Saturday 29th August 2009 - U's 3-0 Gateshead: United take Heed
'Heed Army' announced the banner, draped forlornly across a sea of empty amber seats in the South Stand, at what seemed like a football pitch's length from the doughty 40 travelling fans clustered in one corner.
But as anyone who yawned their way through the 120 minutes of a gruelling European 'Super' Cup final shown unfathomably on ITV1 the previous night can tell you, big does not necessarily mean better. And a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Abbey produced a contest as full of quality and exciting, enjoyable football as many a contest between the overpaid, diving superstars of the 'Premier' leagues of Europe.
Martin Ling must have been delighted to have the benefit of a full week in which to work with his players, and named the same starting eleven as at Tamworth last Saturday. The amber army could only hope that such preparation would help their heroes improve on a home record of no points and no goals so far.
Gateshead have enjoyed two successive promotions under the stable stewardship of boss Ian Bogie, and pleasingly, they turned out to be a cultured passing side rather than the brutal, route-one stormtroopers that have loomed up from the lower divisions on all too many occasions in the last few seasons.
The Heed's players could scarcely claim to be household names even in their own households, and predictably fielded a number of North Eastern castoffs (four ex-Newcastle, two ex-Hartlepool, plus one each from Durham and Whitley Bay) alongside a token Frenchman, Stephane Pelonde - good luck with those accents - and a loyal veteran of their rise up the pyramid, 300-game ginger giant James Curtis.
Ling's words about passing with more pace looked like bearing fruit almost immediately as United attacked from the start, Chris Holroyd testing keeper Jim Provett with a neat turn and shot on 3, pushed around the post. But the visitors were out to prove that their only win so far, a remarkable 4-1 at Crawley, was no fluke, and gave as good as they got in the early stages.
Alex Francis blazed well wide on 6, a Dan Gleeson drive gave Provett food for thought a minute later, and on 10 Robbie Willmott, in shoot-on-sight mode today, saw a shot charged down by Craig Baxter. Then Holroyd caught the visitors out with his pace but dragged a disappointing shot into the keeper's waiting gloves, who was also alert to beat Danny Crow to an underhit Mark Robinson backpass on the quarter hour.
It was an entertainingly open contest so far, neither team possessing a big target man and adopting similar fluid 4-4-2 formations, and Willmott's cross from deep on 18 saw Holroyd beat Provett and two defenders to a header which bounced agonisingly wide of the open goal.
United continued to probe and four minutes later Willmott crossed from the left, Holroyd dived at the near post to steer a header goalward, and Provett gathered under pressure from the lunging Crow. Willmott had a shot blocked by Curtis on 27, and just before the half hour Crow had a good sight of goal but trundled his shot wide of the far post.
Ref Drysdale had allowed play to flow very well so far, but he was compelled to get his yellow card out on 34 when Pelonde clattered the mercurial Holroyd. Crow had a shot stopped by a diving Provett a couple of minutes later and with United comfortably on top, all that was required to confirm their ascendancy was a goal. The same, though, might have been said at their first two Abbey games this season, so nothing had been achieved just yet.
Good work by Gleeson down the right on 39 caused chaos in the Gateshead box and the ball eventually ran to Andy Parkinson, whose goalbound drive was well parried by Provett, then two minutes later the dam finally broke.
Parkinson slid an intelligent ball through into Holroyd's path down the left channel, and off he sped, cutting into the area as terrified defenders stood off him, picking his spot and calmly slotting past Provett low into the bottom left corner. The Wicker Man was a small bonfire compared to this guy: 1-0.
Shortly afterwards Francis fouled Jai Reason and Shoot-on-Sight Willmott tried a blast at goal from almost forty yards from the free-kick, bouncing it wide. Robbie had a better effort well tipped behind by Provett on 45, then Gateshead were forced into a striking change when Graeme Armstrong replaced the crocked Steven Richardson.
It had been a satisfactory half for United, that vital first goal under their belt, but the visitors looked a decent outfit and nothing could be taken for granted for part two.
Gateshead were out early from their half-time break, and after an early Willmott blaster into Provett's hands it was the Heed who set the pace during the opening minutes, determined to level the scores as soon as possible, and seemingly catching United rather cold. Armstrong saw a shot blocked by Wayne Hatswell on 49, skipper Kris Gate blazed over from the ensuing corner, then it was Armstrong's turn to send a shot into orbit.
The U's had changed formation to a diamond in midfield (pace Carlo Ancelotti) with Willmott at the head, Parkinson and Reason at the sides and Carden at the rear, but it did rather detract from the side's width with Gleeson and Tonkin expected to fill in the gaps, particularly going forward.
It took United some time to adjust, but they came close to doubling their lead on 57 when Parkinson crossed for Willmott and his cracking left-footed shot was pawed away acrobatically by Provett.
The temperature began to rise on the pitch when Willmott and Michael Mackay chased a ball out of play and straight into Gateshead's technical area, colliding with the substitutes and staff and leading to a rather silly kerfuffle which caused both men to find their way into the book.
The incident seemed to galvanise United into action after a rather passive start to the half with Reason and Carden leading energetically from the engine room, and on 65 that all-important second goal was secured. Hatswell was the architect, his powerful scudding shot from 25 yards heading for the bottom corner until Provett dived to stop, but he could not hold on to the ball and Crow pounced on the follow-up.
Driven wide by Provett and Baxter, he turned smartly and floated a superb chip over their heads from a narrow angle that was a goal all the way until the towering Curtis leaped to head it off the line; but United were not be denied, and Parkinson scurried to ram home into the unguarded net from close range. 2-0.
Within a minute the afternoon became even worse for the Tynesiders when Pelonde crudely hacked Crow down from behind and received a deserved second yellow and, inevitably, first red. Francis also saw yellow for pointlessly arguing about it.
