Nationwide League Division Two - Saturday 18th September, 1999
Cambridge
United (4-3-3): Van Heusden, Chenery (Miller 46'), Duncan, Joseph (Taylor 88'),
Cassidy; Mustoe, Wanless, Ashbee (Eustace 73'); Byfield, Butler, Benjamin.
Millwall
(4-4-2): Warner, Bircham, Cahill, Fitzgerald, Harris, Neill (Ifill 51'),
Nethercott, Newman, Sadlier (Shaw 46'), Stuart, Livermore (Reid 13'). Referee: Mark Halsey (Welwyn Garden City)
Shots on target:
United 2, Millwall 13
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Only woeful finishing and the heroics of Arjan Van Heusden stood between Millwall and a cricket score this afternoon. They carved through United's defence at will and even a second half improvement and an early goal for the Us were worthless as Millwall scored twice to record their first home win of the season. There were two changes to the starting line-up today as Jamie Cassidy made his full league debut in place of the injured Clive Wilson, and new loan signing Darren Byfield replaced John Taylor up front. The weather at the New Den was cool and a bit breezy before kick-off. United started the match looking much like the side from the first half against Brentford. The defence was all over the place, the offside trap was woeful, and the fact that the score was still 0-0 after 25 minutes was due more to Millwall's finishing - or lack of - and Arjan Van Heusden than United's defence. It was all hands to the pump at some stages, with Martin Butler spotted helping out at left-back where Jamie Cassidy was having a torrid time. In the third minute ex-Cambridge City striker Neil Harris beat Cassidy for pace and raced into the area before falling in a heap with the young stand-in full-back in close attendance, however referee Halsey was unimpressed. Six minutes later Harris' sweeping pass found Lucas Neill wide on the right who turned inside and fired in a low shot that was saved by Arjan Van Heusden. United's first rare threat came in the 14th minute when Neil Mustoe's free kick skimmed off Byfield's forehead and away. Millwall immediately broke out through Neill who raced down the right and into the box. Mustoe blocked his cross, but only back to the same player whose shot was saved at point blank range by Van Heusden, the ball once again came back to Neill to take another shot, but this time it was hacked clear by the busy Mustoe. In the 17th minute Neill again skipped past the ineffective offside trap but placed his shot so far wide that only the corner flag was in danger. The pressure was non-stop, as a minute later Harris got away but his shot bounced off Van Heusden's knee. United got another corner after 24 minutes which Mustoe took, but Trevor Benjamin headed wide. The home side countered a moment later and Harris was clear again before the flag was belatedly raised for offside. On 31 minutes Martin Butler slipped away from his marker but put his cross just behind Byfield who had to check before firing in a shot that was blocked, and as United showed slight signs of getting into gear, Benjamin met Mustoe's 40th minute cross with a free header but sent it over the bar. With seconds of the first half remaining Harris broke away again and fired in a shot that was off target, but it was blocked by Ben Chenery and flew over the bar. Then in injury time United broke out through Byfield who launched the attack, finding Mustoe in the centre circle. His great ball found Benjamin wide on the left but as the big striker burst into the box a defender got a toe to the ball and put it out for a corner. It remained a mystery at half-time how Millwall had failed to score, with United's dodgy defending only excused by even dodgier finishing, while Arjan Van Heusden had produced a couple of vital saves on the rare occasion the home side managed a shot on target. The Us had improved late in the half but no doubt both managers will have had plenty to say in the interval. (Half-time 0-0) Both sides made changes at half-time, Rob Miller replacing Chenery to make his U's debut, while Millwall's Paul Shaw replaced Richard Sadlier. As usual, United looked much better and more lively after the break, and a goal was not long in coming. In the 53rd minute Darren Byfield got into the box but was clattered the ground as he was about to shoot, and Mr Halsey, who was very close to the incident, had no hesitation in awarding the spot kick. Top scorer Martin Butler stepped up to stroke the ball away from Tony Warner as he dived the wrong way, his second cool penalty in successive matches. But in another increasing familiar trend, we conceded a goal soon afterwards. Neil Harris beat the offside trap to cut in from the right and go one-on-one with Van Heusden before producing a clinical finish to equalise in the 56th minute. Worse was to come, although a warning was issued in the 70th minute when Tim Cahill skinned Rob Miller, got into the area and saw his shot brilliantly saved by Van Heusden. Two minutes later the same player collected a long ball on his chest and had all the time and space in the world to bring it down and thump it past the big Dutchman. Immediately Roy McFarland sent Scott Eustace on for Ian Ashbee and pushed Cassidy forward into midfield, playing three defenders at the back, four across midfield with Paul Wanless sitting in front of the defence, and the three strikers up front. With ten minutes remaining Cahill beat Wanless for pace and found sub Paul Shaw whose shot was kicked away by Van Heusden, and a minute later Byfield got on the end of Benjamin's flick, but clearly pushed his defender out of the way before rattling a shot into the net, and there could be no argument with the decision to disallow the chance.
