Cambridge City 3-3 U's: Hughes news for U's
"Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be… Robert Green!"
After the West Ham goalkeeper's hapless fumble in the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, it was only a matter of time before a custodian in his home country repeated the trick. But no U's supporter could have suspected that the culprit would be good, reliable old Simon Brown, especially not at Milton Road. At 8.10 pm on Thursday, however, he got his body firmly behind a John Kennedy shot, extended his arms… and somehow managed to scoop it in painful slow motion behind himself and into the waiting net. Well, someone had to do it.
Brown was the only senior pro who started Thursday night's friendly at United's oldest rivals for what was effectively the CRC side, the players even sporting CRC's 'sash' strip with its own sponsor. It was still a strong line-up, however, with plenty of promising talent on display which has already seen first team duty. Injury-hit City were missing several regulars, including player-coach Ada Cambridge, and fielded two ex-U's in Dave Theobald and Ash Fuller plus a new-look strike force of ex-Histon trialist Craig Hammond and recent signing Dave Kolodynski.
We all thought last season's friendly would constitute United's last-ever visit to the Lilywhites' City Ground, but their move to Newmarket was put on hold for a year when the landlords decided the financial climate was not right for starting a major new residential development. You don't say. The original stadium disappeared under the Westbrook Centre in the early 1980s, site of many a well-attended battle over the years, and it is interesting to reflect now on how the relationship between the two clubs has changed.
Cambridge Town were the proverbial non-League 'giants' of the 1930s but turned down a chance to enter the Football League because they wished to stay true to their amateur ethos, a decision that they must have rued a thousand times in the intervening years. Local league upstarts Abbey United were seized by ambition after the Second World War and by the early 1960s the two renamed clubs were competing on equal terms in the Southern League; a fierce and sometimes bitter rivalry peaked in 1962 when City just pipped United to the league title, and 1968 when the Cambs Professional Cup final, held just after City's relegation had been confirmed, was abandoned amidst an unpleasant punch-up involving players and supporters.
The clubs were never direct rivals again, and as City's star waned and United prospered following their long-awaited election to the Football League in 1970, only older supporters maintained their mutual antipathy and Peterborough became the U's local rivals of choice. More recently, both clubs have narrowly survived crises involving rapacious property developers and got supporters more involved as they began to appreciate just what they had almost lost. And with the rise of a mutual neighbour that both clubs' fans had good reasons to dislike, relations between United and City are now as friendly as they have ever been, as they both languish one or two levels below where they should be in the Pyramid, realising that they have a lot more in common than they could ever have to disagree about. Who knows, perhaps with our new landlord's involvement, the futures of both clubs could well be even more closely linked than their pasts, to everyone's benefit.
The attendance of 451 was not massive, but a darned sight more impressive than the 300-odd who went to the City Ground to see Luton last week, and there was a good, welcoming but competitive atmosphere around the place for what this time really might be the City-United last hurrah. The Milton Road pitch was as good as I have ever seen it, lush, green and verdant, and while Jez George and Nolan Keeley looked after the young U's team from the dugout, the three wise men of Martin Ling, Paul Carden and John Schofield looked on from the main stand.
Starting line-up: Brown, Thorpe, Hudson, Bevan, Coakley; Eades, Ives, Berry, Patrick; Marriott, Hughes.
The relatively experienced Sam Ives was skipper for the night as Adam Marriott was paired with the versatile Liam Hughes up front, with Danny Naisbitt standing by to play the second half on a bench populated with the next generation of youngsters including latest discovery, striker Ryan Ingrey, who scored against Crewe's Under-18s at the Abbey last week.
Early exchanges were energetic, City playing Gary Roberts' trademark pleasing passing football and United doing much the same. Route One was closed tonight. Berry tried the first shot on 3 but it was easily gathered by Zac Barrett, and he then got into an unnecessary tangle with Kolodynski, a combative little fellow who quickly came across as the 'start an argument in an empty room' type.
Crosses came in from both teams but almost all found the gloves of the respective goalkeepers. Jordan Patrick looked dangerous out on the left and on 11 he weaved past Liam Nicel to the byline and pulled it back to where Hughes and Marriott were waiting in the six-yard box, but somehow they got in each other's way and Hughes' prod for goal deflected upwards and into Barrett's hands.
It was a quarter of an hour until City gained the first corner of the night, nodded clear by the towering Blaine Hudson, and three minutes later came the first real danger to the United goal. Brown tried to find Patrick with a clearance from the right hand side of the box, but he miscued horribly and it dropped to Hammond, just outside the area in a central position with just Hudson between him and an open goal. Hudson saved his keeper's blushes (for now) with a fine block to the City target man's shot.
