Andrew Bennett reviews last season.

March 2010: "There's nothing better than a win!"

It transpired that there was a clause in the original sale of the Abbey to Bideawhile 445 that allowed the club a legal right to repurchase the ground for the same price agreed with the new buyer, in this case £3.5 million. CFU decided to take it upon themselves to raise the funds concerned, but the clause only offered a very limited time frame before it lapsed and they had until 24th March to put down a (non-returnable) deposit of £350,000 and to have commitments in place for the remaining £3.15m.

To call that a tall order would be putting it mildly, but they felt they had to try and appealed for anyone and everyone who could help. The plan was to form a Community Interest Company, seen as the most secure form of ownership for the club, which would lease the stadium to the club; 3,500 shares in the CIC would be offered at £1,000 each, and the club would be charged a much lower rent which would save them money but would still offer an attractive return for investors. The race against time started now…


Tuesday 2nd March 2010 : U's 1-1 Oxford United (Blue Square Premier - Att. 3,002, away 678)
Goals: Saah 18 / M. Green 42

With the imminent removal of Chester's results, you now had to search back as far as 31st October for United's last valid league win, 2-0 at home to Kidderminster: thirteen games without a win. And now the league leaders were visiting, a team which due to various postponements United had avoided until now.

The good news was that Saah and Carden were at last fit to play again, and they were duly recalled at the expense of Coulson and Reason, and in the absence of Willmott and Murray, Sam Ives was pressed into service wide right. Beesley was on the bench in preference to the youth of Marriott and Patrick, still being protected by Ling from the big bad relegation struggle. For the visitors, Anthony Tonkin started at the back alongside erstwhile Brabin target Rhys Day, and old foe Chris Hargreaves was in midfield after his January move from Torquay, but top scorer James Constable was absent through injury.

Confident Oxford dominated early proceedings but could not find a way past an imperious Saah and co, and the hosts took an unexpected lead when Russell arrowed a fine free-kick to the far post, McAuley headed it into the six-yard box, and in an almighty scramble there were Saah's telescopic legs to poke home his third goal in U's colours.

Oxford's response was to intensify their pressure and the next twenty minutes were played almost exclusively in the home half. But Brown looked solid and amber-shirted bodies flung themselves hither and thither to block the visitors' efforts on goal. Their brave resistance was finally broken, though, just before half-time. Simon Clist latched onto a half-cleared corner as United pushed out, his cross into the box was helped on by a Hargreaves back-header, and it fell perfectly for Matt Green, standing alone on the penalty spot with neither centre-back anywhere near him, who had all the time in the world to trap the ball and fire home.

The interval saw the most bizarre 'entertainment' ever seen at the Abbey as the venerable Paul Wanless, Oxford fan Timmy Mallett in a foolish wig and brandishing a pink mallet, and a rather poor Sven-Goran Eriksson lookalike lined up to take penalties against Marvin The Moose, not with footballs but with huge, pink soft things which were supposed to be, frankly, testicles, all intended to promote awareness of cancer in a gentleman's nether regions. We will never see the like again.



United raised their game in part two and gave as good as they got, not creating a great deal but at least enjoying a stalemate, although they had to guard against the visitors' lightning-fast breaks. Just after the hour came a flash of welcome quality, Crow unleashing a stunning, dipping shot from thirty yards which looked a goal all ends up until his skill was matched by that of keeper Ryan Clarke, who scurried back and leaped to tip it over at full stretch.

The quality improved thereafter as the teams slugged it out toe-to-toe. Saah blocked a goalbound shot from Green and Hargreaves hammered the rebound over the top, and on 75 a superb through ball from Reason sent Crow clear down the middle. Tonkin gave chase but could not get in front of his former team-mate and he brought him down with a clumsy challenge from behind just outside the box. It meant a straight red and an unhappy Abbey return for the graceful left-back.

Crow's ensuing free-kick looked bound for the top corner but Clarke made another magnificent save. Willock made a good impression after replacing Phillips, winning every ball that came his way, and three minutes from time an increasingly impressive United came so close to winning it when Reason lofted a free-kick from deep towards the far post, Coulson easily outjumped his marker and powered a downward header past Clarke which was heading for the far corner of the net…until Jake Wright intervened with a stunning clearance, facing his own goal, over his own bar from no more than ten feet out, as great a piece of skill as any match-winning shot.

