Nationwide League Division Two - Saturday 19th February, 2000
Cambridge
United (4-4-2): Marshall, Kavanagh, Eustace, McNeil (Taylor
69'), Wilson (Joseph 80'); Mustoe, Wanless (c), Ashbee, Youngs; Guinan
(Hansen 46'), Benjamin. Blackpool:
Caig, Hills (Hughes 77'), Bardsley, Carlisle, Clarkson, Newell, Lumsden,
Murphy, Ablett, Richardson, Jaszczun. Referee: Roger Fernandiz (Doncaster) Shots
on target: Cambridge 7 Blackpool 8 |
Roy McFarland named the side which won at Notts County on Tuesday night and lifted Cambridge off the foot of Division Two, with new Danish midfielder John Hansen named on the bench instead of player-coach David Preece. Blackpool included an array of experienced veterans in their side for this vital relegation 'six pointer', which kicked off in dry, cold conditions under a sky filled with scudding clouds. United kicked off towards the away end and could have opened the scoring after just three minutes when centre-half Clarke Carlisle stood on the ball and Trevor Benjamin seized on the slip, hitting the ball first time from fully 40 yards out, but his audacious shot hit the underside of the bar and bounced clear. United's next chance came three minutes later when Benjamin flicked on Ian Ashbee's long throw and Tom Youngs, once again getting forward well from the left of midfield, sent a glancing header wide. Blackpool countered in the 12th minute when Lumsden threaded the ball through for former Everton and Blackburn striker Mike Newell but his first time shot was blocked by Shaun Marshall. After 18 minutes it was the turn of Blackpool 'keeper Tony Caig to deny a goal. A mistake in his own area by Kevin Richardson allowed Youngs to rob him before feeding the ball out to Clive Wilson, his cross from the left found Scott Eustace and his good downward header was sneaking in at the near post until tipped round by Caig. United were dominating the early exchanges without finding the important killer ball, and after 31 minutes there were vain appeals for a penalty when Wilson's cross was flicked on by Neil Mustoe and the ball hit the arm of defender John Hills. The appeals only earned Roy McFarland a telling-off for his protests, but it would have been a harsh penalty decision. Two minutes later Ashbee played a good ball to Mustoe who let it drop over his shoulder before shooting straight at the keeper from just inside the box. All the early dominance came to nothing when the visitors took the lead after 36 minutes, very much against the run of play. Bardsley's 30 yard free kick was well-saved by Marshall but United failed to clear the danger and as the ball pinged back into the box Carlisle was on hand to head it home. United's defence went to pieces for a while after the goal and after 39 minutes Hills saw his shot from the edge of the area deflected wide, then in the 41st minute later Blackpool broke away down the left. A cross from the left was met by Mike Newell, he hacked it goalwards with the defence nowhere and Lumsden had a crack at it which hit Wilson and went away for another corner. A minute later Steve Guinan got away down the left, his mis-control ruled out a shot but he found Trevor Benjamin who hooked a shot wide. United staggered to the half-time interval after a Blackpool corner in the dying moments fell to Clarkson on the edge of the six yard box and he sliced his shot over the bar. Until the goal United had dominated the action without making it count, but after Blackpool took the lead and nerves came to the fore the U's could have gone in at half-time trailing by more than one goal. (Half-time 0-1) New signing John Hansen warmed up vigorously on the pitch during the break and it was no surprise when he replaced Guinan for the re-start, slotting in on the left of midfield while Tom Youngs moved upfront to partner Benjamin. Hansen provided an opening after just two minutes when his throw found Benjamin whose shot on the turn was blocked by Caig, but United were hit by another sucker punch in the 51st minute. An inch-perfect cross by John Hills was met by Newell who timed his run to perfection and gave Marshall no chance, making the score 2-0 to the visitors. Blackpool grew in confidence and on the hour Newell's cross was flicked on to Murphy, but fortunately his rising drive from the edge of the box went over the bar. A couple of minutes later United countered through Clive Wilson who scampered past two into the area. Tom Youngs took over and hit a shot which was hacked clear by Jaszczun. Then after 64 minutes Benjamin fed Hansen out wide whose teasing cross was claimed by Caig inches from Mustoe's foot, and after 66 minutes Youngs' flick-on to Benjamin was passed into the feet of Paul Wanless who appeared to fall over the ball. John Taylor replaced the shaky Martin McNeil in the 69th minute as United mounted a spirited if somewhat unimaginative charge down the centre of the pitch, against Blackpool's nine man defence. After 74 minutes Benjamin knocked the ball down for Mustoe whose fierce 25 yard shot was tipped over by Caig, then three minutes later a free kick was cleared as far as Hansen 30 yards out and his rasping drive was tipped over as it threatened to dip under the bar. In the 79th minute a long clearance fell to Murphy whose