Five minutes later Patrick scampered away from his marker down the left but had his shot blocked away from a tight angle, and on 25 the deadlock was broken. Kennedy fired powerfully for goal from 25 yards out, Brown moved to cover it, and fumbled it horribly into his own net. Oh dear: 1-0.
Three minutes later it got worse for the U's. Marriott's poor pass towards Patrick was easily intercepted by Nicel midway into the City half, he arced a long ball down the left for Fuller to run onto, and with both United centre-backs stranded upfield by the quick break, his pinpoint cross into the middle bisected Thorpe and Coakley and landed perfectly onto Hammond's head to nod in from close range. Oh dear, oh dear: 2-0.
United needed a quick response, and with encouraging spirit they provided just that three minutes later. Darryl Coakley curled a free-kick into the box from the right, and Hughes did very well to fling himself and send a clever looping header over Barrett from a good fifteen yards out. 2-1.
The visitors might have equalised on 34 when another Coakley free-kick from a similar position was deflected across goal to Alex Bevan at the far post, but he was stretching and could only divert it over the bar from close range.
Two minutes later Hughes was at it again, heading Jack Eades' corner narrowly over the top, then City caught the U's on the break again and Hammond, in acres of space, had a blaster from the edge of the area well palmed away by Brown when he could have taken it closer to goal.
Hughes was getting onto the end of everything now, and on 38 he met another Eades centre with a running, stooping header which he flicked across goal and just wide of the far post. City responded almost immediately with a Kolodynski shot which he pulled wide, then Marriott fired off target up the other end, but the hosts had the last word just before the break.
Bevan brought Fuller down just outside the box and Tony Burke lined up a free-kick to the left of goal as he looked at it. Brown lined up the wall but somehow they got the positioning all wrong and Burke placed his set piece low past the amber shirts and in at the near post while Brown tried desperately to get across from the other side. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear: 3-1.
The half-time scoreline was a little flattering on a City side which had nonetheless played some neat, pacy football in a highly entertaining, end-to-end contest. The young U's had it all to do in part two.
Naisbitt came on for Brown as expected, and Jez also withdrew his most 'experienced' men, Ives and Marriott, introducing Luke Allen into central midfield and James Brighton on the left, Patrick moving into the middle alongside Hughes. Hudson took the armband.
Perhaps City relaxed too much, but United took the game to them and went on to dominate the second half territorially, especially once the hosts started making changes. On 54 Eades' teasing cross was hacked away by Nicel at the far post for a corner, then Burke had an unconvincing penalty claim refused by ref Pawley under challenge from Bevan.
Just before the hour City replaced Kolodynski with Dalton O'Brien, but the U's continued to set the pace and on 64 they came within inches of pulling one back. Eades arced in a free-kick from the left touchline, Hughes beat Barrett with a downward flicked header, and it rebounded off the inside of the far post and was plucked from behind himself by the huge keeper. Had it crossed the line? Answers on a postcard to Sepp Blatter, or an abusive e-mail would suffice.
A minute later Burke lined up another free-kick for City but left it for Fuller, whose hopeful shot cannoned off the wall for a corner, then Fuller and centre-back Lee Chaffey were replaced by Joey Abbs and Richard Ashie.
For all their possession, United needed a second goal soon. And they got just that on 68 with a moment of individual brilliance from the outstanding Hughes. He received the ball a good thirty yards out, and with no challenge forthcoming, he looked up and spotted Barrett ten yards off his line. The City keeper is a big unit, but Hughes's chip was judged to perfection and soared over Barrett's head and into the back of the net. Fantastic: 3-2.
Jez kept his goal hero's feet on the ground by a change of position a minute or so later. He withdrew Thorpe, who had played on Tuesday, moved Bevan to right-back, shunted Hughes to centre-half and brought on Ingrey to play up front with Patrick.
On 75 Coakley's free-kick to the far post was nodded just over by Allen, then an increasingly disjointed City made two further substitutions, introducing Declan Rogers and Tom McCrowan for Nicel and Milton Elenge, completing their changes three minutes later when Evran replaced Hammond.
Ten minutes from time the commanding Berry fired narrowly over the upright from twenty yards, and the U's continued to press for the equaliser. On 86 Hughes was back up front to meet an Eades free-kick, but Barrett denied him a hat-trick header with a reaction save. Three minutes later, however, parity was finally achieved when City failed to clear a corner and in a crowded box, Berry reacted first to poke home a deserved equaliser. Honour was satisfied: 3-3.
