RANDALL BUTT reports from London Road as United are foiled by the Posh keeper in the Cambridgeshire derby

IT WOULD have taken a mountain of jelly babies to sweeten the bitter pill of this derby defeat for Cambridge United. Trailing 2-1 at the break, after leading briefly, they pounded Posh throughout a pulsating second half but were kept at bay by the brilliance of goalkeeper Mark Tyler.

Only recalled to the team at the weekend after being dropped for four games, he was inspired by the occasion to produce the form which last season seemed set to whisk him away to a big club.

"I don't know how he kept out my header," said United skipper Paul Wanless. "I called for the ball, got power behind it from pretty close range, and, as I fell, I expected to see it finishing up in the net.

"We knew our run had to end sometime, but nobody wanted it to happen in this match. We didn't have a very good first half, but we had most of the play in the second, and we are all gutted, for the fans as much as ourselves."

That one-handed save to deflect the ball for a corner came a quarter of an hour into the second half, after Martin Butler missed two half-chances to get a vital early equaliser, and before Tyler pulled off a hat-trick of breathtaking saves from John Taylor.

None of the 2,900 United supporters in the third division's biggest crowd of the season -- 10,168 -- would have had much trouble making out a case for their side deserving victory, let alone a point. Most of the action in the second half was right there in front of their wall of sound, another reason for praising Tyler's brave display.

But, overall, Posh had a fair claim to a deserved win in a contest Wanless correctly predicted would make a nonsense of the League positions. They exposed United's chronic need for more experience in defence when they hit back from a goal down after 19 minutes to lead five minutes later.

Led by nippy Welsh under-21 international midfielder Simon Davies, they probably created more clear-cut chances, and could match United, near miss for near miss. Andrew Edwards crashed a 20-yarder against the crossbar with Shaun Marshall beaten just before the break. And, in the second half, Alex Russell headed an Andy Legg corner kick off the goal-line, before ex-United striker Steve Butler wasted two great opportunities to make it 3-1 from breakaways in the 62nd and 80th minutes.

What made it so frustrating for United, though, was that they were doing everything right in attack for the last half an hour, hitting the target much more often than Posh, but without any reward.

When Taylor's head was not flicking passes on for Butler, Wanless or Trevor Benjamin, it was in his hands, as he too wondered how the keeper "got to that one."

It was an angry -- with each other -- United team who went off at the interval, after letting the lead slip due to some dozy defending and slack midfield play. Davies and battling skipper Steve Castle gave Posh the edge. And it took United too long to realise Crystal Palace loanee Leon McKenzie, although quick and dangerous on the break, is ludicrously one-footed for a professional footballer. He just about manages to stand on his right.

United got the kind of positive start they needed to the second half, however, their early pressure tempting Posh into the trap of defending more deeply. And with Wanless and Ian Ashbee getting a grip in midfield, Russell's passing became a much greater influence on the game. But there was one factor, unknown to the fans, which may well have let back-pedalling Posh off the hook.

Benjamin was suffering from the symptoms of tonsillitis, and was weakening by the minute after the break. United were laying siege to the home goal without their battering ram. There was some enjoyment for the amber army, at the other end when Steve Butler, who they despise for leaving the Abbey two years ago just after signing a new contract, fired and headed wide of virtually open goals.

But then there was only misery as a much-better header and shot from Taylor were blocked by the keeper at point-blank range, before Tyler topped a tremendous display by saving at the striker's feet a minute from time.

United dropped to sixth after a match which produced terrific entertainment, but also stirred a suspicion that they may be a player or two short of a promotion squad.

A pint in the Fox at Bar Hill, left there about 6:15, in the ground just after 7:00. A good turn out of Moosenetters, including ex-secretary Ste. Referee was Mr Rejer, Ste was quite happy with him.

