Nationwide League Division Two - Saturday 29th April, 2000
Cambridge
United (4-4-2): Perez, Kavanagh, Eustace, McNeil, Joseph; Hunt,
Wanless (c), Ashbee, Hansen (Russell 67'); Abbey (Youngs 83'), Benjamin
(Chillingworth 71'). Burnley:
Crichton, West, Thomas, Davis, Branch, Mellon, Cook (Jepson 61'), Johnrose,
Mullin, Payton (Little 67'), Cooke (Wright 56'). Referee: Mark R. Warren (Walsall). Shots
on target: Burnley 3 Cambridge 2
|
Roy
McFarland made just one change to the team today, bringing in Zema Abbey
in place of John Taylor and sticking with the tried and trusted 4-4-2
formation despite hinting that he was considering making the most of his
midfield options by experimenting with 4-5-1. The game kicked off in cool
and misty conditions. Burnley,
needing a win to keep up their pursuit of the second automatic promotion
place, made an electric start although United had the first early chance.
In the third minute Ian Ashbee intercepted a Burnley attack and broke
forward before threading the ball into the path of Trevor Benjamin, but
his shot from 12 yards was across the face of goal and wide. The U's
were struggling to lift the early siege and in the fourth minute Payton
and Mullin got into the area and linked to cross the ball towards Andy
Cooke, but the Clarets' striker was denied on the edge of the six yard
box by Scott Eustace's great challenge. Five minutes late Mullin and Payton
linked again and this time Payton found himself with the ball at his feet
10 yards out, but Eustace and Martin McNeil quickly closed him down to
avert the danger. Then in
the 12th minute a Jon Hunt pass was flicked on by the heads of Benjamin
and Abbey into the path of John Hansen, but 10 yards out and on an angle
he was slightly off balance and fired his shot over the angle of the crossbar
and post. Burnley took the lead two minutes later through a superb finish.
A Davis header found Payton with his back to goal on the corner of the
six yard box, but his drag-back slipped Eustace and made space for a turn
and shot into the top corner. It was a stunning goal in front of the travelling
U's fans. United's
next chance came five minutes later when Hunt placed his free kick onto
the head of Paul Wanless at the far post, but his looping header was clawed
from under his bar by Paul Crichton. The away fans gave excellent support
as the U's struggled to cope with the constant pressure, but Burnley extended
their lead in the 32nd minute. Paul Cook's freekick to Mitchell Thomas
was flicked on to Andy Cooke at the far post, and although his header
drew a great save from Lionel Perez, who touched it onto the post, it
rebounded to land on the feet of Payton and he had the simplest of tap-ins
from three yards. Two minutes
later we should have pulled one back when Hansen's corner was met by the
head of Scott Eustace who appeared on the edge of the six yard box but
headed over. There was little further goalmouth action in a half that
saw United have the best chances but Burnley had more possession and took
their chances, and Payton's goals showed why he is the division's leading
scorer. He produced a superb finish for his first while the second was
a real poacher's goal and took his tally for the season to 27. (Half-time
2-0) John Hansen
had the first chance after the break, driving in a speculative shot from
25 yards after just 58 seconds and almost catching Crichton off his line.
