AN outstretched leg, braveheart block and an astonishing last-gasp goal line clearance knocked Cambridge United off the top of the table. For all the skill, and youthful enthusiasm of a passionate Posh, it was United's persistence and power which looked like grabbing the glory in a breathless derby clash.

Peterborough manager Barry Fry admitted: "Cambridge dominated for long spells."

But by fair means and foul Roy McFarland's men were denied the winning goal, despite a nail-biting final half hour camped in the arch enemy's half.

Trevor Benjamin had the first chance to break the second half deadlock after a fairly even first period produced goals from Giuliano Grazioli in the seventh minute and Paul Wanless in the 26th.

The giant striker stormed into the box, brushing aside one defender, but as a hammer shot left his foot, centre back Matthew Wicks bravely flung himself in front of ball and boots. He needed several minutes treatment, maybe for shock, before carrying on, but the ball had been deflected for a corner. That, and a flurry of other flag kicks were cleared before another from Alex Russell found Wanless, whose header bounced off the crossbar.

After the close shaves and near misses it was Russell, the tireless provider throughout the match, who looked certain to win it as the clock ticked over to the 90th minute. He broke into the box on the right and hammered in a shot. Goalkeeper Mark Tyler was nowhere, but somehow left-back and former United fan Adam Drury got his head in front of the missile.

"I don't know how he got to it," groaned Russell. I was sure it was a goal."

Said Drury: "I saw Russell hit the ball, I knew our keeper wasn't going to get it, so I just had to get something in the way. It hit me, and I was glad to see it bounce off the post. It would have been awful to lose then, because I thought we'd done enough for a point."

McFarland reflected: "The ball could have gone anywhere after hitting the player. It usually skids off into the roof of the net."

Where it went though was away to safety after ricochetting like a pinball off the right hand post. These were all clear-cut incidents, saves or misses, producing either relief or frustration, but no room for argument.

The one big bone of contention which derbies invariably throw up was the 67th minute dismissal of Posh skipper Andy Edwards, which effectively made a draw the best his team, desperately needing a win, could hope for. Russell tried to dart past the defender. He fell a little theatrically into the penalty area, but there was no doubt he was tripped just outside the box.

"I shouldn't have been sent off," protested Edwards. "I wasn't the last man, Dean Hooper was there," while Fry commented: "It looked like a yellow card to me. The sending off mucked up our game."

But Russell was adamant: "I was through on goal. There was nobody near enough to stop me shooting if I hadn't been brought down."

And McFarland pointed out: "We were penalised as much as Peterborough by the incident. They lost a man, but we looked like scoring, and if we had at that stage I've no doubt we would have gone on to win."

In the end two of United's nagging faults in an overwhelmingly successful season hampered them as much as Edwards' leg. Another sluggish start handed Posh a shock lead which boosted their confidence sky high. And, as in too many matches, they could not find the killer finish to a game they controlled for lengthy periods.

There had been more than enough publicity leading up to the match to warn the United defence to put quicksilver 17-year-old winger Matthew Etherington in a straight-jacket from the kick off. His seventh- minute cross for the goal , however, came from his third breakaway.

And when they had 10-man-Posh on the rack, too many final passes failed to create the kind of opportunity which would have given Tyler and his courageous defence "no chance."

Maybe it would have been better to keep John Taylor's powder dry by saving him as a late substitute instead of starting him. Worn out by a pitch sodden after storms which drenched the Posh fans on their open terrace, and clattered by a strong challenge from Drury, the old warhorse had to be replaced after 55 minutes.

It left Richard Walker to suffer one of those unfortunate incidents to which he seems prone. Tyler miskicked an 82nd minute clearance straight to him 30 yards out, but he failed to control an admittedly difficult bouncing ball.

David Preece was another replacement, for Neil Mustoe, who did not have a great influence on the game, although most fans would probably have preferred to see the strength of the combative Ian Ashbee introduced to the battle with 20 minutes to go.

Unfortunately, the dismissal -- a sound decision by Leicester referee Paul Danson, whose handly of a potentially explosive match was excellent -- "mucked" United up as much as Posh.

Before they were depleted Peterborough were doing their best to win. Despite Etherington, who was carrying a slight knock, fading from the action, midfielder Simon Davies and winger David Farrell, often linked well with Grazioli in breakway attacks. But the need to defend without their skipper took up almost all their time and energy, and although United had vast amounts of possesssion, they were denied enough space in which to make it pay.

When the final whistle blew it was like the smoke clearing from a battle field on which there were two sides of battered losers, the Posh play-off hopes in tatters, United's championship chance reduced on a day when Cardiff and Brentford both won away.

