Nationwide League Division Two - Saturday 23rd October, 1999
Cambridge United (4-4-2): Van Heusden, Chenery, Joseph, Eustace, Wilson (Cassidy 87'); Ashbee (c), Mustoe, Paterson, Mackenzie; Butler (Wanless 77'), Youngs (Taylor 72').
Gillingham: Bartram, Smith, Ashby, Butters, Southall, Hessenthaler, Saunders (Noseworthy 74'), Pennock, Lewis (Hodge 46'), McGlinchey, Omoyimni (Thomson 46').
Referee: Paul Durkin (Portland)
Shots on target: Cambridge 5 Gillingham 8
Corners: Cambridge 3 Gillingham 11 |
Tom Youngs was the surprise choice to replace the suspended Trevor Benjamin and partner Martin Butler up front as the side switched to the anticipated 4-4-2 formation. Ben Chenery was recalled at right back, allowing Ian Ashbee to return to midfield, and Scott Eustace returned to defence in place of broken leg victim Andy Duncan. Martin Butler is the only player in the starting line-up to have scored this season!
The travelling U's who chose to stand on the open terrace were getting rained on as the game kicked off, and saw the home side make a bright start. In the second minute West Ham loanee Manny Omoyimni burst forward and fired a shot just wide, although Arjan Van Heusden had it covered, then two minutes later Junior Lewis beat the offside trap but was denied by a great recovering challenge by Marc Joseph as Lewis threatened to shoot.
United countered in the seventh minute with a Ben Chenery cross to Neil Mackenzie but his header was blocked as was his shot from the rebound. It was another ten minutes before we broke out of our half again, but it was made to count as Scott Paterson sent a lovely through ball to Tom Youngs who rounded Bartram and slid the ball home for his first ever senior goal.
The 20-year-old almost set up a second goal three minutes later when he broke down the left but his cross was just in front of the on-rushing Ian Ashbee. At this stage Gillingham were looking uncomfortable under some sustained pressure from the U's and the defence was looking slightly more solid than in recent weeks, while the new look midfield unit was functioning well.
In the 31st minute Butler and Youngs combined well halfway inside the Gills half and supplied a little ball inside to Neil Mustoe, and the busy midfielder hit a first time shot from 30 yards that dipped fractionally over the bar. The Gills' had a chance in the 35th minute when a corner was cleared only as far as Southall about 20 yards out, but his thumping drive was cleared off the line by Clive Wilson.
For the next ten minutes the crowd could entertain themselves by checking out the rainbows above them before late chances for both side. On 45 minutes Saunders headed fractionally over from a corner, then United nearly extended the lead two minutes into stoppage time after a break led by Youngs and Butler. They found Mackenzie overlapping on the left whose shot was blocked to Mustoe on the right, and he fired in a low drive only to see it hacked off the line.
Tom Youngs had made his mark with the goal and some good runs, although the communication between he and Martin Butler was understandably lacking sometimes, and our midfield unit continued to look more effective with the inclusion of Mackenzie and Paterson alongside the industrious Ashbee and Mustoe. (Half-time 0-1)
Gillingham made two changes at half-time, bringing on Andy Thomson and John Hodge for Omoyimni and Lewis, and the two newcomers combined after a minute and a half to level the score. Hodge crossed and as Van Heusden flapped at the ball it looked as though Thomson headed the ball in from almost under the crossbar, although later reports suggest that Van Heusden might have got the final touch to punch the ball into the net.
Two minutes later the Dutchman produced two great saves within seconds, first from Saunders and then another from Hodge as the defence failed to clear the danger. But in the 53rd minute it was the turn of the Gills defence to be all over the place as a Mustoe snap shot rebounded to Mackenzie on the angle, and his shot deceived Bartram who had to dive backwards to stop the ball, either on the line or over it. There was considerable doubt among the Gills fans behind him, as was demonstrated by their relieved cheers when the referees assistant indicated a goalkick.
On the hour Mackenzie slid a great ball into the box for Butler to chase but Bartram was out quickly to win the ball and flatten Butler in the process, and United's top scorer had to go off the field for a few minutes for some treatment after the collision. At the other end, in front of the travelling fans, Hessenthaler's 64th minute break led to a shot that should have been comfortable for Van Heusden to gather but went through his arms for a corner.