Oxford might still have snatched the points, though, and were denied twice late on by Brown, who first made a one-handed save from Sam Deering's free-kick, then blocked Clist's point-blank shot on his line (with his face!) to confirm that United were in safe hands and, indeed, faces with him in goal. A breathless contest finished with honours deservedly even. Somehow it felt like a turning point in the season had been reached.

A satisfied Ling summarised "When you look at it on the balance of chances, Crowy has had two great efforts, and then there was the Josh Coulson header right at the end. How the defender put that over the bar I'll ever know. But then at the other end Simon Brown has pulled off a wonder save right at the death, so they had their moments too. I would've taken a point before the game, but if anything we edged the match on chances.

"We were decent, and if you're looking at it positively that's three games without defeat now, although obviously we still need to break that hoodoo and get the win. But I'm pleased with the performance overall and if any team was going to edge it then it would've been us."

Tonkin reflected on his red card: "My dismissal changed the game. I can't really complain about it; it's hard in that situation. I caught Danny up and I thought I was going to get round him and get the ball but he stumbled across me and the referee has seen this as a professional foul. I've tried to hold my hands up to say there was no deliberate contact. The referee will always see when a player goes over in that position as a straight red, so once he blew for the foul I knew I was going off. If it was at the other end I would have expected him to do the same thing so I can't have any complaints.

"During my time at Cambridge I always received a great reception from the fans and I always anticipated them getting behind me and it's a real shame I couldn't show my gratitude towards them at the end of the match. Obviously I heard them singing my name as I walking off the pitch. I had a great time here and still wish the Club all the best for the rest of the season, apart from when you come to Oxford next month of course!"

Votes began to be collated for United's next away strip, a choice between a Wycombe Wanderers lookalike quartered strip, light blue and black stripes, and a light blue strip with dark blue sleeves and swirly bits. I believe that is the correct technical term.



On the Thursday, Ling secured his replacement wide man when he signed Bradford City's former Cambridge City winger Scott Neilson on a one-month emergency loan. Ling enthused "Scott is a quick ball carrier and is just the type of player we need since the loss of Robbie Willmott. He's been playing League Two football with Bradford this season and due to the change in manager [Peter Taylor had replaced Stuart McCall] has become available."




Saturday 6th March 2010: Barrow 0-1 U's (Blue Square Premier - Att. 1,325, away 140)
Goal: Neilson 73

United made the long, long trek to Cumbria without the injured Gleeson and Partridge, replaced by Coulson and first-start Roberts, while Neilson went straight into the team at the expense of Ives. Phil Bolland lined up for Barrow against his former employers for the first time, while recent signing Lee McEvilly warmed the bench. Hopefully they remembered to reinforce it.

There's was a minute's silence for popular ex-Macclesfield boss Keith Alexander before kick-off, and within two minutes of the start home skipper Paul Jones had inexplicably headed against his own bar under no pressure from a corner. There was precious little excitement to follow, however, in a dour struggle of which Barrow had more possession but both keepers were so underemployed they could have spent most of the time updating their Facebook status: 'Simon is freezing his butt off in the six-yard box oh look another shot over the bar LOL!'

Barrow retained the upper hand into part two and Brown was finally forced into a save by Nick Chadwick, bursting past Saah but unable to beat the United custodian's big hands. It took under-the-cosh United 65 minutes to get a shot in on goal, Crow firing over, but eight minutes later they took the lead when Crow's pinpoint through ball set up Neilson to scoot through and lift a neat finish over the keeper into the net for a debut goal.

United, outplayed for so long, might have sealed it when Coulson headed over from six yards then had a close-range shot cleared off the line, then sub McEvilly lumbered clear but dragged his shot obligingly wide. In the last minute came confirmation that it was not Barrow's day when Carlos Logan was dismissed for a second yellow, and a U's defence well marshalled by Coulson resisted some late pressure to seal their first away league win since August. Never mind the quality, feel the points.

Ling was contented: "It's been an awful long time coming. We've seen in the last three games a different mentality about us but there's nothing better than a win to confirm that. It was backs against the wall, but not so they worked our keeper on many occasions. They got into a lot of good positions, especially in the second half and won a lot of corner kicks, but we'll take that because there have been so many occasions where it's got away from us when we were the better side."