Reporter Mark Johnson had no hesitation in naming his man of the match this week: "Neil Mustoe - as whole-hearted as ever, trying to cope with the inadequacies of the defence. Not afraid to put his foot in, and named just ahead of Ian Ashbee as he stayed on to the end."
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We were a heartless, lifeless, passionless disgrace who once again displayed an alarming lack of awareness and competence which made taking something out of the game about as likely as somebody winning a million pounds on ITV. We entered the Lion's Den and were torn limb from limb. Millwall pulled a shaky defence shockingly out of position and shape on countless occasions during a desperately poor team performance. United defended like children, and played like marionettes on string. The game started as it meant to go on, with United firmly on the back foot. Fortunately Lucas Neill and Neil Harris were embarrassing themselves nearly as much as the United defence after they wasted half a dozen opportunities to give the home side the lead in the opening 20 minutes. That is perhaps a little unfair, as apart from woeful finishing Millwall were being frustrated by Arjan Van Heusden in the United goal. Jamie Cassidy wasn't so much having a nightmare at left back ... it was almost as though he had slipped into a coma. He might as well not have been there as time and time again it was down this flank United were undone. The former Liverpool starlet was playing the offside trap from inside the opponents half of the field - you had to see some of it to believe it. I don't think I can ever recall a defensive performance of the like, we could and should have lost this football match by a rugby score. It is worrying, it was shocking and it must be sorted out sooner rather than later before our season turns into a relegation scrap before we hit Christmas. Millwall looked lively going forward, and United were dead at the back. Not a good combination. The only attacks of note from United in the first half were a header form the out-of-sorts Benjamin and a speculative drive from Neil Mustoe on the edge of the box. The front three craved quality service, but it never looked like materialising from a midfield unit lacking the vision of Alex Russell. Neil Mustoe was one of the few who tried, in vain, to make things happen. There were too many passengers out there, too many people looking elsewhere to find the necessary ingredients to turn the game around. We weren't a team; we were an irksome, dysfunctional shambles. We made it to half time without conceding a goal, due to luck, poor finishing and some fine goalkeeping. The somnolent performance continued after the break, despite United taking the lead through a Martin Butler penalty. Aston Villa loan striker Darren Byfield started to come to life and after a neat turn inside the penalty box was felled by a Millwall defender. Butler made no mistake from the spot to give United a shockingly undeserved 53rd minute lead. The goal was like a tap in the ocean - it didn't make one bit of difference. Millwall still exploited the lack of organisation and composure at the back, added to by the fact Rob Miller had to replace the injured Ben Chenery at half time to make his United debut. Once they discovered yet another one of our defensive Achilles heels - our inability to deal with the lofted ball from midfield - there was only ever going to be one outcome. Just four minutes after taking the lead the game was level, and United were left blushing at the ease in which the defence was breached. Former Cambridge City front man Neil Harris sprung the suspect off-side trap to race onto goal and finish with the same degree of competence the United defence lacked. Perhaps it is time for us to turn to the dictionary once again. Look up the word gutless. Its definition - lacking energy or courage - is a perfect way of explaining the second half performance from this point onwards. It was a despicable and unacceptable farce which, if repeated for the rest of the season, will produce little other than relegation and heartbreak. How long before the winning goal? That was the question not only running through the minds of the band of travelling supporters perched high in the south stand, but the players as well. They gave up and were just waiting to be finished off by a team who hadn't won a league game since March of this year. We had to wait for a while, as Van Heusden and some more poor finishing from the Millwall strikers prevented the inevitable until the 72nd minute. Tim Cahill was allowed to control the ball on his chest at the far post, turn and volley the ball high into the roof of the net. Roy McFarland was sparked into action