No flare at the United end, this time the boring fans had one. £1.50 for a programme which was not particularly good. I can't understand why they built a big stand, then not put any barriers at the front. When anything happened a few people approched the side of the pitch, so a line of police had to rush in front of them before they could cause trouble. Also in the old stand the normal bunch of thugs meant a line of police had to be used to keep them from the United fans in the stand.

As always in a local derby game current form is no indicator as to how the game will go. Boring had the first real chance, a deflected shot easily held by Marshall. We got our first corner after 8 minutes. Martin Butler had a good run at their defence, unfortunately his shot was past the far post. on 15 minutes a long free kick to our back post gave them a chance but the header was straight at Marshall.

Shaggy got booked for a late but limp tackle, the boring player going down like a sack of potatoes. We scored on 18 minutes, a long kick from Marshall was headed around the edge of their area by Taylor and Butler before Benjamin forced the ball in. The quiet boring fans went silent. Unfortunately 2 minutes later our defence failed to close down quick enough and they equalised with a long shot which woke them up. Bad went to worse when we lost posession in their half, the long ball knocked on to McKenzie (who looked offside) his shot went in at the near post, Marshall getting a touch but unable to keep it out.

We then had a good period, Wanless had a shot saved and Benjamin was unable to convert the rebound, then their 'keeper saved again from Wanless and a Benjamin turn and shot was deflected away. They had a quick break through the middle which Duncan thwarted with a good covering tackle. We forced more corners, Campbell heading over from one of them.

5 minutes from half time they hit the bar with a shot, the follow up being cleared eventually. Benjamin had been the subject of some very close marking, often being fouled and getting the free kick. While defending he beat their player who then "bear hugged" him to stop him getting away. The player was not booked! 1-2 at half time in an end to end game, though a draw would have been a fair result so far.

We kicked off the second half, and were much quicker than in the first half, Ashbee getting round the back in the first minute, but his shot went into the side netting. They had a chance, a shot on the turn saved by Marshall. Ashbee hed a good run through the middle, fed Butler who turned and shot but well wide. on 53 minutes a long free kick was headed back across goal by Taylor, again Butler shot on the turn but wide.

Their keeper then made a superb save from a Wanless diving header when the equaliser looked in. Steve Butler missed a chance for them. McNeil was booked for a sliding tackle that just caught the man as he toe poked the ball past him. Benjamin was subjected to a couple of tackles from behind that were not given, which prompted ex-secretary to retract his original thoughts on the referee!

Benjamin had a powerful shot touched over by their 'keeper for a corner. After 73 minutes Benjamin went off for Kyd. We continued to make chances, Taylor missed his kick from a cross and Kyd had a weak shot easily saved. Steve Butler missed a good chance for them again. 10 minutes from the end Preece came on for Ashbee.

Their 'keeper again made a good save from someone, and the rebound went straight into his arms. Russell put a free kick a yard over, Kyd shot across goal, Russell had a header saved and Taylor was also unlucky when the 'keeper saved again. So we lost 1-2. However on the performance we will win more games than they will. When they miskicked the ball went straight to one of their players, when we miskicked it went straight to one of their players too!

In a derby game big hearts and lots of running is required. If Mustoe had been playing I think we would have had control of midfield for much longer. Similarly if Joseph had been at the back he would have kept control of Steve Butler better. We created more chances, especially in the second half. Quite how they voted for someone other than their keeper as their MoM is beyond me.

On our side Russell looked a class above the rest and is my MOM. Martin Butler could have easily had a hat trick, Benjamin and Taylor could also have scored a couple each. Marshall had little to save, but caused a few heart flutters when he was robbed from a back pass, luckily nothing came of it.

Ratings are difficult after a defeat, but here goes:
Marshall 6, Chenery 7, Ashbee 7 (Preece 6), Duncan 7, McNeil 6, Campbell 7, Wanless 7, Taylor 7, Butler 7, Benjamin 7 (Kyd 7), Russell 8

Cambridge United missed out on the chance to go clear at the top of Division Three as arch rivals Peterborough gave a fine display of how passion and commitment to the cause can be invaluable in local derbies. It would perhaps be unfair to say that the United team were not 'up for it' but true to point out that the spirited Peterborough team were first to the ball and had an extra yard of pace for much of this hard fought and entertaining encounter.

