Saturday 3rd March 2007 - Stafford 1-2 U's: Another Brick in the Wall

The year is only two months old but is already notable for two triumphant comebacks: former boy band now bloke band, Take That, and the Anglia TV football presenting legend that is Gerry Harrison, who climaxed his regular nostalgia spot on the otherwise lamentable 'Soccer Night' with a superb feature on the Mighty U's and the latest South Stand Initiative success on Thursday night. How about we combine the two...?

I guess now it's time for us to give it up
I feel it's time
Gerry Harrison's back on telly
Like our glory days of League and FA Cup
Seeing his face is pure emotion
Reminds me of shattered dreams
Gotta leave them, gotta leave them all behind now

Whatever he said, whatever he did he always meant it
I just want him back for good (I want him back, I want him back)
Soccer Night is wrong, just give him the gig and he'll wing it
He'll be right and understood (I want him back, I want him back for good)

Seventies and Eighties, Match Of The Week was his story
It was pretty good
Norwich, Ipswich and Luton Town all celebrated glory
But we had good times too
'He's done it!' he'd shout on Sunday as we sat down for our tea
Easy smile and sensible haircut supreme

Whatever he said, whatever he did he always meant it
I just want him back for good (I want him back, I want him back)
Get rid of Fat Baz and that Franchise creep, they are minging
Gerry's king, that's understood (I want him back, I want him back for good)

He's a national treasure, at least in East Anglia
He's the guv'nor and forever he will be
Sympathetic to us
We will never be uncovered again

Whatever he said, whatever he did he always meant it
I just want him back for good (I want him back, I want him back)
Tony Jones is on Sky, they can keep him, we just want the king back
He's the daddy in our 'hood (I want him back, I want him back for good)

They called our ground 'Fortress Abbey' in Gerry Harrison's heyday, but this season the U's are going to have to rely on their away form to inch their way towards safety. Saturday saw United's first ever visit to Marston Road, home of Stafford Rangers since 1896.

It is a classic top-tier non-League ground, situated on the outskirts of town amidst an industrial estate that was probably all open fields when the ground was first built back in the days of snuff and chimney sweeps. The only seated area is a modest one-tier stand about the length of the centre circle with open terracing either side, while both ends are also allocated to the home fans, one open terrace, one partially covered.

The U's fans were given half of the opposite side, including half of a quaint lean-to covered area, next to which was the most primitive Gents' ever, basically an uncovered trough behind a brick wall with room for about four occupants at a time. Presumably this aromatic, mossy little enclosure is one of the ground's original Victorian features.

Just behind this area was a substantial new-looking house with first-floor verandas overlooking both the pitch and the Gents', and during the second half an occupant appeared and seemed to be taking pictures of the gentlemen's relief area with a mobile phone. Watch out for edited highlights on YouTube.

The matchday programme's title revealed that Rangers' nickname is, for some reason, 'The Boro,' a most regrettable choice, and the prog was thoughtfully laid out in the club colours of, er, black and white apart from a splash of colour on the front and back covers. Team stats showed that Stafford had lost their last five home matches and have attendances that regularly drop into three figures, right down to a dismal 653 for a midweek game with Stevenage last month. This isn't the Football League any more (sob).

A substantial number of United supporters gathered in Rangers' Social Club, which effectively provides the frontage for the ground, before kickoff, and £1 admission allowed access to a tidy, no-frills interior with bar, stage and a big screen on which to enjoy the Liverpool-Man U game, won by the League leaders in the dying minutes. Wish we could do that. We could also enjoy a pleasant painting of Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong adorning the club's wall; wonder when he played here? And how did they fit all of his band onto that tiny stage??

It was also good to see the presence of United's once and future saviour, Paul Barry, in the Club, and one can only presume that he was inundated with grateful offers to buy him a drink or twelve.

After United's two consecutive home draws, JQ tinkered with the side again, reverting to 3-5-2. Aidan Collins was the defender to drop out after his strop on Tuesday, while Jon Brady was dropped to the bench and David Bridges moved to right wing-back as the Smiths - Christian and Stephen - joined Danny Brown in the middle.

Charles Ademeno's injury meant a third change, Dan Chillingworth restored to the forward line alongside Robbie Simpson, while unusually there were five outfield players on the bench.

Stafford's 1-0 win at the Abbey in January was surely the most dreadful game in United's dreadful season, the visitors winning a battle between two pitiful teams with their only on-target shot of the match. Seven of that Rangers team lined up again today, including 42-year-old striker Neil Grayson, although only slightly younger veteran David Oldfield was missing this time, presumably due to an attack of chilblains or a nasty outbreak of liver spots.

It was a pleasantly sunny day, although recent rain had left the Marston Road pitch something of a bog, which may or may not explain the hosts' somewhat agricultural style of hoof-and-chase route one football. Once it had been decided which end they would be attacking in the first half, there was a mass exodus of home fans from one end to the other in that charming non-League ritual that has sadly long disappeared from League football.