Then in the 50th minute after a good move from United Ashbee found Hansen
at the far post but his rasping volley was just over the post, unable
to repeat the scorcher he scored against Preston on Monday. Jason Kavanagh
and Andy Cooke were both booked after a 53rd minute scuffle. Veteran
striker Ian Wright entered the fray in the 56th minute in place of Cooke
and saw his first action three minutes later. He caught Eustace in possession
but his sweeping pass for Payton was intercepted by a header by Lionel
Perez, three yards outside his own area. Burnley then made two further
changes and adopted a more defensive strategy, while McFarland sent Alex
Russell on for his long-awaited comeback in place of Hansen. The nervousness
among the home fans seemed to be affecting the players on the pitch as
they were a shadow of their first half attacking force, and although the
U's had improved only marginally they didn't resemble a team with nothing
to play for. In
the 70th minute Abbey and Benjamin burst away and combined to put Benjamin
in for a shot on the turn that he fired just wide. That was his final
involvement of the afternoon as McFarland then sent teenager Daniel Chillingworth
into the fray for 20 minutes first team experience. United
had a scare in the 74th minute when Perez spilled a long throw under pressure,
but Eustace hooked the ball clear, but two minutes later it could have
been three nil. Lennie
Johnrose got to the goalline, cut into the area and went down under pressure
from Kavanagh, but mysteriously - and to United's relief - the referee
gave a freekick two yards outside the box. In the
79th minute Hunt got into the area but his ball across the face of goal
was hacked clear by a relieved Burnley defender, then four minutes later
Jason Kavanagh burst forward and crossed to Paul Wanless who stole unnoticed
into the area but headed wide from 10 yards. In the
86th minute Mullins got into the area and - with possibly Burnley's first
shot of the half - he blazed well wide. Two minutes later came the moment
we have waited for when Alex Russell threaded a superb, 'eye of the needle'
pass to 83rd minute substitute Tom Youngs as he scampered into the 18
yard box, but he pulled the ball back just behind Chillingworth. There was
some suspect organisation as the game drew to a close. The tunnel at Turf
Moor is positioned in the middle of the away end and - obviously anticipating
the inevitable - Roy McFarland sent the players from the bench to the
tunnel a couple of minutes from time. Despite announcements pleading with
the fans not to invade the pitch it seemed as though 14,000 of the 15,000
in the ground ended up on the pitch and although there were a line of
stewards and police horses to prevent them approaching the away fans,
Lionel Perez and a couple of U's players were engulfed by Burnley fans
and Perez appeared to have trouble hanging onto this shirt at one stage.
Reporter
Mark Johnson made special mention of the way the half time tea affected
both teams, with Burnley looking nervous after the break and allowing
United to produce a few scares, and also mentioned the excellent support
of the estimated 300 travelling U's. Ref
watch: "Mr Warren had a tenuous grip on the match - 4/10" Results
elsewhere saw Scunthorpe and Blackpool relegated to Division Two while
Darlington and Swansea are promoted from Division Three. Cardiff and Oxford
are vying to avoid the fourth relegation place.
Andy Payton took his goal tally for the season to 27 to keep alive Burnley's hopes of automatic promotion to Division One with both goals in the Clarets' win over Cambridge.
Payton struck twice in the first half to kill off Cambridge and give the Burnley every chance of realising their dream. Payton conjured a magical opener on 13 minutes after a knock down by skipper Steve Davis. The striker with the golden boot was then on hand to tap home from close range after Andy Cooke's header had come back off a post.
Burnley were forced on the defensive for much of the second half but Cambridge rarely threatened Paul Crichton's goal and John Mullin wasted two chances to add to Burnley's lead.
(c) Copyright Press Association Ltd 2000
Burnley moved clear in the Second Division's second automatic promotion place after seeing off Cambridge thanks to Andy Payton.
The Clarets now face an anxious final day at Scunthorpe and club officials announced that the game will be beamed back to Turf Moor to a giant screen.
Payton settled a dour tussle with two goals in the first half and Cambridge never really threatened to make a game of it. Ironically the visitors, now free from the threat of relegation, should have taken an early lead when John Hansen blazed a shot wide after being out clear by Trevor Benjamin.
Cambridge paid immediately for the miss as Burnley swept into the lead, Payton scoring a marvellous goal. After Steve Davis' header had fallen into his path Payton skipped past the defender before crashing a left-foot shot beyond Lionel Perez.
But Payton wasn't finished there and on the half-hour he took his tally for the season to 27. A header from Andy Cooke bounced off the far post and Payton reacted quickly to tap the ball home from close range.
Burnley sat back on their lead, inviting Cambridge to attack after half-time and Hansen was unfortunate to see a goal-bound shot well held by Paul Crichton. An off-the-field skirmish brought bookings for Cooke and Jason Kavanagh before Cambridge enjoyed ther best spell of the game.