The game started under a cloud of smoke produced by a flare before kick off, unfortunately for United though on the pitch it was Peterborough who displayed the flair and tempo as they took the game to us in the early stages. Former United hit man Steve Butler was causing the United defence many problems as he was showing neat control on the ball and excellent vision with his passing which threatened on more than one occasion to give them the lead.

Up front United were looking their usual selves with Taylor, Russell and Butler linking well and providing the powerful Benjamin with the opportunity to take on defenders. On 18 minutes after Boro' lost possession in midfield Butler and Taylor combined neatly to feed the ball into the path of Benjamin who calmly lashed the ball beyond the helpless Tyler to give United a lead which they barely deserved on the balance of play.

The United fans were still celebrating his goal as Steve Castle unleashed a pile-driver from 20 yards to pull Posh level just two minutes later, and shock the thousands of travelling fans into silence. A fine goal which Marshall appeared to miss in the blink of an eye as he just failed to reach the ball before it rattled the stantion and set London Road alight.

United were rocked by the goal, and four minutes later were left in tatters as a long ball over the top enabled Leon McKenzie to shake of a weak challenge from the out of sorts Chenery and fire a low shot to beat Marshall at his near post from 8 yards and give Posh the lead to complete the remarkable four minute turn around of fortune.

After this burst of goals the match began to settle down once again, and lapsed back to its early pattern of misplaced passes and midfield dominance. United forced a succession of late first half corners as they pressed for an equaliser which despite a fine header being tipped over from Butler did not materialise.

Peterborough then begin to hit us with direct and penetrative counter attacks which bypassed the midfield and exposed McNeil at the back as the inexperienced player that he is. On 41 minutes Peterborough were left wondering how they did not add to their lead as a fine shot from outside the area hit the underside of the crossbar and rebounded out to McKenzie whose shot was saved on the goal line by Marshall and cleared to the edge of the box. It was then pumped back in again and another shot was fired in and cleared off the goal line much to the relief to the 3,000 or so astonished United fans behind the goal.

Steve Butler played a fine 90 minutes and was a constant thorn in the United side and his experience to read the play and pull off the defence led to many worrying moments for United.

The second half seemed to disappear at remarkable speed as both sides missed a hatful of chances which if all taken could have seen the game end up 8-8. Steve Butler hit a shot wide from 5 yards with only Marshall to beat and Legg rose well to power a header just wide of the far post.

At the other end United were busy carving out chances which they just couldn't seem to take advantage of. Two mis-kicked shots from Butler within the space of a minute should have both been buried in the back of the net and Taylor rose well in the 65th minute to power a header straight into the hands of the relieved Tyler.

United were beginning to take control of the match, looking likely to create chances every time they ventured over the half way line. Wanless saw a fine header acrobatically saved and from the resulting corner Tyler claimed the ball from the head of Butler and delivered another high ball over the United midfield men to test the credentials of the United centre backs.

Andy Duncan was without a doubt the man of the match as he put in a breathtakingly faultless display of passing, possession, timing and skill. He made some astonishingly well-timed tackles to underline his growing reputation as a Premiership quality defender. Unfortunately his central defensive partner McNeil had a torrid time against Butler in particular as he struggled to deal with the player's vast experience of football at this level.

Indeed the youngster could consider himself slightly fortunate to stay on the pitch as he mistimed a tackle to floor Farrell 10 yards inside the United half on 55 minutes. United defenders frantically ran into positions they felt would indicate involvement to the referee. In reality had he not brought the player down he would have had a clear run on goal, yet the lenient but generally impressive referee decided a yellow card was sufficient for the youngster.

