Saturday 11th October 2008 - U's 1-0 Weymouth: More clean sheets than Persil
As we gentlemen will never tire of insisting, size isn't everything. Many U's supporters will have taken in two matches on Saturday: firstly, and most importantly, United's clash with Weymouth, then on t'telly, England's encounter with the plucky yak herders and, er, professional footballers of Kazakhstan. The goal count in the former was tiny, a mere one, against six in the 'big match' at Wembley. But I know which game I enjoyed most... because you really can't beat a win and a clean sheet for My Team.
And if you are a United fan who chose to miss the Abbey game in favour of an early evening in the company of the face-painted, horn-tooting, £5 hot dog scoffing, 'Ooh-look-it's-Becks-I-wonder-if-Posh-is-here?' masses, go straight to your room immediately and write out a hundred times "Gary Brabin is WAY more buff than Fabio Capello." On my desk by 9am Monday morning, please.
Ah, the weekend. After a week of non-stop headlines about how the whole world's banking system was on the verge of collapse, taking our pensions and savings with it, what a pleasure it was to stroll into Newmarket Road in strong, warm sunshine with a sky overhead bluer than Rutger Hauer's piercing eyes, in the knowledge that all that need concern us for the next couple of hours was whether the Mighty U's could continue their prodigious run of binary results and inch closer to the summit of the Conference.
With a decent crowd of just under 4,000 in, boosted by hundreds of excited youngsters in the South Stand, there seemed no better place to be on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The good citizens of Weymouth, however, did not seem to agree, having brought only 71 hardy souls with which to fill the South Habbin.
Our Gary shuffled the pack again after Tuesday's last-minute scrape against Lewes, returning to 4-3-3. Anthony Tonkin succumbed to the same lurgy as Danny Brown, leaving the left-back slot open for Jordan Collins' first outing of the season, and Ben Farrell replaced Felino Jardim in a narrow midfield alongside Paul Carden and Jon Challinor. Robbie Willmott was switched from right wing to the centre up front, flanked by Lee McEvilly and Mark Beesley; the strategy was to use Robbie's pace off the shoulders of Weymouth's back four to latch onto flicks and prompts from his co-strikers.
Weymouth arrived resoundingly in mid-table and with a substantial ex-United contingent in tow. John Hollins, an unsuccessful applicant for the Abbey hotseat, was assisted by our old chum Alan 'Uncle Fester' Lewer, and their starting line-up included Sam Cutler, who made the bench once last season for the U's, former United trialist Pierre Joseph-Dubois, and Stephen Reed, a player of undoubted talent who almost invariably seemed to promise more than he produced in black and amber after we rescued him from the obscurity of Weston-super-Mare.
United got off to a lively start, and inside five minutes the strikers' pace and movement had created their first clear-cut chance. Beesley ran across the line, staying onside, and latched onto Farrell's through ball to sprint down the right channel. McEvilly and Willmott hared down the middle in support, but when Bees reached the byline and cut inside, he spurned the obvious cross and tried to catch Terras keeper Richard Barnard out at his near post. Barnard read it all the way and tipped round the post, to the men in the middle's disgust and, no doubt, surprise that such a good team player had suddenly come over all selfish.
With splendid mobility, the U's pulled their visitors all over the place in the opening stages, although Collins (above) picked up a deserved booking on 9 for clattering opposing full-back Cameron Mawer.
Two minutes later, however, United were in front, eighty minutes earlier than usual, as a spell of pressure culminated in Willmott finding Jon Challinor on the edge of the box, and his daisy-cutter of a shot, although not the most powerful, bobbled unerringly into the far corner of the net. 1-0!
After the last few wins it was all I could do to stop myself from pointing at my watch and screaming "Time, ref!" until realising that the watch read 3.12pm. Oh well. Weymouth were struggling to cope with the pace of Willmott, and four minutes later his break down the left culminated with a ball across to Beesley, unmarked fifteen yards out, but he required a touch to control, the defence rushed across to cover, and his hurried shot was fired straight into Barnard's arms.
It was by no means all one way, though, as Weymouth began to exploit the gaps that a three-man midfield leaves against an opposing four-man equivalent. Reed shot wide on 16, and four minutes later a Dan Gleeson foul on Kevin Sandwith presented the visitors with a free-kick just outside the box. Stuart Beavon stepped up to arrow over the wall, but Danny Potter did well to not only dive and save, but to clutch the ball to his chest while blue-shirted opponents lurked ready to pounce on any spillage.
The sides traded shots for a while, Barnard saving from Beesley again on 22, Beavon then Joseph-Dubois missing the target, then Beesley had another shot parried by the Terras custodian. Just after the half hour United came nearest yet to doubling their lead when Willmott burst down the middle onto a Farrell ball, held off his marker and tried an audacious chip from twenty yards; but with several U's fans shouting "Goal!" it flew narrowly over the top.
Thereafter, however, Weymouth began to get a grip on the game as their numerical superiority in midfield started to tell. On 39 Chris McPhee crossed to his skipper Anton Robinson, who skimmed his shot just wide of the far post, while three minutes later Cutler became his side's first bookee for a dangerous-looking challenge on Challinor.