Scott Eustace went close with a header and Benjamin shaved a post with a shot on the turn before being substituted. But when Paul Wanless headed wide Cambridge's challenge faded and John Mullin wasted two opportunities to add to Burnley's lead.
He shot wide when Perez dropped a cross and then fired across goal much to the annoyance of Ian Wright who was waiting unmarked for a cross.
Burnley manager Stan Ternent refused to get carried away even though his team now have a three-point cushion in second spot. He admitted it hadn't been a fluid performance but said "the name of the game at the moment is getting points on the board. Playing well is one thing but we need wins and today we got one."
THIS was like coming across an Easter selection box, slightly past its sell-by date. A layer of Colchester to get through before some encouraging tastes of the Preston performance. Unfortunately, like Monday's match at the Abbey, the home side taking a two- goal, first-half lead drained all the edge and tension out of the game much too early. United roused themselves after a generally poor 45 minutes to show once again they could match one of the best sides in the second division. But although they dominated play for long spells after the break, they were unable to create anywhere near enough good scoring chances to put a cat among Burnley's complacent pigeons. The Lancashire side, needing victory in their aim for automatic promotion, had no ambition after the break other than to hold their lead, an intention telegraphed by the withdrawal of their most talented forward and goalscorer, Andy Payton, after 68 minutes. So the game plodded towards its inevitable end, as grey as the mist rolling down from the hills over the rows of mill terraces visible from the huge Turf Moor grandstand. It may have been sunny in Cambridge on Saturday, but it was November as usual in Burnley, some explanation maybe for United looking at times in the first half like the team who slipped to the bottom of the table at that time. It might have been different if they could have made more of opportunities in the opening 20 minutes before the home team took a firm grip. But Trevor Benjamin hit a wild shot across the face of goal after breaking through in the third minute, then Wanless could not get enough power on a 19th minute header from Jonathan Hunt's free kick, goalkeeper Paul Crighton grabbing the ball under his crossbar. Four minutes before that Payton had scored a superb individualist goal, and for almost a quarter of an hour afterwards Burnley, sharper and quicker in midfield, piled on the pressure which produced their second. United manager Roy McFarland rested John Taylor to give Zema Abbey experience, but with midfield unable to produce much of a service, and Benjamin struggling to hold the ball when it did arrive, the rookie looked lost most of the time. The second half started like the first, United getting a glimpse of a chance. but wasting it, John Hansen going for a repeat of his spectacular srike against Preston, but this time volleying the ball into the 300 or so United fans behind that goal. Perhaps that scare was what persuaded Burnley boss Stan Ternent to switch to the tedious "hold-what-we-have" tactics. Initially, it looked as though he might be trying to go for the killer third goal when, to the almost embarrassing delight of the 15,000 home fans, he sent on Ian Wright as a 55th minute substitute. But the Arsenal legend did next to nothing except pull his shirt out of his short and slide in to foul Ian Ashbee under the referee's nose. For the most part his team-mates ignored him, preferring to concentrate on defence. United's substitutions were more interesting, Alex Russell adding a bit of class, then young strikers Daniel Chillingworth and Tom Youngs producing some well timed, pacy runs to give the fans who had made the long trip something to cheer, even if there was no pay-off in front of goal. What the game did produce were nominations for "most stupid supporter of the season," and "daftest refereeing decision." Some Burnley dolt behind United's goal held out the ball to keeper Lionel Perez, then threw it over his head as the Frenchman went to collect it. Perez clapped his hands and the fan was probably dim enough to think it was in appreciation of his childish jape rather than contempt for it. Walsall official Mark Warren had two entries in his category. Jason Kavanagh had a 50-50 tangle with a Burnley player two yards inside the United penalty area. The referee awarded a free kick to Burnley two feet outside the box. Then he booked Abbey apparently because the crowd demanded it. The United striker was a good 10 yards away from a free kick, but the fans howled, Warren showed the yellow card, and moved him back to about 12 yards from the ball. How empty the summer is going to seem without such little gems of entertainment. Report © Cambridge Newspapers Ltd
Can't say I was very impressed with Zema Abbey though, but I suppose time is what he needs more than anything and is still only young. He did a few good things but just didn't get involved enough in the game for my liking and failed to link up effectivly with the rest of his teamates -- than seemed to be a main problem during most of the game. I put tat down to the change in formation to be honest.
