Cambridge United (4-4-2): Van Heusden, Chenery, Duncan, Joseph, Wilson; Russell, Wanless, Ashbee, Cassidy (Taylor 72'); Butler, Benjamin.
Wigan Athletic (4-3-3): Carroll, Green, Sheridan, Balmer, McGibbon, Kilford (Lee 83'), O'Neill (Martinez 71'), Porter, Howarth, Liddell, Barlow. Referee: David Laws (Whitley Bay)
Shots on target: United 3 Wigan 4 |
Cambridge United became the first team to take a point away from the impressive new JJB Stadium, thanks to a change of tactics, solid defending and a goal from ever-green sub John Taylor. Roy McFarland made two changes to the team this afternoon, calling up Marc Joseph for his first start of the season in place of Scott Eustace, and handing Jamie Cassidy his full debut in a four man midfield. Wigan had the luxury of leaving former top scorer Graeme Jones on the bench despite playing with three up front. The first half was a fairly even affair, with the home side looking classy but being thwarted by United's tightly-sprung offside trap, and the action was not all one way. Russell and Cassidy were not employed as standard wide midfielders but rather as the forward pairing in two ranks of midfielders, and Russell in particular had a free role with licence to cut inside. Both defences were busy and restricted the goal mouth incidents to a minimum. Ian Ashbee had a chance in the seventh minute when his shot from 30 yards was collected comfortably by £350,000 goalkeeper Roy Carroll. United carved out a chance in the 34th minute when Cassidy broke out and found Clive Wilson on the overlap, Wilson made a clever pass inside to Butler who found Benjamin on the edge of the box but his shot was deflected wide. Wigan's best chance came in the 42nd minute when they found themselves four against two just inside the area, but Liddell sliced his shot badly over the bar. Wigan looked non-plussed by United's change of formation and at half-time the game was poised. Andy Duncan had a sound first half in defence while Alex Russell was effective in his free role, and up front Butler and Benjamin had not seen too much of the ball but caused problems for Wigan's defence when they did. (Half-time 0-0) United started the second half encouragingly, and after just 32 seconds Butler beat his man on the right and crossed to Paul Wanless, whose volley from 20 yards out was saved at full stretch by Carroll. Three minutes later Liddell's shot on the turn was brilliantly punched behind by Arjan Van Heusden, but the goalkeeper could do nothing about Pat McGibbon's header from the corner kick. Liddell had a chance to extend the home side's lead in the 52nd minute but he fired over after meeting Barlow's right wing cross. Ten minutes later Liddell worked his way into the box, although delayed by Chenery and then Joseph, and his shot was well kicked away by Van Heusden. The impressive new JJB Stadium and the class of the opposition gave the game the atmosphere of a cup tie, but United were far from over-awed this week. In the 72nd minute Ashbee, having another fine game, was poised to shoot when Carroll reacted smartly to deny him, and the the Us almost equalised two minutes later. In a minute of end-to-end action Andy Duncan thumped his freekick into the defensive wall and Wigan broke away, but the chance was brilliantly cut out by Wilson who cleared the danger to Ashbee. The busy midfielder brought the ball forward and picked out Butler with a great pass as the striker did well to stay onside, but despite lifting the ball over Carroll his shot hit the post. United were playing well to still be in with a chance against the leaders although Cassidy had looked somewhat off the pace, and the young midfielder, who missed a year through injury before signing for United, was replaced by John Taylor in the 72nd minute. The 34-year-old proved that he can still be our hero in Division Two just five minutes later when Butler put Ben Chenery through and the defender, who rarely gets so far forward, beat a man before placing an inch perfect cross onto Taylor's head for him to do the rest. 1-1, in front of the delighted United fans. Both sides had a chance to take all three points after Taylor's goal. In the 85th minute Wigan substitute Martinez's looping goalbound header was clawed from under the bar by Van Heusden and Barlow sliced the rebound over, then three minutes later Taylor got possession on the edge of the D but thumped his rasping shot into the goalkeeper's chest. The game wound down to a tense end and Wigan were booed off the pitch by sections of their support, while United can be proud to have taken a point from a very experienced and expensive side. Reporter Mark Johnson named Ian Ashbee as his man of the match: "It could have been Arjan Van Heusden for two world class saves, but Ian Ashbee was the grit in the oyster of midfield, producing a pearl of a performance!"
