Nationwide League Division Two - Monday 3rd January, 2000
Cambridge
United (4-4-2): Marshall, Kavanagh, Eustace (c), McNeil, Wilson;
Mackenzie (Guinan 86'), Ashbee, Mustoe (Taylor 89'), Russell; Butler,
Benjamin. Bristol
Rovers: Jones (Parkin 46'), Walters, Thomson (Ellington
64'), Tillson, Foster, Challis, Hillier, Pritchard, Mauge, Cureton (Meaker
89'), Roberts. Referee:Paul Taylor (Cheshunt). Shots
on target: Bristol 8 Cambridge 1 |
Alex Russell shook off the 'flu to allow Roy McFarland to name an unchanged side this afternoon, while Arjan Van Heusden has recovered and takes his place on the bench. Player-coach David Preece has also recovered and was on the pitch with the squad as they warmed up before the game, but skipper Paul Wanless is still sidelined by the bug and misses his third game. Third-placed Rovers, who United had beaten just three times in 20 league meetings, named a strong and experienced side to face United on a pitch in good shape despite hosting a rugby match yesterday. Rovers made a slightly dodgy start and United could and should have been a goal up after three minutes when Jason Kavanagh hoisted a cross into the area that caused panic in the Rovers' defence. The ball was cleared only as far as Neil Mustoe who played a great ball down the line for Clive Wilson, his cross picked out the unmarked Trevor Benjamin six yards out at the far post but he headed the ball back across goal and wide of the post. Rovers goalkeeper Lee Jones needed lengthy treatment after the goalmouth melee. After nine minutes the impressive Mark Walters won a corner which was cleared as far as David Hillier just outside the area, and his angled drive was well-saved by Shaun Marshall. Two minutes later United seized upon a drop ball after Jones had received more treatment and Martin Butler found himself with the ball at his feet just outside the box, but his shot was hurried, poor and wide. Seconds later a brilliant turn by Walters at the edge of the area made space for a lob that was fractionally over the bar. After their shaky start Bristol Rovers were starting their feet and in the 19th minute Walters forced a scrambling save from Marshall with his 30 yard free kick, then after 22 minutes Martin McNeil was caught out by the pace of Cureton. The former Norwich striker picked out Roberts who in turn set up Hillier for a thumping drive that was tipped over by Marshall. Alex Russell's 35th minute free kick almost put in Martin Butler but the ball and the 'keeper arrived almost simultaneously to deny the opportunity, then four minutes later Neil Mackenzie showed signs of increasing confidence and earned applause for his skill. He not only won a challenge just outside his own penalty area, but due to lack of space took the ball a yard inside the box and past four Rovers players before launching an attack which unfortunately petered out. After 42 minutes Butler fired a free kick from the edge of the box straight into the wall, and Ian Ashbee fired the rebound wide, then a minute later Jason Roberts got into the area and found Hillier. The former Arsenal man was poised to shoot until Russell got a vital toe in to put the ball away for a corner. United had started the half well, and although Rovers had got back into it the U's had enjoyed the better chances. Overall United had looked the better side but Rovers had shown themselves dangerous on the break and there was absolutely no room for complacency. (Half-time 0-0) Goalkeeper Lee Jones was replaced by Brian Parkin for the second half which United started brightly, Benjamin setting up Butler for an early chance, but after that the tide was nearly all one way. After 62 minutes Roberts turned a defender to set up Walters for a 25 yard shot that was tame and easily saved, and five minutes later substitute Nathan Ellington made a good burst into the area but Martin McNeil made a brilliant challenge to avert the danger. United were defending heroically and despite all of the home side's pressure they were prevented from creating many scoring chances, so it was tough luck when Jason Roberts scored in the 63rd minute. Ellington nodded the ball down for him just inside the area and he made a brilliant turn on a sixpence before firing a shot into the far corner, an excellent finish for his sixth goal in as many games and his 16th of the season. However for a precious second it appeared the U's had equalised just four minutes later when Butler set up Russell and the midfielder buried the ball in the far corner, but Trevor Benjamin was adjudged to have been offside. He didn't appear to be interfering with play although there was some debate in the press box about whether he had in fact got a final touch to the ball at the far post. The nightmare continued when Jason Kavanagh received his second yellow card in the 83rd minute and was sent off, but even then the U's weren't finished. Steve Guinan and John Taylor were late replacements for Mackenzie and Mustoe and as United mounted a late charge Russell placed a cross on to the head of Butler, whose glancing header beat Parkin but hit the post. The final goalmouth action came four minutes into injury time when Ellington made progress into the box and saw his shot well saved by Marshall. The young 'keeper did not have a lot to do this afternoon but did it well. In summary, reporter Mark Johnson said this was an excellent performance against a top side, marred only by a good goal from a good striker. The local pressmen had commented that United played well and belied their lowly position in the table (down to 23rd after this defeat).