I am becoming more impressed with Jon Hunt each game, but after reading the CEN he is another player out of our reach regarding wages, as he still has a year left on his contract with Sheffield United.
Lionel was, again, pure and utter class. I hope and pray that he decides he wants to join the club (within our wage structure) as he would offer a really firm base to build the team on in the close season -- I am still up for begging him to stay after the Wycombe game!
It was great to see Martin McNeil have a another good game, and when Ian Wright came on it wouldn't be an overstatement to say the former England international was 'in his pocket' and didn't get much of a sniff. In all honesty Burnley didn't get much of a sniff after their second goal which, sadly, appeared to be way, way offside. Those the breaks though, the referee was pretty strange yet again and only seemed able to book United players for average fouls when letting the Burnley players off with murder.
Considering the importance of the game I thought the recation and support from the Burnley crowd was pretty average to say the least -- I was expecting some kind of 'wall of noise' throughout the game, but even when the news that Wigan were losing at home came through the support never really took of for them, very average support that only ever got going once or twice for the whole 90 minuites. The United fans were singing for the whole game -- and we had nothing other than pride to play for let alone a place in the first division.
A mini pitch invation after the game offered slight amusement with about 300 14 year olds seemingly putting on a show in front of the away end claiming that we were 'going down' and the like -- highly amusing stuff on a pretty average day for the U's. I am just glad we didn't 'need' anything from this game, although with Oxford win we are still not *mathamatically* safe until we get a point against Wycombe ... I said it would go to the last day of the season!!
I didn't think, apart from the first 20 mins or so, that Burnley were anything special and, if they do go up, will struggle greatly in the first division without considerably strengthening their squad. I was a bit dissapointed that we didn't test them more, but we were very unlucky not to have scored more than one goal in the second half as Tom Youngs and Alex Russell came on and sliced through the defence on two occasions -- we really have missed Alex Russell this season and I pray he is back to full fitness and can play a full campaign next year.
Will Jones
U's Net report
Man
of the match: "Martin McNeil (left) - Emboldened by the
presence of Scott Eustace and Lionel Perez he did a good job on the lively
Burnley attack. Eustace was in with a shout but was thrown off the scent
by Payton's great drag-back for the first goal."
Results on Saturday 29th April 2000
Bristol Rovers 2-2 AFC Bournemouth 8,847
Burnley 2-0 Cambridge United 15,084
Bury 1-1 Reading 3,869
Chesterfield 2-1 Notts County 2,455
Colchester United 3-4 Bristol City 4,013
Gillingham 2-0 Brentford 9,001
Oldham Athletic 1-1 Blackpool 6,290
Oxford United 2-0 Scunthorpe United 6,752
Preston North End 3-2 Millwall 19,407
Wigan Athletic 0-1 Wrexham 7,245
Wycombe Wanderers 0-1 Luton Town 5,379
Bottom of Division Two table
17 Brentford 45 13 12 20 47 61 -14 51
18 Colchester United 45 14 9 22 59 82 -23 51
19 Cambridge United 45 12 12 21 63 63 0 48
20 Oxford United 45 12 9 24 43 72 -29 45
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21 Cardiff City 43 8 17 18 42 61 -19 41
22 Blackpool 45 8 16 21 47 75 -28 40
23 Scunthorpe United 45 9 12 24 39 72 -33 39
24 Chesterfield 45 7 14 24 32 61 -29 35
Press Association match report
Sports.com match report
Cambridge Evening News match report
Will Jones' match report
Can't say I am a great fan of the 4-5-1 formation, we looked pretty dire when playing it in the first half - totally lost the plot in the midfield and nobody seemed to know what job they were doing. Trevor seemed lost without Shaggy up there with him but after riding the early storm we were starting to look the better side and, on paper, probably had as many chances as Burnley during the game and could have got a point if our finishing had been better.
