 'King' meant one thing ... all aboard the Taylor made Technicolor showboat. "We all live in a Shaggy Wonderland!" were the cries as the veteran turned on the style and scored a goal to remember. He robbed a defender, rounded the keeper and slotted home the record-breaking goal with the clock registering 84 minutes.

It was a breathtaking second half performance from United, which mean promotion and indeed the title are now expected that little bit more. We have won our last two matches, but what I expect will please Roy McFarland nearly as much as the six points is the fact not one United player has been booked. This means the deadline of the suspension rule can be passed without any more suspensions, meaning we will be at near full strength for the last 7 games of the season. The last seven games ... this is how close we are after this latest Abbey triumph moved us 8 points clear inside the automatic promotion zone.

Swift attacking football such as that witnessed in the second half of this victory is bound to be more than enough to grasp the five or six more points we need to secure promotion. I am just a bit worried we are going to be too efficient and complete the job before the day the man in the clouds has put in his diary ... April 24th.

Man of the match: John 'Shaggy' Taylor only played 13 minutes of football, but managed to find the time to first create, then score a goal as he turned back the clock once again. In fact my eyes almost well up when I realise he can't go on doing this forever ...

Well another three points in the bag.

I think that was probably one of the most one sided matches I have seen for ages, we simply kept battering away at them until we got through and once we'd scored there was only going to be one outcome.

It was clear from the start that the Halifax objective was simply not to lose in the hope of steadying their ship after a rocky week, luckily though we had our scoring boots on and could have won by a much bigger margin.

I did get a bit jittery after Butler missed the penalty and then somehow managed to miss two rebounds before Halifax cleared and the thought that it might just not be our day started to creep into my mind.

Once Walker got the opener though any resolve that Halifax had simply dissolved into thin air and it was a bit of a romp, I thought Walker capped his best game in a U's shirt with that goal and richly deserved the applause he got when he was replaced by Shaggy near the end.

I must admit that I thought Wanless got the second (teletext agrees) but on radio Cambs the goal was given to Eustace.

Best goal of the day though has to be Shaggys....what a way to break the record with a fine individual effort, the bloke is priceless and the look of ecstasy on his face when he cracked the ball home just goes to show how much scoring goals for Cambridge United means to him.

My man of the match goes to Ashbee who played superbly at right back but he only just nicked it IMO from Mustoe who also had a great game.

Eustace was excellent again and simply has to be one of the best centre halves in Div 3 on his current performances and Joseph has a real job on his hands to regain his place. Marshall had a weird game, he had virtually nothing to do yet contrived to make some startling howlers with his kicking and first touch from back passes. It was great to see big Trev doing what he does best again, his game is more about power and aggression and he certainly seemed to show more of both today than he has for a while.

The down side was the injury to MacKenzie, I though he was having a great game but I missed the events that led to his injury, seems as if he's twisted his ankle and will be out for a couple of weeks which is a shame because he adds that little bit to the team, he's like a midfield version of Martin Butler.

All in all though a great day and a fine result and with Cardiff,Brentford and Scunthorpe all dropping points this win was even more vital.

Say "WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE, SAY WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!"

Roy McFarland made one enforced change to the side that beat Brighton on Tuesday night, handing the number two shirt to Ian Ashbee in place of the suspended Ben Chenery. Scott Eustace was passed fit to start despite an injury scare earlier this week, and Marc Joseph made a welcome return to the squad after several weeks out with a thigh injury. He sat alongside John Taylor and Paul Bruce on the bench. The match kicked off in sunny conditions.

The first half saw Halifax defending stoutly and in numbers while Cambridge United exerted all the pressure and forcing any number of corners, without creating many clear scoring chances. Our first chance came in the second minute when Halifax keeper Lee Martin dropped a corner kick, the ball came to Paul Wanless whose cross was blocked as far as Neil MacKenzie, the midfielder found Jamie Campbell whose cross was caught by the keeper.

There followed a less than sparkling period in which United ought to have scored but it wasn't quite working, and the next goal chance came after half an hour when Stansfield's clearance was blocked by Richard Walker 35 yards out, but the ball sailed just wide. Then three minutes later a Mustoe corner was again spilled by the keeper but Paul Wanless' shot was blocked by Martin Butler.