RESULTS AND ATTENDANCES ON 30/08/99
Blackpool 1-1 Oxford United 3,670
Bristol Rovers 1-0 Burnley 7,624
Bury 5-2 Colchester United 3,360
Cardiff City 1-1 Scunthorpe United 8,006
Stoke City 1-1 Gillingham 8,369
Wigan Athletic 1-1 Cambridge United 5,976
|
RANDALL BUTT reports as United give their supporters a second point against early leaders of the second division. A SWITCH of styles, a change in defence, but in the end Cambridge United were rescued from what would have been undeserved defeat by their old familiar SOS "Send on Shaggy." Top-of-the-table Wigan Athletic were threatening to wrap up yesterday's match after snatching the lead early in the second half, when John Taylor yet again came to the rescue. Within two minutes of going on as a 71st minute substitute, the 34-year-old player-coach set up the move which almost produced the equaliser. He laid the ball off to Ian Ashbee who sent Martin Butler through for a shot which, like Trevor Benjamin's at the Abbey on Saturday, looked a goal all the way, until it curled on to a post. But four minutes later, with Wigan still rattled by the scare, Taylor out-thought and outjumped the defence to head the equaliser. "The 'Legend' will get the glory again," said McFarland with a mock groan, "we'll be hearing all about it for a while from him as usual. But I believe overall we got what we deserved." Importantly for United's morale, less than a week after the Bristol City surrender, Wigan boss John Benson agreed: "I can't argue with the result," he said. "We were off colour, but Cambridge always made it hard for us. "They looked fresher than us in the second half despite making the long trip, and the draw was the best I could see us getting after they equalised." Goalkeeper Arjan Van Heusden had to make a couple of superb second half saves to ensure the second point in three days against a team at the top. But apart from occasionally having trouble dealing with talented midfielder Andy Liddell, United were never outclassed by a Wigan side who won 4-1 at Preston on Saturday. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of the 4-4-2 formation, however. Bringing in Jamie Cassidy as a left-sided midfielder in place of a striker might well have contributed to nullifying any danger from the home side during the first half. But it failed to produce a single threat to the home goal. It was the switch back to 4-3-3 with Taylor's dramatic arrival which finally achieved that. The lack of impact up front might, however, have been due as much to the quality of the individual play as to the new formation. It was as though some mischievous magic "dumb and dumber dust" had been sprinkled over both sides in an opening 45 minutes which Abbey Stadium supporters will be appalled to learn was even more sterile than Saturday's first-half stalemate. Butler was unfortunate not to get the passes some of his runs deserved, but when he got the chance of a break, he stepped on the ball under no pressure. Benjamin was running head first into defenders, and Alex Russell failed to make the most of a lot of midfield space. Another possible break ended when Paul Wanless hit a pass behind Benjamin as the striker was set to get away down the wing. Both teams were continually being caught offside, and when Wigan had their rare moments near the United goal, Liddle blazed wide, then Stuart Barlow ran into Ben Chenery with such clumsiness it looked as though the United right-back was invisible to him. All of this in a ground with about as much atmosphere as a 24-hour supermarket at three o'clock in the morning. The futuristic JJB Stadium is a magnificent new sporting amphitheatre, it was just that there were 25,000 seats and fewer than 6,000 customers. The very grand stand along the side of the pitch opposite the main stand was occupied by two ball boys, play being delayed every time the ball was kicked over there while the youngsters tried to discover into which empty row it had disappeared. Re-deploying some of the 54 yellow-coated stewards sitting behind the goal with 200 United fans might have been an idea. Counting them did not constiute dereliction of reporting duty by the way, since the entire first half produced one shot on target -- a gentle Chenery effort in the eighth minute -- three off target (all Wigan) and one corner apiece. Fortunately for the grumbling home fans the much-needed goal to get things going arrived just two minutes after the interval when Marc Joseph, who had played well up to then in his first start of the season, completely missed his header at a corner kick, gifting a goal to his counterpart Pat McGibbon. Liddle had won the corner with a rasping drive on the turn and Van Heusden did remarkably well to tip around the post. And the winger threatened to win the match on his own in the next quarter-of-an-hour, firing inches wide in the 52nd minute before forcing another important save from the keeper, when he sliced through in the 61st. United held out, but honourable defeat looked the only outcome, until Taylor turned the tide. He held the ball, found the space, and timed his runs better than any of his much younger team-mates, forcing Wigan to abandon their victory ambitions and concentrate much harder on defence. Another Wigan goal would have been as unjust as Notts County's late equaliser at the Abbey. And Van Heusden prevented the home side's only attempt after the equaliser of producing one, when he dealt expertly with an 84th-minute header from Roberto Martinez. Report © Cambridge Newspapers Ltd |
Cheered off as heroes one match, booed off the next, Wigan Athletic found that life at the top can be tough.
