Tuesday 28th July 2009 - U's 0-1 Liverpool XI: Fellowship of the Ling
As welcomes go, it was not quite on a par with the ones in Madrid for Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, but new boss Martin Ling was given a rousing round of applause and a cheer or two when he strolled out onto the pitch before tonight's friendly with a Liverpool XI, responding with a cheery wave and a clap of his own. Thankfully there was no-one waiting to present him with a ceremonial poisoned chalice or a P45 post-dated to June 2010. Fingers crossed, this one might last...
The South Stand was teeming with strangers wearing Liverpool shirts, many curiously not even sporting Scouse accents. Perhaps we should have congratulated them on finally being able to wear those shirts to a game involving Liverpool for the first time. Other parts of the ground were infested with groups of foreign, mainly American student types, many of whom genuinely seemed to be expecting to see the Liverpool first team as they breathlessly held up their camera phones to capture the historic occasion. One hopes they were not too disappointed when David Ngog did not make an appearance.
Needless to say, with the big boys away spreading the Global Brand in distant foreign parts, there were no remotely familiar names on the visitors' team sheet, although impressively, at least four of them seemed to have English names. Perhaps Ryan Crowther was the grandson of the legendary Leslie ('Come on down!') or Andras Simon's great-uncle used to sing in a duo with Art Garfunkel. Who knows.
They did include David Martin, son of former West Ham defender Alvin, in goal, and apart from the four Englishmen they fielded a Spaniard, a Frenchman, an Icelander, a Hungarian, a Swede and two Dutchmen.
Paul Carden picked the United team for the last time and selected a predictable 4-4-2 with Rory McAuley at centre-back, Andy Parkinson and Robbie Willmott the wide men and Mark Beesley starting up front with Danny Crow. Courtney Pitt made a welcome return from the wilderness to the bench.
The team was sporting its new strip, which was a pleasingly bright shade of amber, although to these eyes there is not enough black in it and those shoulder flashes have got to go. Don't read that out loud, you'll sound just like Gok Wan.
The hosts almost got off to a catastrophic start when with less than a minute on the clock, McAuley tried a woefully underhit back pass which served only as a perfect through ball for visiting no.9 Jordy Brouwer. The lanky, lank-haired, head-banded Dutchman headed goalward unchecked, but Danny Potter did not panic and stood his ground, and when the shot finally came in, he deflected it heroically away with his right leg.
The young Scousers (well, there were two of them in the team) passed the ball around as confidently as one would expect, and after Ling's words about passing, the U's did their best to match them, eschewing any easy long balls with a lot of building from the back which mostly foundered midway into the Liverpool half. The wide men looked fairly well shackled by the opposing full-backs and with the strikers spending more time dropping deep than foraging forward, there was precious little goalmouth action for Martin to worry about.
The visitors had a little more luck, particularly down the left via Swedish winger Alex Kacaniklic, but awkward-looking target man Brouwer did not inspire a great deal of terror, especially when he scuffed a dismal shot wide from twelve yards on 11, although the Swede drew a save from Potter at his near post.
Liverpool also revealed an interesting tactic from corners when six players lined up in what looked like a conga line back from the penalty spot, then burst into all directions when the kick was taken. I seem to remember a similar tactic being adopted by the U's in John Beck's latter months in his first spell. United, however, stood firm, their young back four marshalled well by Wayne Hatswell, and they managed a decent goal attempt on 26 when Carden latched onto a loose ball in the box and drove low across goal and just wide of the far post.
They did not look so impressive, though, on the half hour when Hatswell slipped as he attempted a clearance ten yards outside the box and Magyar Simon pounced to sprint clear, but Potter blocked superbly again and Brouwer, following up with all the goal to aim at, crashed his shot against the foot of the post.
United continued to hold their own possession-wise without troubling Martin, and the watching Ling must have been concerned at the lack of a focal point up front (like a Rendell or even a McEvilly) who could hold the ball up and provide a genuine physical presence to trouble the visitors' back four. Beesley and Crow flitted busily hither and thither but rarely penetrated as far as the penalty area, although they were receiving precious little to work on from the midfield.
A fairly uneventful half finished with incident at both ends. Willmott conceded a free-kick when Simon fell to the ground like a pro, and Dutchman Vincent Weijl sent his curler into the waiting arms of Potter. United responded with a corner which was met by the head of Hatswell, and his powerful nod was cleared from the six-yard box by Stephen Irwin.
So far, so pleasant. But a bit more oomph would be nice in part two.
Both sides rang the changes for the second half. For United, Josh Coulson, Courtney Pitt and Chris Holroyd replaced McAuley, Willmott and Crow, while the Scousers introduced a Danish keeper, a Brazilian, a German and, blimey, a Scouser.
Pitt looked as if he had a point to prove from the start, in a shirt which did not even have his name on it (neither did Holroyd's), and he looked full of positive running and aggression. United's first chance, though, came from the opposite flank on 53 when Gleeson combined with Parkinson down the right and arrowed over a low cross which a sliding Beesley drove just wide of the near post, perhaps thinking a defender was about to intercept it first.
With southpaw Pitt on the left and Holroyd always looking to get forward, United now looked a much better balanced side and they enjoyed more and better quality possession than in the first half. One tremendous run from Pitt saw him cut inside, lay off to Beesley than continue his run through the middle, but Bees chose to shoot instead, flashing a thirty-yarder just wide of the near post.