as he made various substitutions and changed it around at the back. We reverted to a wing back system as Eustace replaced Ashbee and John Taylor replaced Joseph. We had four forwards on the pitch, but it didn't make much difference. Millwall still looked the most likely team to score, and nearly did so on various other occasions in the remaining 15 minutes. United did have the chance to perform a robbery of the like seldom seen in that part of London, but Darren Byfield's 83rd minute strike was correctly ruled out for a push on the defender. The final whistle blew, and the realisation that yet another defeat had been registered started to sink in. In reality this is only the second worrying performance of the season to date. It would be easy - as I have probably done - to go over the top, but in the same sense it would be naive to ignore the fact that performances like this will only bring teams such as Hartlepool, Rochdale and Chester flooding back to the Abbey Stadium. It won't happen ... we are too good to go down ... I have seen it and said it all before in 1994. Let's get this sorted out before our season is over before it has even started. So, the London curse has struck again. Last season we crashed to defeats at Barnet, Leyton Orient and Brentford. Cambridge United really should have their very own sign at the base of the M11 to set this theory in stone. It could read: "Please leave your passion, determination, grit, ambition and competence here. Be sure to leave the three points at your chosen destination."
Arjan Van Heusden - 91% (9) *mom Ben Chenery - 65% (6) Ian Ashbee - 64% (6) Andy Duncan - 54% (5) Marc Joseph - 54% (5) Jamie Cassidy - 51% (5) Paul Wanless - 62% (6) Darren Byfield - 71% (7) Martin Butler - 74% (7) Trevor Benjamin - 56% (6) Neil Mustoe - 74% (7)
Save after save of breathtaking quality were produced during a complete performance that sadly few of his teammates could match. His kicking was as faultless as his defence was farcical. Will Jones |
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Where do I start. After finding somewhere less dodgy than under the arches to park we arrived inside the ground around 2pm.
I know at some grounds you are searched but I didn't realise it was to be so in depth. Normally a quick pat around your pockets and it's over, but not today. The female steward felt in my coat pockets and then requested me to undo my coat so she could check underneath it. I spoke to other women to see if they had been checked in detail and most of them said they weren't even searched. Perhaps it's because I went in with a group of hooligans!!
We were seated in the top tier of the stand, maybe as a precaution in case we won. The view wasn't too bad.
Again it was a case of woeful defending that let us down. We were lucky not to have been about 4-0 down but "Ice" produced some excellent saves in the first half. I don't think their keeper was tested at all really. Darren Byfield looked an interesting player who could get the ball, turn and run with it, and it was he who won the penalty.
We really have to get the defence sorted out or we will never be confident. If we score a goal, then it is obvious that we'll probably concede 2. When we were 2-1 down the team just seemed to give up, anyone would of thought that we were 4-1 down and didn't stand a chance. At least "Ice" had plenty of time to practise his goal kicks as bloody Duncan went through a spell of passing back to him, not knowing what else to do, he was booed for this.
The last point was the linesman called Mr Singh who was never up with play and his flagging for off-side was always late. We also had about 4 fans ejected from the ground, 2 before the game had even started. What was good, was the amount of fans that attended. I'll estimate around 500 although Randall Butt will probably say around 350. Right my ranting is over, someone else's turn now ...
Julie Mansfield
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After the Copa America, Copa Confederaciones and Primera "A", it was the prospect of a return to the cut and thrust that is the Nationwide League that drew me to Senegal Fields on Saturday...
So far this season I've kept in touch with events via the web site ... The general concenous of opinion being that United have been a little unlucky and that with a little more composure in front of goal, we would be in a much healthy position. Goals conceeded being put down to the fact that at this level we were being more regularly punished for our mistakes ...
But after Saturday who are we trying to kid?
What happened to the side that won promotion last year? Actually we are playing like them ... or like the side that muddled through the last month of the season.