"But it has to be Scott Eustace (left) who held the defence together and did an almost Beckenbauer-esque job across the centre of defence - relaxed, controlled, authoritative. He never looked flustered." |
Jason Roberts kept Bristol Rovers promotion run on course with a late goal, then said that is the way he likes them.
"If you look at my record you will see I often score late on" he said after his 16th strike of the season.
The match was in its 71st minute when young substitute Nathan Ellington headed down to him in the box, allowing him to tuck a right foot shot away to the 'keeper's left.
Five minutes later Cambridge were certain they had equalised when Alex Russell, with a cross-shot found the inside of the post, but the flag was up for offside against Trevor Benjamin.
United manager Roy McFarland conceded his player was offside but maintained he was in no way interfering with play and was well outside the line of action. There was sympathy for his view from Rovers boss Ian Holloway for a very tight decision which went his way.
Cambridge, who have yet to win away since promotion could have been two up inside the first quarter of an hour. First, Benjamin from a good position missed an open goal with a header as Rovers 'keeper Lee Jones crashed into his left-hand post. Then Martin Butler, seizing the ball from a stoppage, shot weakly and out of range after racing clear.
McFarland said it was his side's best away performance and thought they deserved all three points. Certainly they had the home defence, the meanest in the division, at full stretch for long spells. But Rovers pulled their game together and slowly got on top.
The Benjamin miss saw Jones needing treatment for his left thigh and at the interval was replaced by Ryan Parkin, now on Rovers coaching staff, who was playing his first game for them for nearly five years. He came under some pressure, not only from the Russell shot, but also from a smart header from Butler which rammed his bar.
Holloway said: "Cambridge are an attractive side to watch and worked their socks off. I knew it was going to be a fairly tough game and that is the way it was. But I'm still delighted at the way we played.
"We are getting fewer chances at the moment but our finishing is quality and success is built on digging in when we are in trouble."
Rovers top scoring combination of Roberts and Cureton carved one chance midway through the first half but David Hillier was denied a goal by a fine diving save from Shaun Marshall.
With Cambridge coming under pressure the home crowd of 9,822 applauded Neil McKenzie, who was outstanding in the Cambridge midfield, for one long run which steered his side out of trouble.
Right on half-time Rovers were close to taking the lead when Roberts went past two players on the left-hand side of the box, but Cambridge were rescued by Russell at the expense of a corner.
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Jason Roberts kept Bristol Rovers' promotion bid on course with a 71st minute goal to kill off Cambridge at the Memorial Ground.
Nathan Ellington, who had arrived as a sub a few minutes earlier, nodded the ball down to him inside the box and Roberts tucked his shot away to the right of Shaun Marshall for his 16th goal of the season.
Rovers had to replace injured keeper Lee Jones at half-time with Brian Parkin playing his first game for them in five years. Parkin made two saves, saw Martin Butler hit his bar with a header and when Alex Russell beat him, the flag was up for offside against Trevor Benjamin.
The Cambridge bench were up in arms at the decision which was a very tight one.
Rovers had an early let off when Benjamin sent a free header well off target and the Division's top scorer, Martin Butler, also passed up a chance to put Cambridge in front.
A lively visiting attack worried Rovers but their defence quickly settled down and have now given away only 15 goals in 24 games.
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Parkin' ticketThe 34-year-old grinned: "It was just as well they kept me registered as a player." Cambridge thought they had snatched the lead when Alex Russell steered a clever shot past Parkin, but it was disallowed for offside against Trevor Benjamin. Still looking for their first away win, Cambridge kept Rovers on the back foot. But the hosts kept their cool and teenage sub Nathan Ellington found an opening when his 71st-minute header into the box was met by Jason Roberts, who tucked away his 16th goal of the season. Rovers boss Ian Holloway said: "We knew this would be tough as Cambridge are better than their league place." Still fuming at the disallowed goal, Cambridge manager Roy McFarland said: "Benjamin was in no way interfering with play. The match officials don't talk to each other." |
NEW CENTURY, same old sorry slogan for Cambridge United: "So near, yet so far." It never looked like third from bottom against third from top as they matched promotion candidates Bristol Rovers for long spells at the rain-lashed Memorial Stadium. Roy McFarland's men created the three best chances, beat the goalkeeper twice, but made one big mistake in defence which cost them everything. The United boss told his team they had produced their best away display of the season. Yet they must have spent much of the long trip home re-running in their minds the wasted opportunities, as well as cursing referee Paul Taylor for controversially disallowing an equaliser. Caught out at a 71st minute free kick which gave striker Jason Roberts the kind of chance Rovers were not able to create from open play, United seemed to have hit back six minutes later. Alex Russell ran on to a square pass across the box from Martin Butler to steer a shot in off the far post, but as the players celebrated a linesman stood with flag raised. It confirmed Trevor Benjamin was not having a happy start to his new year. Guilty of an extraordinary miss in only the second minute of the match, the big striker had strayed offside before Russell shot. He played no part in the move for the goal, and was six yards from the far post when Russell hit the ball, but the fact that he followed