John Tayor replaced Youngs in the 72nd minute and seconds later Ashbee crossed to Paterson whose knockdown found Mackenzie but the defence closed him down quickly and shut the door on the chance. Then three minutes later Mackenzie's curling-cross shot from a very wide position was clawed away from under the bar by Bartram. Martin Butler left the field to be replaced by Paul Wanless after 77 minutes, apparently still suffering the ill effects of Bartrams' assault, and Gillingham caused a flutter at the other end in the 79th minute when McGlinchey crossed the ball and Wilson hacked the ball away with Noseworthy poised to shoot.
John Taylor felt the uncompromising nature of the Gills in the 81st minute after playing the ball to Mustoe, when he was clattered to the ground, but play went on and Mackenzie fired well over the bar from Mustoe's subsequent pass.
Paul Durkin, another Premiership referee officiating one of his quote of Nationwide games, had made a few strange decisions during the afternoon and defied logic when he awarded a corner to the Gills after Thomson had headed wide from a McGlinchey cross. Then came heartbreak for the battling U's as Gillingham raised their game for a few minutes and McGlinchey put in another cross low to the ground and substitute Thomson back-heeled the ball into the net.
United tried their best to support lone striker Taylor as we sought an equaliser, and it was Shaggy who headed a ball back across goal for Marc Joseph to head wide from six yards with four minutes left, but Gillingham were content to run the time down. The U's were left with nothing from a battling performance in which several players continued to show improvement and after going extremely close to scoring more goals.
Reporter Mark Johnson had two candidates for his man of the match, saying, "Marc Joseph had a good game and was close, and if he had scored that last one he would have been, without doubt! But it's Neil Mustoe who had a good game and battled away in midfield."
United drop a place to 22nd in the Second Division table after this defeat, while there is speculation that Brentford may have switched their attentions to Trevor Benjamin after having several bids turned down for Martin Butler.
RESULTS AND ATTENDANCES ON 23/10/99
Bristol Rovers 0-1 Notts County 8,188
Burnley 2-0 Bristol City 10,175
Bury 2-2 AFC Bournemouth 3,701
Chesterfield 1-1 Scunthorpe United 3,464
Colchester United 1-2 Millwall 3,392
Gillingham 2-1 Cambridge United 6,417
Oldham Athletic 1-2 Reading 4,963
Oxford United 0-1 Luton Town 5,866
Preston North End 2-1 Brentford 10,382
Stoke City 2-0 Wrexham 10,545
Wigan Athletic 2-0 Cardiff City 5,728
Wycombe Wanderers 0-2 Blackpool 5,021
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The ground has changed totally since I was last there, the old main stand is a building site, a big stand at the home end, a new stand along the side. The only unchanged area was the terracing behind the goal where visitors (and home fans) stand. There was no seats for visiting fans, so standing in the open was the only option, so we got wet!
In the 3rd minute a miss kick by Wilson gave a Gills forward a chance to run at Van Heusden, but he saved with his legs. The game then settled into a fairly even game with neither side doing much, until the 16th minute when Youngs ran down our right onto a ball through ball from (I think) Paterson, beat the goalkeeper and slotted in from a tight angle to give us the lead in front of the U's fans. A few minutes later he linked well with Mackenzie and burst through on our left but his shot was wide of the far post and too far from the incoming Butler. After half an hour Mustoe tried a long range shot which went over the bar.
On 34 minutes Gills threatened from a corner, but the shot was cleared off the line by the post by Wilson although there was some doubt as to whether the ball would have gone in or not. Paterson got injured but returned after treatment on the side of the pitch, then almost immediately got himself booked for a late challenge on presumably the chap who got him! During injury time we almost scored again, Butler ran through, Mackenzie had a shot that was blocked and Mustoe's follow up shot was also blocked by the 'keeper. 1-0 to U's at half time, and could have been more. Gills hadn't really threatened despite having quite a bit of possession.
A minute into the second half it all changed. Wilson thought he had forced the Gills player to play the ball over the bye line as it was crossed, but the linesman thought differently. The ball went to the near post at about head height where Van Heusden chose to punch (when he should have caught) under pressure from a forward but only succeeded in punching the ball into his own net for the equaliser.