Now in Mexico defending of the calibre of United's is the accepted norm. It's only because FIFA insist they will only recognise the 11-a-side game that the Mexican League even bothers with defenders ... they are just there to make up the numbers. Defensively we were a mess. None of the back four looked comfortable (and OK, Chenery was injured), but neither Duncan or Joseph imposed themselves, Cassidy was light weight and NO I haven't seen Clive Wilson, but on this showing we missed Jamie Campbell!
The fact that we didn't lose by a cricket score has to be put down to Ice's excellent display in goal and the fact that the Millwall forward line were as about as effective as their Mexican counterparts generaly are.
Midfield was non-existent, Muzzy, Wanny and Ash tried hard, but it was all perspiration and no inspiration. Wanny, for all his commitment and effort, is going to be severly caught out due to his lack of pace and ball control.
Only Buts up front looked busy. Trev looked disinterested and you can't tell me that Byfield was a better bet than Kyddie/Shaggy.
The only good thing about the day was that Sarf Bemondsey station was just around the corner and from there it's only five minutes to London Bridge, meaning I was home by 6:15.
I'd agree with Will's assesment ... and a long hard winter looms. WELCOME HOME!
SteveJ
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Millwall claimed their
first win of the season courtesy of a classic come back victory. Roy McFarland's
Cambridge side had grabbed an undeserved lead through Martin Butler's 53rd
minute penalty. But The Lions roared back almost immediately as Neil Harris
levelled things only four minutes later and Tim Cahill sealed their win
with a stunning scissor kick volley 18 minutes from time.
It was no less than the home side deserved against a United side getting
to grips with second division life. The U's seemed to have little problem
finding the net, with Butler's strike taking their tally to 12 for the season
already. But at the other end, United defended way too far up the field
and their offside trap became all too predictable and too easily breached.
Time after time during the course of both halves Cambridge's rear guard
was breached leaving goalkeeper Arjan Van Heusden a lonely last line of
defence.
Millwall winger Lucas Neill was the first to bear down on the unprotected
Cambridge 'keeper but a superb double stop thwarted the young Australian.
Only a minute later Neill again broke clear but with his confidence dented
from the earlier miss, he chose to pass when one-on-one with the 'keeper.
Millwall's early pressure continued as Neil Harris capitalised on Marc Joseph's
poor headed backpass, but shot straight at the overworked Van Heusden. Harris,
The Lions top scorer last term failed to convert Neill's pull back just
before the break to somehow leave it scoreless at half-time.
United's three-man strike force had threatened throughout the half but failed
to get a shot on target. On loan Darren Byfield showed several touches to
confirm McFarland's shrewd acquisition. And it was the Villa striker's persistance
that led to the opening goal as Stuart Nethercott upended him in the area
and Butler stepped up to send The Lions 'keeper the wrong way from the spot.
The lead was short lived however, as woeful defending, later berated by
Roy McFarland allowed The Lions to draw level. From a free-kick ten yards
into the United half, Harris was allowed the space to run in unopposed and
finish on the run. Roy McFarland laid the blame for the goal squarely at
the feet of Joseph and to make matters worse, it was the same player who
failed to pick up Tim Cahill, allowing The Lions midfielder time to chest
down and steady himself before blasting home the winner.
Millwall should have increased their lead but United's goal led a charmed
life. The Lions were almost made to pay as Darren Byfield stabbed home only
to have his effort ruled out for an earlier infringement. But for a team
who had almost forgotten that winning feeling, anything other than three
points for Millwall would have been a travesty.
Report © Evening Standard
Online
Millwall finally enjoyed
their first Division Two win of the season at the sixth attempt thanks to
second half goals from Neil Harris and Tim Cahill.
The visitors had amazingly
contained a rampant Millwall during a one way first half that featured fine
efforts from Lucas Neill and Harris.
The visitors amazingly
though, snatched the lead eight minutes after the break thanks to a precise
Martin Butler penalty after Lions captain Stuart Nethercott had felled on-loan
Villa striker Darren Byfield.
But within four minutes
the Lions were level, Harris comprehensively beating visiting keeper Arjan
van Heusden after defender Ricky Newman had delivered a fine through ball.
Millwall's continued
pressure finally took its toll on 72 minutes, Cahill controlling Marc Bircham's
cross-field pass before volleying past a bemused van Heusden.