So far, so good, but it was clearly far from over; in fact the contest was very finely balanced indeed. Main topic of conversation, however, during the interval was the noxious fumes drifting across the stands from some inconsiderate allotment holder out back, who appeared to be burning several tons of radioactive waste. Either that, or it was the most unappetising barbecue in history.
United enjoyed the first attack of part two, and after some interplay between Willmott and Beesley the latter fell under challenge in the area, to no interest from the man in black. The visitors responded with a Cutler blaster over the top on 48, and on 52 Potter dived to hold a scudder from Reed.
Four minutes later, with the match seemingly waiting for something significant to happen to give it some shape, Hollins made his first change, replacing Cutler with Michael Malcolm. On the hour Gleeson's cross following a cleared corner found the head of Wayne Hatswell, who nodded powerfully into the net at the near post, but the amber army's acclaim died in its collective throat as the goal was harshly disallowed for some pushing by Phil Bolland.
Farrell blazed over on 64, McPhee fired wide for the visitors three minutes later, then Chris Holroyd was introduced for Willmott, whose stint as a central striker had been an unremitting success. The gap between midfield and forwards had been growing noticeably of late for United, and Beesley went some way to remedying that by dropping into the hole behind the new front two.
It was Weymouth, however, who were getting on top, and one felt some relief that our nemesis Jefferson Louis was no longer on their books, as for all the Terras' pressure, Beavon and Joseph-Dubois did not make for the most terrifying strike pair. It had been quite notable that United's best chances for the last hour had come via quick breakaways, as if they were the away side.
Farrell broke up an attack on 73 but was prevented from breaking upfield by Malcolm trying to exchange shirts with him prematurely, for which the visitors' sub saw yellow. Malcolm then had a shot blocked by Collins, and on 76 Weymouth sub number two saw tricky little winger Ryan Williams introduced in place of Mawer, McPhee dropping back to right-back.
Williams proved himself useful with some searching crosses, but Bolland and Hatswell were, as ever, immaculate at the heart of the U's defence, with solid support from Gleeson and Collins. Up the other end McEvilly set up Beesley for a shot inside the box on 86, but he screwed it wide. But the drama was yet to truly begin.
A minute later, McEvilly broke clear down the middle, but he lacked the pace to power through to goal and stopped to look for support on the edge of the area. Reed waded in to challenge and the two exchanged tackles, lunging at the ball untidily until McEvilly caught his former team-mate and a foul was signalled. After the best part of a minute, while Reed was receiving treatment, ref Long brandished a red card in Big Mac's face, to the astonishment of not only the United player but also, it appeared, to his opponents. There may have been a boot or two flying about, but there was no malice intended in a good old-fashioned tussle for the ball, and Cutler's 'tackle' for which he was carded in the first half had been just as bad. Unfortunately today's robotic refs automatically reach for red at the first hint of stud without a thought for context, intent or common sense. Mac was off.
Holroyd dropped back and Beesley took the responsibility of being furthest man up, to hold the ball up and gain his team some time. But the four minutes' added time took place almost exclusively in the United box.
Carden started the fun with a foolish tackle on Reed twenty yards out, although Reed made the most of it like his colleagues had been doing for most of the match. The stage seemed set for a triumphal homecoming from the ex-U, but surprisingly he left the free-kick to Sandwith, and he blasted it feebly into the wall.
Now Weymouth threw everyone forward in a concerted siege of the United goal. Robinson arrowed a corner over, and Malcolm rose highest and headed against the bar, Gleeson hoofing clear. Another corner followed shortly which fell to that man Malcolm in the D, and his tremendous shot was heading for the top corner until superbly tipped over by Potter.
Reed took the next corner, it pinballed around the box and Gleeson eventually blocked Joseph-Dubois' shot for another flag-kick. Again Reed curled it in, this time Scott Doe rose to head and again Potter flung himself across goal to tip over. Two great saves in two minutes. Sandwith took the next corner in an atmosphere of near-hysteria - The Alamo was a tea-party comparred to this - but Joseph-Dubois' header could only loop over the bar.
The siege was over; United's doughty troops had stood firm. Another game, another 1-0 win, but the result was the only similarity to the previous two victories. The 4-3-3 had worked at times, but had also left Weymouth an awful lot of room in which to play and therefore a large chunk of possession, with which they had just lacked the quality to do any damage. A better team might have taken more advantage.
There were many plusses, of course: four consecutive clean sheets, an impressive show from Farrell, Willmott and the defence. But the jigsaw still remains incomplete; United are so nearly there, but the team remains just short of where it could be. McEvilly's absence will give Our Gary another interesting tactical conundrum to ponder until Thursday. In the meantime, winning without conceding is as good a habit as it gets. And you don't need a brass band playing 'The Great Escape' to recognise that.