curling shot from the edge of the box was turned round the post by Shaun Marshall at full-stretch. Clive Wilson limped off a minute later to be replaced by Marc Joseph. With seven minutes left United came close when unusually Caig missed Hansen's cross but Wanless was unable to steer the ball home from the edge of the box. Then in the fourth minute of stoppage time United were awarded a free kick but Benjamin's deflected effort trundled through to the 'keeper. Reporter Mark Johnson summarised the match by saying that all the hard work of Tuesday night was undone here as despite having the majority of the play United were unable to find the killer pass. After starting well and threatening the sort of rampaging performance that characterised last season, the U's were hit by a sucker punch shortly before half-time and the damage was completed by a second goal soon after the break. Despite a spirited second half charge and a cameo appearance by new man John Hansen, our chances of avoiding the drop have taken a serious dent this afternoon. Mark thought Hansen's was an encouraging performance and the Dane looked both nippy and prepared to put his foot in. He faded out of the action a little when the formation changed to 4-3-3 on the introduction of John Taylor, but looked lively and made a promising debut. Unusually he chose a striker for his Man of the Match today, naming Trevor Benjamin: "His first half performance was particularly very good and he showed lots of clever knock-downs and flicks. Shame there was no one to get on the end of them. If only that fourth minute shot had been an inch lower, we would have hammered them." |
MCMAHON: WHO'S THE WORST NOW?
BLACKPOOL gave their Second Division survival hopes a huge boost with their third consecutive away win in this vital basement battle.
Manager Steve McMahon celebrated as Cambridge manager Roy McFarland was forced to eat his words.
Said McMahon: "Cambridge called us the worst team they had met when we beat them at our place in November, but Mr McFarland won't be saying that now. We played with great spirit, could have had more goals and were never really in any trouble. What we have to do now is reproduce it at home."
Clarke Carlisle scored in the 36th minute and Mike Newell added the second.
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Blackpool snuffed out Cambridge United's revival as they took their remarkable away run to three wins in a row with a 2-0 victory at the Abbey Stadium.
Unable to win at home where they have lost three on the trot the Seasiders absorbed the early pressure, snatched the lead in the 36th minute and took a grip in the basement battle four minutes into the second half. Centre-back Clarke Carlisle headed Blackpool in front in the 36th minute from close range after goalkeeper Shaun Marshall blocked a 20-yard drive from David Bardsley.
Blackpool could have gone further ahead before the interval but Chris Lumsdon and John Murphy had shots blocked then Phil Clarkson fired over from six yards. But slack marking from the Cambridge defence four minutes after the restart allowed Hills to swing over a cross for veteran striker Mike Newell to ram a header in from eight yards.
Cambridge were unlucky at the start of the match when a 40-yard shot from Trevor Benjamin slammed against the cross bar. They were confined to long-range efforts when they tried to clamber back into the game in the second half and goalkeeper Tony Caig dealt well with 20 yarders from Neil Mustoe and John Hansen.
(c) Copyright Press Association Ltd 2000
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Blackpool continued their recent good away form to ease their relegation worries and leave Cambridge deeper in the mire.
It could have been a different story if Trevor Benjamin's fourth minute effort had crashed in rather than against the underside of the bar. He seized on a slip by Clarke Carlisle, hit a first time shot from 40 yards and saw an outcome which summed up Cambridge's afternoon.
The home side dominated for long periods of the first half but rarely threatened Tony Caig's goal. The best chance came on 18 minutes when a mistake in the visitors area by experienced midfielder Kevin Richardson allowed Tom Youngs to feed Clive Wilson whose cross seemed to be met perfectly by Scott Eustace. His downward header was tipped round the post by the alert Caig.
In a half which saw the visitors cluster eight men behind the ball there were rare moments of concern around the Cambridge goalmouth. One such moment came on 25 minutes when Martin McNeil and Shaun Marshall were almost embarrassed as they got themselves in a tangle shepherding the ball out for a goal-kick. Unfortunately for the visitors recent signing Mike Newell was unable to capitalise.
There were strong Cambridge appeals for a penalty on 31 minutes when Wilson's cross found Neil Mustoe and hit the arm of John Hills but the incident only earned a reprimand for United manager Roy McFarland who appeared to take his protests too far.
Blackpool took the lead on 36 minutes when David Bardsley's 30-yard free-kick was well saved by Marshall but only half-cleared. The ball was pinged back into the danger zone and Carlisle rose unchallenged to nod home from eight yards.