First corner fell to Stafford, Anthony Griffith's flag-kick cleared by Michael Morrison, and on 3 the alert Chillingworth produced the first of many splendid runs behind the home defence to square for Simpson, but United's top scorer blasted wide from fifteen yards.

United had a chance to atone for Tuesday's last-minute free-kick debacle on 8 when awarded one a few yards outside the box for a foul on Simpson by Robin Gibson. Three players stood over the ball as usual, but this time they did not thankfully waste time tapping to each other, Bridges stepping up and whacking the ball decisively straight into the Stafford wall. Perhaps he thought they were going to step politely out of the way for him.

Sam Page had a long-range welly charged down by centre-back Craig McAughtrie a minute later, while five minutes after that Gibson shot over for the hosts. The pattern of the game was soon set: crunching, uncompromising tackles all over the park, little time on the ball. Stafford wasted no time in launching the ball over their forwards' heads for them to chase while United tried, with varying success, to play their way through the ploughed field of a pitch to the two willing runners up front. This was going to be a war of attrition.

A dour deadlock was broken on 20. Levi Reid arrowed a high cross over from the right and it found Morecambe loanee David McNiven ten yards from goal on the left, faced by Andy Duncan. Whether the United skipper slipped or just hesitated, he failed to close the home hitman down, and he was able to pick his spot and guide the ball past Shane Herbert and in at the far post. 1-0.

United responded doggedly, Pitt feeding Chilli two minutes later who saw his shot cleared behind by McAughtrie, and four minutes later Chilli forced a save from keeper Robert Duggan with a shot from the right channel. The U's striker went even closer sixty seconds later as he again sprung the home offside trap and sprinted clear, only to see his goalbound shot from twenty yards touched onto the post by Duggan.

The U's have gone behind a few times recently and, encouragingly, the heads have not gone down, and today was no exception in difficult conditions against unsophisticated but determined opponents. The muddy pitch, quaint surroundings and black-and-white stripes of the opposition brought to mind last season's FA Trophy disaster at Dorchester, and the less recalled of that shambles the better.

McNiven hammered a long-ranger wide on 31, then Simpson tried something similar up the other end and it bounced harmlessly wide off Bridges. The hosts enjoyed a little territorial dominance for a while in their own muscular way, Griffith firing wide on 34 and Herbert saving from McNiven on 38 at the expense of a corner, but just as the vocal amber hordes were resigned to their heroes going in one down at the interval, they conjured up an equaliser on 42.

Use was made of Stephen Smith's propensity for long throws as he launched one into the box, Sam Page headed on, and there was Bridges ghosting in unmarked down the middle to slam home from ten yards with his left foot. 1-1!

The pernickety ref booked Christian Smith just before half-time for a perfectly good tackle; young Christian seems to attract this sort of attention because of his build and the way he throws it wholeheartedly into the action. But United finished the 45 with a flourish of two corners and hope for better things in part two.

The home supporters changed ends ready for the resumption of hostilities and the away support shielded their eyes against the gradually lowering sun. The U's restarted in lively fashion and within two minutes Stephen Smith has drifted through a Stafford defence that was spluttering as if it had just refuelled at Tesco. With the goal at his mercy, however, he drove an underpowered shot just wide.

Bridges clattered into Grayson's shin on 49 but ref Attwell surprisingly did not even consider it a foul. The footballing pensioner eventually resumed after several minutes' TLC from his physio. Pitt, however, was carded on 55 for a mistimed challenge on Gibson, then Grayson bowed to the inevitable and limped off to be replaced by Guy Madjo, who had recently flown out to Cameroon to represent them in an African Games qualifier, only to discover upon arrival that he had missed the qualification date by, er, three months. I bet Samuel Eto'o was gutted.

Herbert saved from McNiven as the hour approached but it was United who were beginning to get a grip with the conditions and the opposition, with the midfield of Smith, Smith and Brown increasingly influential. Stephen broke away on 62 to trundle a shot into Duggan's welcoming embrace, then a Brown cross was picked up by Chilli before the keeper could gather, he wriggled clear then turned to lash a shot into Duggan's grateful midriff.

Chilli set up SS again on 65 and this time Smudger's run culminated in a cheeky lob which Duggan leapt to collect. The hosts recognised that they needed a change and introduced Craig Lovatt for Reid. United responded on 72 with a straight swap, Brady for Pitt, and there was panic a minute later when a typical Stafford ball over the top was met by the onrushing Herbert's head. Unlike Tuesday, he at least got a proper header on it, but it fell to McNiven and his long-range lob dropped over the bar as Sherbert scrambled back.

Still the teams went at each other, and on 82 United almost made the breakthrough when Duncan's header from a Smudger corner was headed off the line by McAughtrie. The U's were almost caught on the break, but Christian Smith then Michael Morrison averted a dangerous situation with some precipitous defending.

Bridges became his side's third bookee on 85 for an innocuous clash with Nathan Talbott, then on 87 came the moment that the amber hordes' loyal support had been waiting for.