"DON'T panic, we'll get there," was the message today from manager Roy McFarland to anxious fans after a third match without a win knocked Cambridge United off the top of Division Three.

The other teams in the top-three automatic promotion zone, Cardiff City and Brentford had away victories, while Scunthorpe continued their winning run to move within four points of United.

"Other results didn't go for us," he said, "and we failed to get the win we should have got against Peterborough. We had Posh pinned in their own half for almost all of the last half an hour, but they defended well and we didn't make the most of some good chances.

"But we are still in a very good position. With our extra games over all the other sides it is in our hands. We don't have to rely on other results. We'll be going to Rochdale tomorrow hungry for a win because everybody was so disappointed by the draw on Saturday. It felt as though we'd lost."

McFarland praised top scorer Martin Butler, who was voted into the third division "dream team," by his fellow players at last night's PFA dinner. "It's a great honour for Martin to be recognised like that by the other players," he said.

"I thought he had another tremendous game against Peterborough, and his strength is one of the key factors I see leading us to promotion in these last couple of weeks of the season.

"Alex Russell showed he is back to his best after injury, and I was very surprised he wasn't voted into the Division Three team. He went close a couple of times to winning Saturday's match for us. We had much more of the game than Peterborough, but we have to keep on working on that final pass, and we must get back to shooting on sight rather than trying to work the perfect goal all the time."

Posh boss Barry Fry admitted: "Cambridge dominated for long spells," but he thought his side, reduced to 10 men by Andy Edwards' sending off in the 67th minute, deserved their point.

"It might not be enough to get us to the play-offs," he commented, "but we were worth it on the day. I couldn't ask for any more from my young team or the 2,000 fans who stood in torrential rain and gave us such good support."

Peterborough's hopes are hanging by a thread. They are two points adrift of Mansfield, who are in the last play-off spot, and have played a match more. It is a big night for United tomorrow with Scunthorpe playing at Halifax, while they are at Rochdale.

The immaculate Abbey Stadium pitch acted as the perfect stage for this rip-roaring local derby. Both sides can be proud of their respective performances as they produced a fine standard of football to treat the largest league crowd for seven years.

To judge this result as two points dropped against a mid-table team would be harsh on both Posh and United. Peterborough played with the same degree of determination, passion and commitment that won them all the points at London Road earlier in the season. This time however United more than matched them and it would take a very brave Peterborough fan to deny the home team looked the better side for most of the encounter, and had the better opportunities to take all the points.

The point the visitors left with doesn't take much justifying however, as they dug their heels in after being reduced to ten men, and even had the bravery to take the ball forward towards the end leaving gaps at the back. They may even consider themselves unlucky not to have sneaked a cheeky winner in the dying seconds that would have kept their realistic play-off chances alive.

The result was infinitely more damaging to the promotion hopes of Peterborough than the slight annoyance it caused to United with regard to their promotion and championship aspirations. They joined Scunthorpe and Hartlepool as the only teams this season to take four points off the mighty U's. Their fans and players though must once again suffer the agony of knowing that for the second successive season their play-off aspirations have been as good as ended by Cambridge United at the Abbey Stadium.

The match began in an expected high tempo fashion, with Jamie Campbell lucky to escape a yellow card as he committed two atrocious fouls in the opening minutes. Posh were looking dangerous taking the ball forward, as Simon Davis in midfield showed the crowd why there was little competition for the player of the season award. Etherington was causing Chenery all sorts of problems down the right flank, and on seven minutes delivered an accurate cross for Grazioli to head home from 5 yards to give Posh an unexpected early lead.

This goal triggered two things, a torrential downpour from the grey clouds hovering over the sacred Abbey, and a noticeable improvement from United with regards to their football. Less than five minutes later Martin Butler was set free inside the box and after a neat turn fired a shot that rebounded off the foot of the post before being cleared from danger. Jamie Campbell then fired in a fine free kick which skimmed across the six-yard box with both Butler and Wanless inches away from connecting.

United continued to dominate the match, and apart from a few swift counter attacks Posh were pinned inside their own half. The inevitable equaliser materialised just before the half-hour as Paul Wanless did well to ignore the offside appeals to stab home after Alex Russell had found him unmarked with a neat pass.

Peterborough reacted well to this setback, and came back at United forcing two successive corners in front of the packed Newmarket Road end. Scott Eustace cleared on both occasions. His performance was once again a joy to behold, and should Marc Joseph's groin strain ease I suspect he will struggle to reclaim his place in the side.