Statto Corner
United last kept four consecutive clean sheets in League matches in the John Beck heyday of January/February 1992. Two goalless draws, at home to Tranmere and away at Barnsley, were followed by 1-0 wins at Plymouth's Home Park and at the Abbey versus Charlton Athletic, as United continued their march to the playoffs for a place in the inaugural FA Premier League.
The back four remained constant during that run, with centre-backs Danny O'Shea and Liam Daish flanked by full-backs Andy Fensome and Alan Kimble. John 'The Legend' Vaughan and Jon Sheffield shared goalkeeping duties.
The last time the U's won three consecutive home games without conceding a goal was last season; during late February and early March, Forest Green and York City were defeated 2-0 and Woking went down 1-0.
Lee McEvilly became the third United player to be sent off this term. In common with the other two dismissees, Ben Farrell and Rory McAuley, it was his first red card in the black and amber.
Today marked the fourth time that Stephen Reed has played against the U's, and the first time that he has appeared on the losing side. He helped Yeovil to a 2-1 win at Huish Park in January 2005 and Woking to a 2-0 victory at the Abbey in September of that year, and of course he participated most importantly in the 2-2 draw at Weymouth on 30th August last, with the unseen handball off the line that denied United all three points.
Weymouth have never scored at the Abbey since United were relegated to the Conference; results so far have been 7-0, 1-0, 0-0 and 1-0. The last time they did score at the Wembley of the Fens was in a 2-1 FA Cup defeat in 1971, while their most recent league goals were in a 2-1 Southern League win back in August 1969.
Player Ratings
Potter 9. Immaculate handling throughout, and his two added-time saves were quite superb.
Gleeson 7. Thoroughly decent game without hitting the heights of Tuesday.
Bolland 9. Doesn't know how to put a foot wrong.
Hatswell 8. His usual splendid self.
Collins 7. Impressively unflashy first appearance of the season, he just got on with the job in hand and made a fine fist of it.
Farrell 8. Took his first starting chance since August with aplomb; Ben has a buccaneering attacking instinct like no other midfielder in the squad.
Carden 7. Hard-working as ever, and had to be as the 4-3-3 system often leaves United outnumbered in the middle of the park.
Challinor 7. Also put the miles in, and has now discovered the happy knack of goalscoring in a United shirt,too.
Willmott 8. Took to the part of central spearhead like the proverbial duck to water, using his pace to maximum effect.
Beesley 7. Not quite yet back to his best, as evinced by his early miss, but he's getting there.
McEvilly 6. Won a fair amount of ball in the air, although his touch on the deck was not the best, but was unlucky to be dismissed for a spot of untidiness.
Holroyd 6. Chased willingly, but unable to make much of an impression.
Match Summary
United continue to grind out the results with more grit than eleven John Waynes, but are still searching for the perfect formula after a switch to 4-3-3 which was not entirely convincing, leaving Weymouth huge gaps in midfield which a better side might have exploited more effectively. Still, as long as the clean sheets and the 1-0s keep coming, who's complaining?
Man of the Match
Phil Bolland. Does this guy ever panic, or even let his pulse rate get over 80 per minute? Cooler than a thousand Fonzies.
Ref Watch
Long 5. The FA really is churning out a conveyor belt of mediocrity at the moment. It was a familiar story today: punishing the most innocuous of challenges, inconsistent treatment of fouls, ignorance of the advantage rule, plus the obligatory questionable decision, in his sending-off of Lee McEvilly for an untidy but never malicious attempt at a tackle. Where do these robots come from?
Becky's World of Wit and Wisdom
"Any method of play will be successful when played with passion and determination." [Brentford, 4/9/92]
Hello... Goodbye
Today is the birth date of two United stars of the early Sixties, 'Digger' Daley (1927) and Sam McCrory (1924). Irishman McCrory was a 35-year-old veteran who looked even older when he arrived at the Abbey in 1960, but his close skills created many a goal for his colleagues as United were promoted to the Southern League Premier Division. His other claims to fame included scoring in his only appearance for Northern Ireland, in a 3-3 draw with England, and becoming the first-ever Ipswich Town player to be sent off in a Football League match, in 1950.
Debut boys on this day include striker Steve Finney, in a 3-2 defeat at Mansfield in 1997 on loan from Swindon (4 games + plus 3 as sub, 2 goals), the tongue-twisting midfielder Michael Rodosthenous in the same match (2 sub appearances only), and forward John Lyons, in a 3-1 win over Oldham in 1980. He moved on to Colchester after scoring six goals in twenty-one games, but tragically he took his own life in 1982 at the age of 26.
That Oldham game also saw the last game in black'n'amber for one of United's greatest ever defenders, Dave Stringer, four days before his 36th birthday. During 167 appearances his defensive partnership with a young Steve Fallon was the foundation on which two consecutive promotions were built in 1977 and 1978; his only U's goal was a fifty-yard free-kick helped in by a strong breeze in a 2-0 win at Halifax in October 1976.
Soundtrack of the Day
MSTRKRFT feat. NORE 'Bounce'
Andrew Bennett
Andrew's previous match reports
More Match Photos
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