In the 37th minute came United's best chance to score when a penalty was awarded at the away end. A header from Scott Eustace was handled and spotted by the linesman who drew the referee's attention. Top scorer Martin Butler stepped up but struck the ball straight at the keeper who pushed the ball away with his left hand, then recovered quickly to save the rebound as Butler pounced again and was denied twice more before the ball was eventually scrambled away.

United enjoyed two further chances before half-time: Under pressure Halifax defender Richard Lucas looped a backpass inches wide of his own goal in the 41st minute and a minute later Richard Walker got away down the right but his cross was headed over by Butler. United finished the half on top but no-one could have had any idea of how the game would end. (Half-time 0-0)

United resumed after the break as they had finished the first half, on the attack, and took the lead in the 51st minute. Martin Butler raced down the right and crossed to Trevor Benjamin whose diving header was deflected wide for yet another corner. The cross was mis-kicked by Scott Eustace to Richard Walker who finished from close range for his third goal of the season.

The goal sparked a second half spree and three minutes later Eustace again got up to meet a corner and knocked the ball down for Wanless to flash an overhead kick just wide of the post. Just afterwards Martin Butler nearly found Walker in the box after a neat turn on the edge of the area but was foiled by a defender, and on the hour he ran into the box only to be blocked by two defenders. United kept the relentless pressure on and in the 64th minute Walker's shot on the turn from the edge of the box was angled just wide of the post, and three minutes later Paul Wanless extended the lead. His third goal in four games came from a Neil Mustoe corner and the United skipper rose to meet the ball with a thumping header.

Trevor Benjamin had the next chance after 70 minutes, causing a massive intake of breath from the Newmarket Road End when he met Jamie Campbell's cross but flashed his header just over the bar. There was another intake of breath, but for a very different reason, four minutes later. Justin Jackson was chasing a through ball and Shaun Marshall came out of his area to meet him, stumbled and fell onto the ball, making contact with his hand before kicking it away. As everyone looked to the referee for his reaction he waved play on, and to say the Halifax bench were animated about his decision would be the understatement of the season!

Jamie Patterson had replaced Brown in the 70th minute and six minutes later his 30 yard speculative shot was watched by Marshall as it sailed wide. In the 78th minute Roy McFarland made two changes, taking off scorer Richard Walker and Neil Mustoe and sending on John Taylor and Paul Bruce to torment a beleaguered Halifax. He had to make another unforeseen change just two minutes later when Neil MacKenzie had to be stretchered off after an awkward fall, which paved the way for Marc Joseph to make an early comeback.

He slotted into defence and Ian Ashbee - who had an outstanding game as stand-in right-back - moved into midfield, and Joseph was to have an early effect on the game. His long throw in the 83rd minute was flicked on by John Taylor to Martin Butler, and from inside the box he produced a predatory strike for his 21st goal of the season. The 34-year-old player coach was to make a further and ultimately historic impact as, looking fresh after his two game 'rest', he created havoc in the Halifax defence by winning balls and exhorting his team-mates to keep the pressure on.

In the 87th minute Taylor robbed a defender and burst into the box and, although Trevor Benjamin was well placed and unmarked, he held off the defender and rounded the keeper before cooly tucking home his 75th league goal for Cambridge United in front of an adoring home end. He ran to the fans and ripped off his shirt to celebrate in a Patrick club T-shirt as he was mobbed by his team-mates.

It was Shaggy's 17th goal of the season, a tally he could never have dreamed about at the start of the season, and now the question is can he reach a century of goals for United by hitting nine more? It's a tall order but then so was Alan Biley's record at the start of the season!

Reporter Mark Johnson had no hesitation in naming his Man of the Match, despite the fact that the man was only on the pitch for 12 minutes! "John Taylor", he said, "it's got to be. He scored one and made one; it's his day."

The icing on the cake was the result at Brisbane Road where a Jeff Eckhardt own goal ensured that Leyton Orient drew 1-1 with Cardiff, and at Scunthorpe where the Iron and Brentford fought out a 0-0 draw.

Mpeg clips of today's goals are already on the web site in the usual place, courtesy of James Mitchell.