The half ended brightly for United. John Taylor, Martin Butler and Trevor Benjamin all managed to worry Mark Tyler in the visitor's goal. Taylor's chance was the clearest as he rose unmarked inside the penalty area but guided his header wide of the near post just before the interval.

The second period was a fine spectacle of football, with both teams going for the win. Perhaps the fact that it was Cambridge who came closest highlights the gap between the teams this season. The tired and ineffective John Taylor made way for goal hungry Richard Walker shortly after the interval, and he slotted in well between Russell and Chenery as United cranked it up a gear and simply took control.

The passing out of defence, and into the channels started to develop exquisite characteristics and Peterborough looked as though they were clinging to the match by fingertips. Trevor Benjamin was struggling to get into the game, but produced a dazzling run on 58 minutes which ended with a frantic Peterborough defender blocking his final attempt to concede what was to be the first in a succession of corners. The pressure was relentless, and shortly after this near miss Martin Butler found himself with a glorious opportunity to give United the lead. Tyler raced out of his goal to clear a poor back pass but was beaten to the ball by the lively centre-forward who chipped what I can only assume was a cross to the far post where Paul Wanless just failed to connect.

"We're gonna score in a minute!" roared the Cambridge supporters, but they must have been studying Mystic Meg too closely as this never came true... Mark Tyler saw to that as he thrice saved attempts from Alex Russell. Another person who denied Russell was Andy Edwards who, after the former Rochdale player broke clear just outside the penalty area, crudely cut him down resulting in an instant red card being shown from referee Paul Danson. 'Covering' defenders appeared rapidly on the scene but their was no doubt the decision was correct.

After this the match settled into a neat pattern, with the colours being Amber and Black. Posh were restricted to defending in numbers then breaking at speed, something which they did extremely competently. Indeed it was nearly good enough to win the game as after they had soaked up the pressure and survived the battering United dished out. Grazoli found himself with a glorious opportunity to snack all the points but blazed his attempt high over the bar and out of the stadium.

Shortly before this United had hit the bar twice within the space of five minutes. First Paul Wanless rose majestically and powered a header off the top of the bar, then just before the end Alex Russell saw his goal-bound attempt blocked by a defender on the line, before rebounding up and hitting the face of the crossbar and going behind for a corner. Few could understand how the ball stayed out of the goal.

Let's not ponder on this too long though, it was a fine committed performance from United and they did more than enough to win the game. We must concentrate on completing the job of getting out of this division from hell. Rotting away in the basement division of English football has never been our style, and is a trait we do not want to rub off on us after this draw.

Man of the match: Alex Russell was back to his buzzing best. Neat, swift and play making passes throughout the whole match added a degree of class and tempo to the team. Lets hope he can show Rochdale what they are missing on Tuesday...

I had lunch in town with my wife and daughter before leaving them to go to the match. Just as I got to Parkers Piece I saw a bunch of around 200 'boring fans being escorted by police and dogs (and at least half a dozen police vans on the grass) over to their mates at the Hogshead, so I decided that maybe the direct route through them was not quite the best option!

In the Supporters club a prize was won by "fat bloke on the door". What a surprise!

A full house (even though the visitors end didn't look that packed) meant making notes was difficult, so only about half the normal notes could be written!

'Boring started the brighter, taking the game to United, and scored first on 7 minutes. Chenery was caught out of position, a quick couple of passes put the winger free (although I thought there was a hint of offside) to cross into the middle for Grazioli to head in from around 6 yards.

This woke us up and we started moving the ball around to make chances. Butler hit the post on 12 minutes, and a quickly taken free kick was almost touched in by Wanless. We equalised after 25 minutes, a low cross into the middle of their penalty area gave the unmarked Wanless the chance to stab the ball in front of Tyler. Soon after a long curling shot from Russell went just over at the far post, Butler had a good shot on the turn also go just over, and in the dying seconds of the half Taylor put a header wide when unmarked and it seemed easier to score.

10 minutes into the second half Walker came on for Taylor, and injected a bit of pace. Benjamin had a good chance which was blocked for a corner, from which Wanless headed just past. Butler got to a poor backpass before Tyler out on the edge of the penalty area and tried a curling shot which went just past the far post when a pass into the middle might have given Mustoe or Benjamin a better scoring chance.

21 minutes into the half Russell was set free with a run on their goal but was tripped just outside the penalty area, which resulted in the #6 being rightly sent off. The free kick was blocked, the follow up shot went high. Benjamin chested the ball down for Russell to shoot, but Tyler saved. With 30 minutes gone Preece came on for Mustoe. Soon after a Wanless header hit the bar, then a Russell header was saved well at the near post, and in the last minutes a powerful goalbound Russell shot was somehow deflected onto the bar by a defender. Russell and Eustace were both booked in the second half.