Their momentum was not slowed when the dynamic Sam Ives replaced Carden on 62, then another slew of substitutions for the visitors saw the arrival of an Argentinian, a Spaniard, a Mancunian and another Scouser. Ben Farrell replaced Jai Reason on 70.
A more open second period finally saw a goal three minutes later. Argentine Gerardo Bruna gained a free-kick just outside the right-hand corner of the box, Potter lined up a wall and stood centrally, and Bruna lashed a superb left-footed set-piece over the wall with pace and past Potter's despairing gloves into the top right corner. 1-0.
United rocked and rolled for a few minutes and the Reds almost doubled their lead when Nathan Ecclestone drifted across the box and guided a shot against the inside of the post with Potter motionless, but they rallied gamely.
On 79 the last of the substitutions saw Adam Marriott and Jordan Patrick replace Beesley and Parkinson. And two minutes later the newcomers fed Gleeson, who forged forward down the right channel then hammered a magnificent long-range shot which was bound for the top corner until acrobatically tipped over by second-half keeper Martin Hansen.
More good work from Pitt saw him curl a teasing low cross into the six-yard box past two opponents, but neither Holroyd nor Marriott had anticipated and the former arrived just after Hansen gathered.
Pass of the match came three minutes from time when Holroyd picked up possession on halfway and looped a pinpoint ball over the left-back for Patrick to run onto down the right; his cross was decent, too, but with only Marriott in there (no target men again) the ball was cleared.
There was no dishonour in narrow defeat to a team of talented youngsters, several of whom will in all probability become household names in years to come, and the new boss was able to see that he has the core of a decent side at his disposal. I have a feeling a tweak here or there will be in order before long, though...
Statto Corner
Today's attendance of 4,115 was the seventh highest ever for a friendly at the Abbey. Top of course is United's biggest all-time crowd: 14,000 against Chelsea 1st May 1970. Following that are Manchester United (9,194 on 9/8/94), West Ham (5,845 on 1/8/06), Tottenham (5,251 on 26/7/94), Everton (4,495 on 19/7/08) and Norwich (4,395 on 27/7/04). Highest attendance for a U's friendly away from the Abbey is 3,567 against a Chelmsford City Select XI on 10th May 1966.
As everyone must know by now, this was the first time United have played a Liverpool team in any shape or form. The only remaining Football League club which the U's have never faced is Southampton, although our youth teams met in the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup of 1981-82; the Saints won 4-2 on their home ground to knock United out in the first round, with Kevin Smith notching both for the visitors.
Martin Ling is no stranger to the Abbey; he turned out here nine times as a player for five different clubs. In all he has faced United sixteen times, winning on only four occasions and losing in seven. He first came up against the U's when an Exeter player, taking part in a 1-1 draw at the Abbey on 20th September 1985. He also played in the return, then faced the U's twice for Southend, once for Mansfield, five times for Swindon during the Beck halcyon years of the early 1990s, then six times for Leyton Orient. In all those matches he only scored once, an exquisite chip in his very last game against United on 20th February 1999, adding to Carl Griffiths' opener for a 2-0 win in a match in which Andy Duncan was sent off for two yellow cards in two minutes.
Ling's last-minute competitor for the United manager's job was Jerry Gill. Never heard of him? He has played against the U's on no less than seven occasions, six times at right-back and once as a centre-back. He faced United three times in four weeks in the 2002-03 season for Northampton in the LDV Vans Trophy and FA Cup, then appeared for Cheltenham in 2004 and 2005, and finally for Forest Green at the Lawn last season (26/10/08).
Player Ratings
Potter 8. Looks fit, alert and ready for another season.
Gleeson 8. Another quality performance.
McAuley 7. Recovered from his nightmare start to play a calm first half.
Hatswell 7. Definitely getting there.
Coakley 7. In Anthony Tonkin's absence, young Darryl has quietly slotted in at left-back and looks as if he has been there for years.
Parkinson 6. Enjoyed a few decent moments, but hopefully there is much more to come.
Carden 7. Industrious hub for an hour.
Reason 7. Jai has had a quiet pre-season, competent without ever really standing out.
Willmott 6. Fairly anonymous out on the left and Pitt showed him how it was done when he replaced him at half-time.
Beesley 7. Put the work in and had his chances; just needs to put them away.
Crow 6. Same story for Danny: plenty of good play dropping deep and linking up, but nowhere to be seen in the penalty area where a striker should be doing his most important work. You can't score goals from the edge of the centre circle or out on the wing.
Coulson 7. Very decent 45 minutes.
Pitt 7. Played himself back into starting contention with a lively and dynamic second half. Amazing the difference it makes having a left-footer on the left wing.
Holroyd 7. Lived off scraps for much of the time but had some promising moments.
Ives 7. Got stuck in from the moment he came on and could well be pushing for a place this term.
Farrell 6. Did nothing wrong but looks like fourth in line for a central midfield spot at the moment.
Patrick 6. Only a few touches but one nice cross and more good experience.
Marriott 6. Given a tough time by quick-tackling Liverpool defenders.
Match Summary
A useful and reasonably entertaining workout against Liverpool's umpteenth team which will have given the new boss plenty of food for thought, not least the lack of a physical presence and line leader up front.
Man of the Match
Dan Gleeson. Glees has cruised imperiously through pre-season and he was excellent again tonight.
Ref Watch
Wright 7. Maintained control with a steady hand on the tiller.
Soundtrack of the Day
The Pan I Am 'Fire Dance'
Andrew Bennett
Andrew's previous match reports
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