There was always the feeling that United could get the equalising goal, right up to the final minute. John Taylor, unspotted by the referee, controlled the ball with his hand on 89 minutes and fired in a shot, which was tipped around the post by the impressive Tyler. This was to be United's last chance of the game as the referee blew for time much to the delight of the long suffering Peterborough fans. A rare evening of disappointment for United who had the chances to salvage a point which on the overall performance they barely, but probably just about did, deserve.

You can't win them all, and perhaps Peterborough United have done us a favour by reminding us that this division is not a walk in the park. Teams from all areas in the division are capable of raising their games to a sufficient level to beat any other team in the division. They certainly wanted the result, and certainly worked hard enough for it during 90 minutes of non-stop closing down giving our creative players very little time on the ball. They were that half a yard quicker to get the tackle in and spy the right passes at the right time. This having been said on any other day I am sure with the chances presented to them United's potent front line would have gobbled up two or three more than the single first half goal from Benjamin, but those are the breaks.

Benjamin was perhaps a little bit disappointing for the second successive game as he found it difficult to raise his game to the tempo of the defenders he was facing. He lumbered his way past a few on occasion yet was at the end of the day rather ineffective in his role as a target man for the high balls being lofted by Campbell.

In goal Marshall was a bit worrying as he made a few basic errors which nearly let Peterborough in to kill the game in the second half. He did though make some fine punches in the first half particularly and despite being beaten at the near post didn't have much of a hope with either of the goals.

Overall it was a cracking game of football in which both teams can be proud of their general commitment and determination. I just feel that there were too many United players who had an off day with Chenery and Campbell disintegrating after promising starts as they delivered some appalling quality lacking crosses high into the area resulting in noting more than a defensive clearance on most occasions. The midfield was perhaps the area in which the game was lost as Paul Wanless had, what I am now struggling to call, an uncharacteristically poor game. Alongside the busy yet 'fade in fade out' Russell United simply were looking a team stretched and struggling to cope with the lively but thankfully poor finishing Peterborough forwards.

With Joseph and Mustoe in the team I am convinced that we would have won the game, but at the end of the day they weren't and we lost a hard fought encounter. We can't afford to dwell on this game, it must be locked away deep in the mind and the key thrown away as we have a very important and vital match on Saturday to concentrate on.

Finally I think it would be perhaps a little unfair not to recognise the efforts of the Peterborough United team who managed to defy the odds and defeat a team 13 places and nine points above them in the league. The best away record in the country was dented by a fine motivated unit of players committed to the cause and to their club and I for one will be surprised if they do not clamber out of mid table obscurity and join us at the top for a real tussle which can be resolved properly, at the Abbey, on April 24th. Make a note in your diary ...

United were unchanged for the fourth successive game for tonight's derby clash, while Peterboring included ex-U Steve Butler, Wales Under-21 international Simon Davies and striker Leon McKenzie who is on-loan from Crystal Palace. Former United schoolboy Matthew Gill was on the 'Boro bench.

United were under-par in the first half and 'Boro responded to Trevor Benjamin's 18th minute opener with two goals in four minutes. They then held on to the points, resisting a spirited second half fightback by the U's who would have gone top with a win.

The game kicked off in freezing cold weather but the action on the pitch was fast and furious from the first minute. There was little skill or control on show as both teams produced the passion demanded by their managers and noisy supporters, but the home side were on top during the early exchanges. Their first real chance came in the seventh minute with Davies' long range effort from the edge of the box, but the tame shot was easy for Shaun Marshall.

Martin Butler sent a shot well wide in the 11th minute after a mistake in midfield, and a Steve Castle effort from an Andy Legg free-kick was saved by Marshall shortly afterwards. Then United took the lead somewhat against the run of play. In the 18th minute Martin Butler and John Taylor combined well to set up Trevor Benjamin, and the big striker controlled the ball before applying a cool finish from the edge of the box under remarkably little pressure from the home defence.