Apart from the first 10 minutes of each half we were definitely the better side. Marshall could do nothing about the goal, and had little to do apart from a save in the second half. his kicking and catching was fine. The defence did well (apart from the goal!) and the 'boring wingers got little out of either full back once they got themselves going. Campbell in the first few minutes was lucky not to be booked for a couple of challenges which were slightly mis-timed.

Russell in the main ran the midfield, and is back to his best since his injury. He was assisted by the non-stop running of Wanless and Mustoe. At the front Butler was everywhere as normal. Taylor and Benjamin both had chances, but neither seemed to be quite at their best, both had good spells, but the spells were too short. Walker looks to be developing into a useful player now. Preece looked good, although lack of match fitness meant he got caught in possession a couple of times.

Their loss of a player meant we obviously had more possession, and made use of the extra player to pull their defence around, but they got the luck. 'Boring attacked quickly and in numbers when given the chance, and it could be seen why they have had a few big wins, but they were not the best team seen at the Abbey this season. As with the game at London Road, Tyler was their best player.

Russell is my MOM, he is so cool when in possession, I can't remember a misplaced pass, and he almost scored with shots and a header.

Although we are down to second place behind Cardiff the championship is still ours for the taking with 2 games in hand.

Ratings:
Russell 9
Taylor, Benjamin 7
The rest 8 (getting too lazy to type out all the names!)

Roy McFarland made one widely anticipated change to the starting line-up, bringing veteran striker John Taylor back in place of Richard Walker for the big game. Player-coach David Preece sat on the bench, alongside Walker and the unlucky Ian Ashbee.

Both halves of the game followed similar patterns, with 'Boro dominating the opening minutes before being pinned back by United. The visitors showed that when they raise their game for the big occasion they are as good as any in the division and teenager Matthew Etherington showed why the Premiership scouts are hovering with some pacy breakaways in the early minutes. It was from his cross that Guiliano Grazioli headed home from close range in the seventh minute, the precision of the move giving Shaun Marshall no chance.

The goal sparked United into life and the deserved equaliser came in the 26th minute from a Martin Butler pass. The striker put in yet another tireless display, working the full width of the front line, and he slipped a ball into the penalty area for Paul Wanless to race onto and slide home on the soaking turf.

Much of the play was confined to midfield apart from the odd breakaway down the flanks, but neither side was allowed time on the ball. No quarter was expected or given as the tackles flew in and Trevor Benjamin was a fearful sight as he glared forehead-to-forehead with a Posh defender in the first half. (Half-time 1-1)

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Posh lively after the break before United took over. John Taylor was under par - is his stunning season finally catching up with the big man? - and he was replaced after ten minutes by an eager Richard Walker. The Aston Villa striker slotted quickly into the front line, clearly having benefited from a few recent starts and goals, and he gave Butler more support as the U's went in search of a winning goal.

A breakthrough might have come in the 67th minute when Alex Russell - clearly close to top form again after his long layoff - was clear just outside the box, but he was chopped down by Boro skipper Andy Edwards who was rightly sent off. Referee Paul Danson might not be 'good enough' for the Premiership but he controlled this match well, talking to the players and smiling as he kept play flowing.

United cranked up their efforts against the ten men but Etherington was withdrawn to allow the gangly striker Broughton to plug the gap in defence, and even when the rearguard action was breached, the woodwork and goalkeeper Mark Tyler combined to deny us. David Preece replaced Neil Mustoe and, despite giving the ball away unexpectedly on a few occasions, his presence allowed Russell to become more of an attacking threat.

Wanless saw a header bounce off the bar with twelve minutes left, Russell had a header well saved by Tyler, and seconds before the final whistle Adam Drury bravely got his head in the way of a thunderbolt shot from Russell, which looped on to the crossbar and to safety. At that stage it was clear that we could have played on for another three hours and not scored - it was just one of those afternoons.

My Man of the Match: Paul Wanless. Alex Russell and Scott Eustace ran him close, but Wanny put in a typical Captain Fantastic performance, snapping and biting in midfield while producing the odd fine pass and having the vision to chase the ball through and score the goal.

So United maintained the six month unbeaten record at the Abbey, but were knocked off the top of the Division Three table today as the four clubs below all registered wins. After three straight draws the Us travel to Rochdale on Tuesday night seeking a win at a ground where the last win was in 1974 and the last point came in the 1976-77 season!