It was a fair result all round and a fitting way to climax an open and entertaining match. City should have a pretty decent team once they are at full strength and will hopefully be able to compete again for the promotion to wipe out the undeserved relegation that the Conference imposed on them due to the supposed failings of the City Ground. And that would be a great way to say goodbye to their home of the best part of a hundred years.
For United, Jez's youngsters had once again underlined their tremendous promise and maturity. And in Liam Hughes, they have a previously ugly duckling who has suddenly turned into a powerful swan before our eyes. Tonight, Matthew, he did a pretty passable impersonation of Dion Dublin.
Statto Corner
Teams from Abbey/Cambridge United have been playing matches at the City Ground, Milton Road for 85 years. United's first ever game on the 'old' pitch was on 19th September 1925, as the Abbey visited Cambridge Town's Reserves in Division One of the Cambs League. 'Fanny' Freeman put the visitors ahead, but the match was abandoned after just 35 minutes down to a torrential downpour of rain. The game was eventually played the following April, United running out 5-3 winners.
United's first completed game at Milton Road, then, came two months later, when they beat Town's Reserves 3-2 in the first round of the Cambs Challenge Cup. They first visited the Lilywhites' more illustrious first team, then playing in the Southern Amateur League, on 7th October 1933 in the first qualifying round of the FA Amateur Cup, and they were on the end of a fearful 9-1 battering in front of a crowd of 3,000. That remains the biggest ever win by Town/City over their rivals from across the Cam.
In all the two clubs' first teams have met 74 times at Milton Road, with United coming out on top by 28 wins to 27. Curiously enough, during the eight seasons the clubs were in the same division of the Southern League between 1958 and 1968, United won only once at the home of their intra-city rivals, losing three times, although they met many more times during that period in various cups.
The clubs have met in a total of 11 different competitions, plus assorted testimonials and friendlies, competing in the Southern League, the FA Cup, the Cambs Professional Cup, the Cambs Invitation Cup, the Addenbrookes Cup, the Eastern Professional Floodlit League, the Southern League Cup, the East Anglian Cup, the FA Amateur Cup, the East Anglian (wartime) League, and last but not least, the Mollie Rainham Memorial Cup.
United and City's last four meetings have finished in score draws. United's last win was 2-0 in July 2006, secured with goals from Rob Wolleaston and Michael Gash against a home side which included Danny Naisbitt in goal. City won most recently in 2002, as goals from ex-U's Adie Hayes and Leon Gutzmore defeated one by Tom Youngs in front of a crowd of 1,118.
The 14 largest attendances for a Cambridge derby were all achieved at Milton Road, between 1952 and 1964. The top three are 11,908 (10/10/53, 3-1 to United in the FA Cup), 11,574 (4/4/63, 2-1 to City in the Southern League) and 9,814 (1/5/52, 2-0 to United in the Cambs Invitation Cup). Largest crowd at the Abbey for the fixture is 6,892 (29/9/62, 2-1 to City in the Southern League).
Player Ratings
Brown 5. A miskick, a fumble, a misplaced wall… get all the bloopers out of the way before the season starts? Good plan.
Thorpe 7. Something of a breakthrough week for the promising young right-back.
Hudson 7. Classy as ever.
Bevan 6. Thoroughly competent at centre and right back.
Coakley 6. Very decent effort.
Eades 6. A couple of nice free-kick deliveries, but still a long way from a first team call-up.
Berry 7. Always at the heart of the action.
Ives 6. OK without really standing out.
Patrick 7. Dangerous as a winger, less so as a central striker.
Marriott 6. Still easing his way gradually into the season, had a few decent shots blocked.
Hughes 8. Never saw this one coming… outstanding!
Naisbitt 6. Had very little to do in the second half.
Brighton 6. Satisfactory out wide on the left.
Allen 6. Got involved well.
Ingrey 6. New kid on the block promises much.
Match Summary
United's CRC boys did themselves proud in a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining Cambridge derby, and could even give City a two-goal start before securing a deserved draw.
Man of the Match
Liam Hughes. Previous glimpses of lanky Liam gave the impression of a versatile player who was a jack of all trades and a master of none. But tonight he was a thoroughly convincing centre-forward, very unlucky not to grab a hat-trick and scorer of a quite brilliant lob, and a pretty decent centre-back too for the last twenty minutes.
Ref Watch
Pawley 7. Kept the game flowing unobtrusively.
Soundtrack of the Day
Arcade Fire "Ready To Start"
Andrew Bennett
Andrew's previous match reports
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