Report © Soccernet
RANDALL BUTT reports on a day United would rather forget, where Millwall could have doubled or trebled their total.
A GREAT goalkeeping display at The Den arrived two years too late for Arjan Van Heusden, much like his defenders whenever Millwall carved out an opening.
The Dutchmen was rejected by the Londoners when he went on trial with them to escape from Port Vale reserves. But on Saturday he showed them what they missed as he bravely and brilliantly prevented defeat turning into humiliation for Cambridge United.
For four fairytale minutes there even seemed a chance his defiant display might inspire a victory only a little less impressive than Daniel's against-the-odds encounter in the lions' lair. When Martin Butler banged in a 53rd minute penalty, the electronic scoreboard amazingly showed 0-1, rather than 4-1.
It was the usual pattern taken to excruciating extremes. They were not merely bad at the back in the opening 20 minutes, they were awful - Millwall five shots on target, three clear chances and five corners, United nothing. Thanks to Van Heusden and some laughable finishing they held out, and began to get into the game five minutes before the break.
The magic potion -- there must be one -- was slipped into the tea at half time, and they emerged to startle the home side and their traditionally noisy fans with a series of attacks which produced the goal. What they had to do then was keep the ball and control the game for about 10 minutes, which might well have been all that was needed to sew enough seeds of doubt in the minds of a Millwall side without a victory for nine games.
Their manager Alan McLeary revealed the frailty of their confidence when he admitted: "When Cambridge scored I thought it was going to be another one of those days. We had all those chances but we were a goal down."
If he was thinking that after a dominant first half display reflected in statistics of eight goal attempts on target to one, and seven corners to just two, then his players could hardly have been in a very different frame of mind. But United let themselves and their fans down by falling asleep at a free kick just four minutes after taking their unlikely lead.
Over 600 United supporters were performing the impressive feat of drowning out the dreaded denizens of The Den with what sounded like "Walking in a Butler Wonderland" when, to add insult to injury, former Cambridge City man Neil Harris found the door in the defence not so much unlocked as wide open with an invitation hanging on the handle.
A battling, bruising, backs-to-the-wall draw would have done after that for a United team sliding down the division. But the spirit they summoned up at Wigan was missing, while the flesh was woefully weak.
Too often, as in the first half, the action boiled down to the kind of duel only Clint Eastwood can keep on winning. One man against the entire mob.
In the first half Van Heusden pulled off four top class saves, from Lucas Neil (twice in a split second), Harris and Jamie Sadlier, as Millwall, aided by an apparently befuddled linesman, continually waltzed through what served as an offside trap. As they went for the win he blocked a shot from Steve Reid, who had broken completely clear in the 70th minute, and later on came out on top in a one-on-one with Paul Shaw.
Unfortunately for United, between those heroics, he was completely exposed by his disorganised defence when a left-wing cross found Tim Cahill unmarked at the far post.
New striker Darren Byfield offered some hope on his loan debut from Aston Villa. A quick and clever player with good close control, he made his mark despite lacking the support he needed from his fellow forwards and a sluggish midfield. He was beaten by a split second to a Butler pass just before the break, hit a raking cross Ian Ashbee could not make the most of at the start of the second half, worried the Millwall defence enough to force the penalty and hammered what some fans, for a blissful instant, thought was the equaliser in the 82nd minute.
But he was penalised for a bit of 50-50 jostling at the edge of the area with a defender, the kind of contest which was unremarkable and unpunished in the days when football was a contact sport. He could help form a fearsome front three when Butler and Trevor Benjamin are in meaner mood than in this match.
Something United will need desperately if they are going to have to score three goals to win a game.
Report © Cambridge Newspapers Ltd
Julie Mansfield's match report
Steve Jillings' match report
London Evening Standard match report
Soccernet match report
Cambridge Evening News match report
The match petered out after that as the home side clung determinedly to
their first home win of the season, despite the arrival of John Taylor in
place of Marc Joseph with two minutes remaining.
Look
up the word pathetic in the dictionary. Its definition - arousing pity or
sadness: miserably inadequate - offers a better elucidation to United's
performance than I ever could.
Man
of the Match: Arjan Van Heusden saved United from one of the most embarrassing
defeats in their league history.