A few minutes later Wilson was out of position and a pass went over him to the winger whose cross was eventually saved by Van Heusden. We thought we had taken the lead on 7 minutes when a shot through a crowd of players seemed to have gone over the line, only to see the players clear away and the 'keeper was left clutching the ball on the line.
Butler had a chance when put through but the keeper saved at his feet. After 26 minutes Taylor came on for Youngs. Their 'keeper had to make another good save from a curling cross from Paterson at the expense of a corner. On 31 minutes Butler went of to be replaced by Wanless, and he took little time before having a shot deflected for a corner. 7 minutes from the end of normal time Gills took a short corner, the player cut inside and shot towards goal and was probably surprised as the ball deflected off Taylor and into the net. We had a chance to equalise almost immediately, Taylor crossing the ball after a corner and Joseph headed wide of an open goal from a few yards out. He didn't even have to jump for the ball. A few minutes from the end Cassidy came on for Wilson.
I think we were unlucky to lose, our general play throughout was not too bad. Youngs was a willing runner and took his goal well, and I think he could get a run in the team at the expense of Kyd.
The midfield did well, Mackenzie has a lot of class and made making space look easy. Paterson continues to improve, Ashbee and Mustoe both looked solid and safe.
The back 4 did OK, limiting the number of chances that Gillingham had, but it was Van Heusden who had a bad day at the office. He didn't have a lot to do, and in the main what he did have to do he didn't do very well. He chose to punch when he could have caught the ball on more than one occasion, his kicking was poor, and shot stopping was not much better, giving away at least one corner when he should have held the ball comfortably.
Gills fans were not too complimentary, but then we had to score both their goals for them so they can't be that good despite being in the top half of the table. The referee was Paul Durkin who had a reasonable game, even if he did give them a corner when it was clearly a goal kick from where I stood!
The journey home was OK until an accident on the M11 caused a half hour stoppage. While waiting, the door of a hatchback car a few places ahead opened and out got a chap with no shirt on who then had a piss in the middle of the motorway! He was then followed by 2 naked chaps who ran to the hard shoulder for a piss. They all seemed to have had a drink or 2, the first chap staggered about then fell to the ground before being helped up by one of the naked men. As he climbed into the back of the car he hit his head as he pulled down the tailgate. A few minutes later he was out to relieve himself again in the middle of the road, by which time the traffic had started to move, but the cars behind him had to wait until he had finished!
Terry Wilby. |
After arriving in a very wet and overcast Gillingham we managed to park quite close to the ground. We left the umbrellas in the car as we planned to sit in the away supporters seats. It was only when we got outside the ground we could see that one side was demolished and when we eventually got to the turnstiles we were told "No Seating for away fans". Bloody charming. I could see this was to be our first soaking this season.
I think most fans were surprised to see Tom Youngs start the match, but he did play bloody well, and even scored his first league goal for the club. I thought at last this could be our day but how wrong I was. We battled well and seemed to be alot more organised at the back. It was just a pity that Ice wasn't quite so organised.
Their first goal came from a cross from a player who was clearly offside and then instead of Ice catching the ball he seemed to punch it into his own net. I haven't seen the incident on telly yet.
The second looked like it took a wicked deflection off of Eustace? again I can't be sure as I couldn't see from my position.
Overall I thought it was a much better defensive performance and another game of "what ifs". I can see that it isn't going to take much longer for the team to get their acts together. It is coming together, let's just hope it all happens real soon.
Julie
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Andy Thompson came off the bench to bag a brace as Gillingham recorded their third successive home win, coming from behind to beat Cambridge 2-1.
Thompson replaced Manny Omoyinmi in a double change by boss Peter Taylor at the break, and within 60 seconds Thompson had netted, although Dutch goalkeeper Arjan van Heusden seemed to punch the ball into his own net.
It set up Gilligham's best spell of a patchy display, as Cambridge survived under intense pressure. But Thompson struck again with six minutes left, clipping home Brian McGlinchey's cross from a corner.
Cambridge had led courtesy of a 17th-minute goal from Tom Youngs, who slotted home Scott Paterson's through ball.