up, presumably in case the ball rebounded from the post, convinced the referee he was "active" (the official's term) rather than an uninvolved bystander. Agony was heaped upon what United and their couple of hundred fans saw as injustice when Butler and Russell combined again two minutes from time. The striker beat goalkeeper Brian Parkin with a glancing header from Russell's pass, but buried his head in his hands as he watched the ball bounce away off the right hand post. It meant another frustrating defeat by a single goal, the 12th of the season, a total anchoring United in the relegation zone. To a large extent though, the latest setback was self-inflicted. So much solid defending against one of the sharpest attacks in the division was undone by the sluggish response at the free kick which produced the goal. And despite being valued at what other club's managers and scouts are claiming is £1m, and £750,000, Butler and Benjamin could not even hit the target from golden opportunities early in the game. A curling Clive Wilson cross found Benjamin completely clear four yards out in the second minute, the keeper rooted to his goal line. In McFarland's word: "He only had to let the ball hit him." But the striker, who was nearer the far post headed the ball back the way it had come, a foot wide of the other upright. Nine minutes later a clever, quickly-taken free kick gave Butler his chance. He was through the defence, a couple of yards outside the box, could have got closer, but sliced a shot from there past the left hand post. Let off the hook twice, Rovers, who won six matches on the trot before the narrow Boxing Day defeat at Preston, had the majority of the possession for the next hour, but failed to make such clear chances. Roberts, his partner Jamie Cureton and busy midfielder Dave Hillier had shots on target, but from outside the box and straight at goalkeeper Shaun Marshall. United became bogged down, literally at times, on a pitch used for a rugby match the previous day, and the one big criticism of their play in the middle period was that the four-man midfield provided few passes, and little support, for the isolated strikers. Russell, badly short of match practice due to injury and illness, looked as though he was running through treacle at times, and did well to stay on the pitch until the final quarter of an hour when he so nearly earned his team what would have been a well-deserved point. As too often this season, United did not inject the necessary urgency into their attacking play until they fell behind. Then, with Neil Mustoe making dangerous darting runs, they showed how the Rovers defence could be stretched and sliced open. McFarland accentuated the positive, emphasising the qualities which put his team virtually on a par with one of the top teams. There was, indeed, quite a bit to give the optimists hope for the second half of the season, although the manner of the defeat will only add to the conviction of fatalists among the fans that this is an unlucky and doomed campaign.
Report © Cambridge Newspapers
Ltd
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After arriving in Bristol and finding somewhere to park we made our way to the ground. As we hadn't been to the Memorial Ground before, it was a bit of a surprise to see this small compact ground hold over 9000 people.
We were situated along the length of the pitch but right in the far corner with no roof. There was an enormous inflated Rovers shirt in the corner, which we thought was perhaps there for us to aim at!!!!! Both the stands behind the goals were small with tarpaulin like covers over them. They looked just like marquees with no sides. There was a large stand opposite us where the teams emerged from. I don't know whether Rovers thought they were live on Sky but they had the "pom pom" girls out before kick-off!!!!
We started the game off quite well and it was hard to tell which team was 3rd from top. We carried on battling against them and were not out of our depth throughout the whole game. It was good to see Marshall shouting at the back four, especially Eustace, as they let him down a couple of times.
Their goal came when Eustace allowed his player (Roberts) to turn and shoot. We were unlucky when we had a goal disallowed for Benjamin being off-side. I was too busy jumping around trying not to knock anyone out with my brolly to notice the linesman's flag. We were then reduced to 10 men when Jason Kavanagh was booked for his second offence and was sent off. We kept pushing for that all important equaliser when Butler hit the post. It was another case of "if only"".
Coming out of the ground I could hear the Rovers fans saying how well Cambridge had played and why were they at the bottom of the table. I have to say that we did play well and I do believe that we have the chance to stay up this season if we can only put these 1-0 defeats into wins. We are not a bad team and we are not far from being there, the results show this. We have only lost a couple of matches with high scores so we must be doing something right.
Let's really make the effort on Saturday and drag as many people as we can to Wrexham. We can give them great support if only a few more people would come. If you don't want to drive alone or need a lift then ask. Let's show Wrexham that the result in the League was just a one off and give them a good beating.
I know of quite a few people that don't normally travel that are going, so come on this is your chance to be counted and make the difference. Just think, a good win away in the cup could set us up for a good win the following week at Reading. Don't go just because it is another new ground, go because you want to cheer United onto Second Division survival.
Hope to see more of you there.
Julie
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Deciding
upon his man of the match, Mark commented, "Alex Russell and Neil
Mackenzie both put in a lot of work and made a lot of challenges, which
is not their natural game. Clive
Wilson had a much better game up against Walters, helped a great deal
by Russell who was doing almost a man-to-man job on him.