The goal completely changed the complexion of the match as the home defence appeared to lose the plot for ten minutes. The visitors almost doubled their advantage on 41 minutes when Newell's shot was turned closer towards goal by Chris Lumsdon but Wilson was on hand to smuggle the ball out for a corner.
Cambridge found brief respite on 42 minutes when Stephen Guinan escaped down the left. Although his mis-control ruled out a shot his cross picked out highly-rated striker Benjamin who disappointingly fired wide. The first half ended with Blackpool disappointed not to be two up when a corner fell to Phil Clarkson on the edge of the six-yard box but the visiting skipper wastefully sliced a shot over.
Despite Cambridge introducing new signing John Hansen at the interval Blackpool wrapped up the points soon after the restart. On 51 minutes John Hills' pin-point cross was met by a perfect header from Newell who beat Marshall from eight yards.
Although Cambridge charged to the sound of the trumpets in search of a lifeline their fightback was spirited but unimaginative and they always looked vulnerable to a third goal on the break.
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WHAT a dismal dustcart of a display this was after the laudable show in midweek which raised hopes of a turning point in the relegation battle. Both sides managed to complete a double. Blackpool followed up their home victory in November while Cambridge United, having let down their travelling fans on that day, short-changed their home supporters on Saturday. The encouraging run, which ought to have launched a climb away from danger after the huge boost of the first away win last Tuesday, collapsed at the end of the runway like one of those wobbly wooden planes in the hairy early days of aviation. "Back to the drawing board," was the motto of those brave pioneers, but that is not a luxury Roy McFarland can afford, seven points adrift with 16 games to go. He has to try to patch up his worryingly inconsisent side before the next match, tomorrow night, and the bad news is that the defence has suddenly fallen apart again. After Blackpool got the breakthrough in the 36th minute of nondescript error-strewn kickball by both sides, United reverted to the panicky, patternless play which made a clean sheet look like the Holy Grail during the first half of the season. Jason Kavanagh too often lost his man as Blackpool made inroads down their left flank, Shaun Marshall appeared to loose faith in his defenders, while Martin McNeil simply lost his way. The young centre-back has done a magnificnet job during spells in the last two seasons, but unfortunately, as the manager has searched in vain for an experienced centre-back, he has had to linger too long without a break in the heat of the relegation battle. Blackpool stiker Mike Newell commented: "I always felt pretty comfortable, and I had the feeling I was going to get a goal." And when a 36-year-old veteran can say that, just nine days back in League football after apparently playing out his days in semi-retirement like an old pit pony with Doncaster in the Conference, the opposition has defensive problems. The opening goal from centre-half Clarke Carlisle came against the run of play - not that United had produced much more than a Scott Eustace header in the 18th minute from their greater possession - but the Seasiders could hardly have expected the score to put them completely on top. They were able, however, to batter United for the next 10 minutes until the break, left-back Clive Wilson admitting: "It was as though we were the away team." United had a huge slice of bad luck at the start of the game, when a spectacular 40 yarder from Trevor Benjamin crashed against the underside of the bar in the fourth minute. But it was payback time when shots from John Hills and Chris Lumsden were deflected for corners in the 37th and 41st minutes, before Phil Clarkson scooped a shot over the crossbar from six yards, seconds away from the whistle. "We were glad to see half time," said Wilson, "we just weren't playing at a high enough tempo." The relief was brief though, Newell getting the goal his old bones told him was there for the taking, when he discovered four minutes after the restart the United defence had wandered off and left the door open. There was a scrap of consolation in the performance of new Danish midfielder John Hansen, a second-half replacement for off-the-pace Steve Guinan. He brought some much-needed sharpness and urgency to the left side of midfield, helping United regain the edge in general play, although with a two-goal cushion Blackpool were able to defend with the numbers and determination to snuff out any real hopes of a point. Occasional runs by Tom Youngs and Trevor Benjamin breached the box, but at that point the attacks were smothered. And the only tests for goalkeeper Tony Caig came from powerful - but long - shots from Neil Mustoe and Hansen in the 74th and 77th minutes. Some fans were seeking solace in grumbling about a penalty they felt had got away when a Mustoe header hit Clarkson in the first half, but it hardly looked like intentional handball. While others were appalled by apparent remarks from the manager which had percolated through to the bars. One complained: "I heard the first thing McFarland said to the players at the end was that they looked tired after playing on Tuesday. I would have thought professionals could recover in that time. They haven't got to go to work like the part-timers." It is probably just as well United are at Bury tomorrow, because an Abbey crowd would be depleted after this display, and some of those who turned up might not be coming to praise them. Report © Cambridge Newspapers Ltd |
We started brightly, and were unlucky not to take the lead after 3 minutes when Benjamin won the ball mid way in their half then lobbed the keeper who was well beaten and could only watch as the ball dropped over his head towards the unguarded goal where it hit the bar and bounced away to safety. A couple of minutes later a long throw was headed on by Benjamin, Youngs got in but headed wide.