The joy of the army of travelling U's was to be short-lived however as Peterboring hauled themselves level and then took the lead within minutes. The equaliser came within two minutes as Simon Davies supplied Castle who fired in a screamer from just outside the box, and although Marshall got a hand to the ball it was not enough to keep it out. Then in the 24th minute P*sh were in the lead, thanks to loanee Leon McKenzie. Davies created the opening for McKenzie to get behind Chenery and beat Marshall at the near post.

United seemed caught out by Peterboring's commitment in the early stages and only appeared to get into the game after going 2-1 down. Paul Wanless fired in a long-range shot after 28 minutes which was spilled by Mark Tyler, but the young 'keeper did well to recover and block the shot as Trevor Benjamin raced in. Seconds later Wanless met Jamie Campbell's cross and Tyler tipped the ball onto the bar, much to the relief of the home crowd.

In the 41st minute a corner was headed on to Andy Edwards, but thankfully his free header was against the bar, and the final chance of the half came from a Campbell cross which appeared to hit Ian Ashbee's back as he stumbled into the box with a defender and bounced to Tyler. Overall P*sh dominated the first half by being quicker to the ball and playing above their recent form, while despite a couple of purple patches United's players looked nervous when being run at.

Roy McFarland no doubt delivered a scorching half-time team talk as United mounted a brave fightback and could have scored from any number of chances early in the second half. Within seconds Russell delivered a cross to Ashbee at the far post but the angle was too tight and his shot ended in the side netting, then United survived a scare when Andy Duncan cleared an Andy Legg cross off the line in the 50th minute.

A minute later United were on the break led by Ashbee, his pass found Martin Butler who turned but shot wide. Two minutes after that, in the 53rd, another United break was led by Wanless who again picked out Butler, but the striker's cross was intercepted by Linton with Trevor Benjamin poised. United purple patch continued when a minute later Campbell's free kick was headed down by John Taylor to Butler who turned but couldn't quite get the right connection with the ball. Moments later a Campbell cross was headed onto Wanless by Taylor, but the United captain's header was tipped round the post.

'Boro managed to stifle the rampant United for a while and their next chance came on the hour. McKenzie skipped away down the right, rounded Chenery and put in a cross met by Steve Butler who was unmarked eight yards out, but his shot was wide. United had left themselves too much to do despite working hard to get back into the game, and the veteran Butler was too experienced for 18-year-old Martin McNeil while Tyler was in fine form in the P*sh goal to frustrate United's attack when they broke through. In the 70th minute Martin Butler passed to Trevor Benjamin who shimmied his way to a shooting position only to see Tyler tip his shot over.

A minute later Benjamin - who had been a handful for the Peterboring defence throughout - was replaced by Michael Kyd, and reporter Mark Johnson thought the striker may have taken a knock. Kyd used his pace to run at the 'Boro defence and caused a few flutters, then David Preece replaced Ian Ashbee with ten minutes left and showed his class for the short time he was on the pitch.

On 81 minutes Steve Butler was one of three unmarked players waiting for Davies' cross but he put his header wide, and a minute after that, Jamie Campbell put over another cross at the other end but John Taylor's header was straight at the 'keeper. Both sides had a late chance of another goal. United's came in the 89th minute when Russell played a brilliant ball inside the full-back to Taylor, but he was closed down quickly by Tyler who narrowed the angle and forced the ball out for a corner. Then a 'Boro breakaway in the 93rd minute found Simon Davies in miles of space but he missed the target by a similar distance.

It was perhaps inevitable that if United's unbeaten run was going to come to an end it would do so at the hands of bitter local rivals. "It would be Sod's law," as someone wrote on Moosenet this morning. United drop to sixth in the table following this defeat, equal on points with Brentford and Scunthorpe in fourth and fifth but having scored one goal less than them.

Roy McFarland was naturally disappointed with United's below-par performance, commenting "I'm disappointed but proud of the way the lads stuck at it in the second half. It was a great atmosphere to play in, and while I'm disappointed, I feel our players could not have put any more into it, other than just nick that equalising goal."