Report © Soccernet
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SOMETIMES during this stuttering season the good parts of a Cambridge United performance have stood out like gold nuggets in river sludge. Saturday's display was much better in that it was the bad bits which were isolated, like lumps of fat in a black pudding maybe. But the result was the same, another defeat, which left manager Roy McFarland and the fans wondering whether they should feel encouraged or deeply worried. United dominated the first half against a side who brought down Brentford after hammering Wrexham 5-1. All the ingredients seemed to be there for a shock first away win of the campaign, or at the very least a morale-boosting point. But, infuriatingly, they chucked it all away thanks to elementary errors in both goalmouths, giving rise to the fearful thought that if they could not get something from a game like this, how are they going to accumulate enough points to avoid relegation. Injuries and suspensions meants another round of musical chair changes; Ben Chenery back, Trevor Benjamin banned, Tom Youngs called up, Michael Kyd banished again. The style was switched to 4-4-2, with Ian Ashbee re-joining midfield after what McFarland described as "a bit of a miracle recovery" by centre-back Scott Eustace. It looked like mix-and-match, but it worked. The new line-up quickly clicked. Marc Joseph put some horror shows behind him to inspire the defence with a dominant display, leaving midfield to concentrate on building attacks, rather than baling out the back four. Ashbee's strength, allied to Neil Mustoe's energy, produced possession which Scott Paterson and Neil MacKenzie used well. Martin Butler saw much more of the ball than in the home game against Burnley, and at last Tom Youngs, the seemingly eternal substitute, who was in danger of beginning to believe matches only lasted 10 minutes and started at 4.35pm took a huge step from "prospect" to player. The Mildenhall lad's pace, quick-thinking and close control produced his first League goal in a performance which often tested the Gills defence, until he tired midway through the second half. For long spells it was the sort of team performance after which managers often say: "If we can carry on playing like that we'll win more than we lose." But McFarland was too angry about the points which got away, to do anything other than slam the second-half slips. Gillingham striker Andy Thomson, one of two half-time substitutes who helped transform the game, confirmed United's dominant position at the break. "We were flat," he said. "We needed something to get into the game. Sometimes it can be just a good tackle, but we got the lift of that goal straight away in the second half, and it changed the whole thing." "Hold it," was McFarland's simple instruction to his men. "We knew Gillingham would come at us," he said, "and we just had to stay solid for 10 minutes or so to knock them back." But hold it was precisely what Arjan Van Heusden failed to do. The lone hero of several other games this season, the big Dutchman flapped at a cross from the touchline, under no great threat from Thomson, letting his team down as he lamely punched the ball inside his own post. If he had caught it, as he could have, and was hit by the Gillingham striker, there would not have been a referee in the land these days who would not have blown for a foul on the keeper. Some home radio men gave the goal to Thomson, but he admitted: "I don't really know how it went in. I didn't get near enough for a touch." To his credit, Van Heusden shook the goal out of his head to rally like a boxer getting up off the canvas and pull off two excellent saves in the next five minutes, giving United the chance to hit back or hold on to a point. And they seemed to have regained the lead in the 53rd minute. A MacKenzie shot was blocked by goalkeeper Vince Bartram, who grabbed the ball at the second attempt when it appeared to have crossed the goal-line. And that was obviously what the bank of home supporters thought, judging by their roar of relief when curiously immobile Premiership referee Paul Durkin, who spent much of the match in the centre circle, waved play on. Both sides went close after that, a vital Ashbee tackle stopping Thomson, Bartam blocking a Butler shot, but a draw looked odds-on until United's double blunder inside 60 seconds just before the end gift-wrapped the points for their opponents.
The marking was missing as a classic short corner produced an 84th minute goal for Thomson. And when United opened up the Gillingham defence straight from the restart Joseph, clear in the centre of the goalmouth, somehow headed wide from six yards. He buried his head in his hands, and was not alone in the gesture as the United bench and disbelieving fans contemplated another miserable journey home.
Report © Cambridge Newspapers
Ltd
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Rain, Sun, Rain, Sun. And that was just the journey there. Left the car a few minutes from the ground in sun, got caught in a shower before getting to the pub. Bought chips to eat in the sun, eating chips in the rain a few minutes later. In case you hadn't already realised the weather was changeable!