Blackpool looked dangerous at times, a deflected cross fell kindly for a forward but his shot was blocked by Marshall for a corner. Eustace had a firm header well saved at the near post for a corner on 17 minutes, later Benjamin went on one of his runs into the penalty area and was obstructed as he knocked the ball past the defender but no kick was given. a minute later there were loud shouts for handball in the penalty area, It was too far away for me to see, but the Main stand were pretty noisy when the referee came over their way which suggests there must have been some contact.
Mustoe had a good shot saved on 36 minutes, soon after Blackpool won a free kick a few yards outside our penalty area, quite for what I don't know. The referee had missed Newell having his arms all over Eustace a couple of times earlier, but this time saw something he didn't like! From the free kick Marshall blocked the shot, the ball was half cleared to a few yards outside the penalty area to a Blackpool player who crossed it back towards the 3 forwards at the far post as the defenders moved out, leaving an easy task to head past Marshall for the lead. I thought the forwards looked offside, can anyone from the sides comment?
Ashbee had a shot a few yards wide, then we had a really poor period. Wilson tried to pass across the penalty area, the ball was intercepted but the shot was blocked for a corner, then we needed to clear of the line to prevent another goal, and in the last minute of the half from a corner the ball fell nicely for a forward who blasted over from 6 yards.
Hansen (who looks quite like Kyd from a distance) came on at the start of the second half for Guinan. His first pass went into touch, as did his first cross, but he improved. Mustoe appeared to be pulled back as he tried to get to get to a loose ball but nothing was given, and from the resulting cross goal number 2 was scored, an unchallenged header about 8 yards out. We kept trying, and another shout for handball in the penalty area was ignored. Youngs had a shot cleared off the line, Wanless made a good run through the defence to get into a good shooting position but scuffed his shot.
After 25 minutes Taylor came on for McNeil. Mustoe had a curling shot well saved for a corner, and after a free kick was headed out Hansen had a superb shot from 25 yards saved for a corner. Wilson got injured and while waiting to be replaced by Joseph, Blackpool exploited the space and forced Marshall into a fine save. Wanless had a chance from the edge of the penalty area but his shot spun wide of the post, and in the 50th minute Benjamin tried the Butler free kick routine but his shot was deflected and fell tamely into the keepers arms.
Hansen showed a some good touches, and also showed a bit of passion that seemed to be missing from some of the others. His crossing was pretty good even though nothing came from it, and he did the good shot with his "wrong" foot. However both Cassidy and Mackenzie have looked good for a few games in the lefthand midfield position, hopefully Hansen is a little more experienced and can make the place his own.
I think we lost the game because we could not deal with the 2 big forwards who seemed to win most things in the air, and they also had the beating of Benjamin and Guinan in the air at the front. They did look suspect when someone ran at them with the ball at the feet, and if I was manager I would have replaced Guinan with Kyd, pushed Youngs further forward and told the pair of them to run at defenders, instead we persisted with balls in the air which came to nothing. Guinan did a few good flick-ons, but his first touch let him down more often than not when the ball was on the ground. Mustoe got the sponsors MoM award, which I agree with. Benjamin tried hard and was unlucky with his attempt in the first few minutes. If that had gone in ... who knows what might have happened.
In general Blackpool looked much more "up" for the game, and with players like Gary Ablett, Kevin Richardson and Mike Newell have much more experience than we have. They were the underdogs and raised their game above ours. They were quite a good team, and we have lost to worse teams. Their keeper was said to be a good shot stopper but suspect on crosses, both were found to be true, but he was ably assisted by his defence when crosses came in.
To stay up we must beat the teams closest to us, which at the moment are Scunthorpe(A), Wrexham(H), Oxford(H) and Cardiff(A), and try to pick up at least a point a game from the mid table teams such as Bury(H & A), Brentford(A), Bristol City(H), Luton(A), Oldham(A), Colchester(A) and Wycombe(H). Points from the games against Millwall(H), Bristol Rovers(H), Preston(H) and Burnley(A) will be very hard to come by. This would give us points in the mid 40's which is probably not enough, which puts pressure on all the home games to get maximum points.
After the game Ian Hackett presented Paul Wanless with U's Net Player of the Month for January, then Mark Slater presented a cheque for £380 to Paul for the Hinchingbrooke Baby Care unit.
Terry
Wilby |
After all the high emotions of our first away win, it was back to the floor as we lost a "must win" game. I would much preferred to have lost badly at Notts County to get a win against our relegation rivals.