Crow followed him into the book for a clumsy felling of Curtis on 71, but for all the opposition's neat football, the game looked won, United reverting to 4-4-2. For the visitors Wayne Phillips was replaced on 76 by Neale McDermott, son of former Liverpool and Newcastle legend Terry but without the Scouser 'tache and wet shaggy perm.
Reason volleyed into Provett's arms two minutes later and on 80 the hard-working Crow was withdrawn in favour of Mark Beesley. Gateshead were clearly tiring and some incisive passing cut its way through them again and again, Provett foiling drives from Parkinson on 82 and Holroyd on 84, and four minutes from time the impressive Willmott made way for Sam Ives.
As the final minute ticked round, chief tormentor Holroyd produced another fine run, knocked it back for Beesley and the ball hit Francis' hand as he scrambled to intercept; the verdict was a penalty, a little harsh, perhaps, and a decision that seemed to surprise everyone on the field, but the U's were not complaining.
Holroyd stepped up to take after a conflab with Reason, and lashed calmly into the bottom right corner for his seventh goal in six games: 3-0.
The spirited visitors forced one last save from Potter via a shot from Mackay while Reason had one last blast from distance for United, then it was all over and the first home points of the season had been secured.
It was by no means a perfect performance, but the team had shown enough in extended patches that Ling is beginning to get his ideas across and that United are capable of playing a fast, accurate passing game with positivity and style. They will not have to wait long to develop that style; roll on Rushden on Bank Holiday Monday.
Statto Corner
United's only previous match with Gateshead was on 30th October 1999, an FA Cup First Round tie between clubs then in League One and the Northern Premier League. Like today, the U's won and Gateshead had a player sent off for two yellow cards.
Ten years ago substitute John Taylor scored the only goal in the 79th minute and Keith Fletcher saw red for The Heed. United's team that day was: Shaun Marshall, Ian Ashbee, Clive Wilson, Neil Mustoe, Marc Joseph, Scott Eustace, Paul Wanless, Neil Mackenzie, Trevor Benjamin, Martin Butler, Scott Paterson.
The clubs' paths did cross before that... in a way. The history of football in Gateshead is remarkably complicated and inextricably linked with that of neighbours South Shields. Three Gateshead clubs were formed and folded between 1889 and 1924, while South Shields Adelaide were formed in 1899, dropping the Adelaide part in 1910.
Shields were elected to the Football League, Second Division in 1919 and remained there until relegated to Division Three North in 1928. After two further seasons, they were unable to continue and were moved to Gateshead and reformed as Gateshead FC, taking Shields' place in the League.
The Heed lasted thirty years in the League before failing to gain re-election in 1960, replaced by some lot called Peterborough United. They stumbled along in ever-decreasing non-League circles until 1973, when they folded. A replacement club called Gateshead Town lasted only one season.
Meanwhile, South Shields had reformed in their own right in 1936, spending all their time in local leagues, including becoming founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. But financial troubles soon followed, and after reaching the semi-final of the FA Trophy in 1974, the club folded... only for history to repeat itself, and it again moved to Gateshead and reformed itself as Gateshead United, taking Shields' place in the NPL.
United only lasted three seasons, then they went under and were replaced in the NPL by the present Gateshead FC. A few miles to the south, a new club called South Shields Mariners had been formed in 1974 and dropped the Mariners name a year later, plying their trade to this day in the Northern League.
The U's did in fact play South Shields in 1967. Shields were Northern Regional League champions and United were invited to represent the South in a two-legged 'North v South Challenge,' despite being placed only eighth in the Southern League, the Board seeing it as a chance to enhance their efforts to be elected to the Football League.
United won the home leg 2-1 with a brace from Gerry Baker in front of a crowd of 2,100, and double that attendance witnessed a goalless draw in the second leg a week later on Tyneside. And 32 years later, United played the club which had replaced the club which had replaced them in the Northern Premier League. I think...
Player Ratings
Potter 7. Never severely tested.
Gleeson 7. Good work defensively and foraging forward.
Tonkin 7. Rust now shaken off, he looks to be rapidly getting back to his overlapping best.
Saah 8. In control from start to finish.
Hatswell 7. Sometimes a little unconvincing in the air, but also improving.
Parkinson 7. One of his best games for the U's capped with a fine goal.
Carden 8. Driving force from midfield.
Reason 8. That's more like it.
Willmott 8. A regular menace, whatever his position.
Crow 7. No faulting his workrate, and his superb lob deserved a goal even though it became an assist.
Holroyd 8. Gateshead had no answer to his pace and now the goals really are flowing.
Beesley 6. Uneventful ten minutes.
Ives 6. Late cameo only.
Match Summary
It was trebles all round as United recorded their first home goals and victory of the season in an intermittently impressive performance which carried a promise of much more and better to come. The Ling era is now truly under way.
Man of the Match
Jai Reason. Jai bounced back from a mediocre start to the season with a display of power, passion and passing that will hopefully lead to a blossoming of the undoubted potential that he possesses.
Ref Watch
Drysdale 8. Seemed so determined to keep play flowing that he appeared to have forgotten his whistle - not a bad thing - and kept control well, just getting a little carried away with the cards in the middle of the second half.
Out of the Mouths of Babes
"When Cambridge United came on, it drowned the sound from the Weymouth fans. In the second half there was a penalty, but I was very disappointed when they missed it. But it was OK. They kept passing to each other, then one of the players passed it to George Reilly. He flicked it up and volleyed it into the goal. Everyone made a big cheer. After that I gloomily looked down to the floor. I'd dropped my crisps." (Mardy Halls)
Soundtrack of the Day
Friendly Fires 'Kiss Of Life'
Andrew Bennett
Andrew's previous match reports
More Match Photos
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