It came out of nothing really: a Brady cross, a half-clearance to Christian Smith on the edge of the area, then the Brick Wall lashed a low left-footed drive through a crowded box and it somehow found its way unerringly into the bottom corner of the net. 2-1!

Joy was unconfined. Was this, finally, the turning point of this Godawful season? Four minutes' added time was signalled and both sides made one last change, Wayne Purser for the impressive Chilli and Danny Edwards for Griffith. There were a couple of palpitations caused by two Gibson crosses into the United box, but the blue shirts stood firm and they whiled away the last few minutes calmly in the Stafford half. A deserved victory was theirs.

United can take immense encouragement from this for the battles yet to come. Yes, the opposition played football that Neanderthal Man might have found a tad primitive, but the U's of a few months ago would have submitted meekly to their physical pressure. Not now. This was a hard-fought, gritty, ground-out win, and that is exactly what will be required time and time again over the next few weeks. Cry havoc and loose the Mighty U's of war!

Player Ratings
Herbert 6. No chance with the goal, otherwise OK bar the odd hairy moment.
Duncan 6. Not one of his better displays this season.
Morrison 7. Improved as the game went on.
Page 7. Strong, decisive, the pick of United's defenders on the day.
Bridges 6. More involved than usual and although not 100% convincing as a wing-back, popped up for an invaluable goal.
S.Smith 7. Busy at the heart of the action and also got forward well.
Brown 6. Still looking for his best form, but starting to get there.
C.Smith 7. Love those crunching tackles, and what a time to get your first goal.
Pitt 6. Did a decent job at wing-back until withdrawn. Must improve set pieces.
Chillingworth 7. Constant thorn in Stafford's side.
R.Simpson 7. Always menacing line leader.

Brady 6. Adequate replacement for Pitt.
Purser 6. Energetic late cameo.

Match Summary
The United revival continued as they did not so much 'win ugly' as 'win downright hideous' with great character in an unsubtle, bruising encounter at Stafford. At this stage the result is all, and with this sort of battling attitude the U's stand a great chance of assuring safety.

Man of the Match
Dan Chillingworth. Impressively mobile and a regular threat to the opposition playing off the shoulder of the last man. Stayed onside well and unlucky not to score when he hit the post in the first half and found the keeper's midriff in the second.

Ref Watch
Attwell 5. Football will stop being a contact sport, and therefore competitive, with characters like this around. Regularly blew for free-kicks where there was little or no contact and sometimes for perfectly clean tackles which won the ball. Needless bookings, too. As Neil Warnock is fond of saying, the guy simply appeared to have no feel for the game at all.

Soundtrack of the Day
The Stooges 'My Idea Of Fun'

JB's Jukebox
Jon Brady checks out the Marston Road sounds. "I dunno if it's just me, but after hearing the standard of some of the music we've been treated to this season, I get the feeling that if it was raining custard I'd only have a fork! So give Stafford a fair suck of the sav, today was a pleasantly ripper surprise - no daggy kiddie-pop or bodgy disco stuff, just a decent selection of ROCK, from the Stone Roses to Orson, Dirty Pretty Things to The Automatic, with a side dish of some spiffy 70s glam in Bowie and T.Rex and the coolest bastard ever, Mr Johnny Cash. Points deducted for the runout tune, though - 'Let Me Entertain You'? Jeez mate, who opened their lunch, know what I mean?! JBJ verdict: 7/10"

Andrew Bennett

Now talk about it on the message board!

Previous match reports:
U's 1-1 Forest Green
U's 2-2 Southport
Morecambe 2-2 U's
U's 2-0 Grays
Oxford 1-1 U's
U's 3-0 Woking
Rushden & Diamonds 3-1 U's
Stevenage 4-1 U's
U's 0-1 Stafford
U's 1-2 Burton
U's 0-1 Rushden & Diamonds
Histon 5-0 U's(FA Trophy 1st round)
Woking 0-1 U's
U's 0-2 St Albans
U's 1-3 Morecambe
U's 3-0 Gravesend
Grays 1-1 U's
Northwich 2-0 U's (FA Cup Qual)
U's 0-3 Oxford
U's 1-2 Crawley
U's 2-2 Altrincham
Burton 2-1 U's
U's 1-0 Stevenage
U's 1-1 Kidderminster
Forest Green 1-1 U's
U's 1-3 Exeter
Dagenham 2-0 U's
U's 1-2 Halifax
St Albans 1-1 U's
U's 0-1 Northwich Victoria

Pre-season match reports:
Histon 0-0 U's (3-4 on pens)
U's 1-3 Norwich
Fakenham 0-7 U's
Enfield FC 0-2 U's
Cambridge City 0-2 U's
U's 4-4 Ipswich
U's 0-4 West Ham
Bury Town 1-2 U's
Leyton 0-3 U's

The views expressed on this page are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cambridge United Football Club or the webmaster.