Just 48 hours after returning from Preston with a handsome victory, Latics suffered a football hangover against Cambridge, much to the annoyance of the majority inside the JJB Stadium. But while the display slipped some way below the high standards they have set for themselves, it didn't quite warrant the boos ringing in the players' ears at the final whistle.
Cambridge came north yesterday looking to make it hard for Latics and hoping to snatch a point. They achieved their aim, and no doubt other sides will arrive with the same attitude over the coming months. The word is in that Latics are a club on the up, with plenty of money behind them and a spanking new stadium to play in.
Perhaps like Fulham and Manchester City last season, it makes them the team to beat above all others. If they learn to live with that and show a bit more patience in their build up they won't suffer the same frustration that they did yesterday. But Latics still managed to earn a draw and four points out a possible six over the Bank Holiday isn't a bad return, is it?
An injury to Mark Bowen saw a minor reshuffle of the Latics side, with Darren Sheridan starting as he finished at Preston in the left back slot. Andy Porter was brought into the centre of midfield with Graeme Jones filling the vacant seat on the substitutes bench.
In the opening exchanges, Stuart Barlow chasing a club record of scoring in five consecutive games, fired wide of the far post after being sent clear by Sheridan's pass. And at the other end, Ben Chenery's shot from the edge of the box brought a diving save from Roy Carroll. Pat McGibbon was in the wars early on, getting a bang in the face which required lengthy treatment. But with the help of smelling salts and the cold sponge he fully recovered to turn in a man-of-the-match display at the heart of the defence and a goalscoring one at the other end.
During the first half; Latics constantly fell into Cambridge's well organised offside trap, and chances were few and far between as a result. Just as in the opening period at Preston, they resorted to the long ball forward a little too often.
Their strength lies in their passing game, and more reliance on that would probably have brought about the beating of the offside trap and a greater reward. A good example of this came four minutes before halftime when a neat move involving Porter and Simon Haworth saw Andy Liddell presented with a shooting opportunity inside the box, but unfortunately he scooped his effort high over the bar. The second half was more productive for Latics though, and they went ahead in the 49th minute.
Liddell's dipping volley from the left-hand side of the box was pushed around the post by keeper Arjan Van Heusden, presenting Latics with a corner. Sheridan floated the flag-kick into the box and McGIBBON rose to power a header through Van Heusden's legs from six yards. Two minutes later, Barlow escaped down the right wing and crossed to Lid-dell who hit a first-time shot over the bar.
Then, just past the hour-mark, a low drive from Liddell was blocked by Van Heusden's legs. But with just a one-goal lead, you always felt that the visitors had a chance of snatching an equaliser. Cambridge fired a warning shot across Latics' bow in the 73rd minute when a pass from the impressive Ian Ashbee put Martin Butler clear inside the box. He clipped a shot over the advancing Carroll which hit the outside of the far post before bouncing to safety. That warning obviously wasn't heeded and Cambridge were back on level terms five minutes later.
Chenery chased a loose ball to the line, crossed into the middle, and substitute JOHN TAYLOR got the better of Carroll to nod in from just a couple of yards. Stung into action, Latics twice almost regained their lead in the closing stages.
After 81 minutes, Liddell's cross from the left found Ian Kilford beyond the far post He cushioned the ball hack into the middle and Porter connected with a header which dropped inches past the woodwork. Then, with six minutes remaining, a pass from substitute David Lee found Haworth in space on the right of the area. Liddell met his cross with a header towards the top corner but the keeper flung himself across goal to claw the ball against the post. It bounced back into the goalmouth but Barlow slid in to put the rebound wide.
|