A delighted Neilson added "You can't really have a better debut than getting the three points and scoring the winning goal. It wasn't the best of games but we came here with the game plan to stay solid, match them and nick a goal on the counter-attack so in all fairness it worked well."

He also had a word for the hardy travellers: "I've come down from Bradford and their travelling support is great but the fans who have made the journey - and it's a long one - up from Cambridge were just superb today. The reaction when I went to celebrate the goal and at the end of the game showed just how much the win and the Club means to them."

Barrow joint manager Dave Bayliss sulked "All Cambridge have had are two chances all game and I don't think Tim Deasy has had to make a save. They've come here with the intention to nick an ugly win and fair enough, they've done it and got the three points that I don't think they deserved."


Tuesday 9th March 2010: Kettering Town 0-1 U's (Blue Square Premier - Att. 1,248, away 421)
Scorer: Crow 76

Kettering's renamed Elgood Brewery Arena was surprisingly spartanly attended for a team riding high in fourth place, although curiously their away record was much better than at home, where their win over Grays at the weekend had been their first victory since 26th September. Calum Willock was rewarded for three energetic cameos with his first start at the expense of Phillips, and Murray returned to replace Ives on the bench while Gleeson and Partridge remained absent.

The hosts made the more energetic start and on 7 a misunderstanding between Roberts and Brown presented Elliot Charles with an open goal to shoot at, but Coulson got back to kick off the line. United responded with a Russell shot which he mishit when free at the far post, and Crow shot early and wide when he wriggled through a few minutes later. Kettering enjoyed more possession but the U's threatened regularly on the break against a vulnerable-looking home back line.

Brown made several fine saves to keep the Poppies out, Willock scuffed straight at Nathan Abbey and on half-time McAuley's header was cleared off the line, and the only surprise so far was that there had been no goals.

Fits-and-starts United began to enjoy a greater share of possession after the break and chances continued to fall for both sides, Palmer nodding John Dempster's header off the line from a corner, and the visitors came their closest yet on 75 when Willock had a close-range header pawed off the line by Abbey and when the ball was crossed in again the Poppies stopper repeated the trick from another header, this time by Neilson.

But a minute later, at a similar juncture to the Barrow game, United finally broke the deadlock. Russell latched onto a half-cleared corner, arrowed a clever cross right into the heart of the box, and there was Crow to get his laces behind the ball and lash unequivocally home from eight yards with a shot which Abbey could barely have seen.

Now it was all about grinding out the win, for the second time in four days, and United duly did just that, with only one late scare when Jean-Paul Marna spooned over from five yards. It hadn't been especially pretty, but a corner had definitely turned in United's season. And those two away wins had suddenly clawed back those lost six points.

Ling was philosophical: "There's been a change of fortune or luck I suppose, but also a change of mental attitude. When we knew the Chester points had gone, we knew we were in a relegation fight and I asked the players to stand up and be counted. Over the last two games people have come to the fore and there a probably a couple who wouldn't have played if we hadn't had injuries in terms of Roberts and Coulson, but they've been as good as anyone on the pitch in the last two games and they've taken their chance with both hands.

"The pitch was quite bobbly, it's been difficult to play any football so we've had to dig in and do the dirty side of the game and think that's been the case both at Barrow and here tonight. Chester's expulsion affected us more than anybody else so it was important to get six points back on the board, and we've gone unbeaten with two away wins when the last one was back in August. We've not let it be negative in the dressing room, we've tried to work it as a positive and the lads have done really well in the last two games."


Saturday 13th March 2010: U's 2-1 Histon (Blue Square Premier - Att. 4,417, away 305)
Goals: Neilson 67, Carden 85 / Pugh 61

Histon had been one of the prime beneficiaries of the Chester expulsion, having been one of the few teams to lose to them this season, but that was one of the few bright spots of a tumultuous season when the goings-on behind the scenes had beaten even the U's for sheer drama, not to mention bathos. Only four of their players had survived from the clubs' last meeting on 4th October, but that was still one more than the three who remained in United's line-up. To no-one's surprise, Ling stood by the starting XI from Tuesday, although Gleeson returned to replace Walker on the bench.

The visitors had won only two of their last ten matches, including Tuesday's home game with Tamworth in front of a worryingly low crowd of 350, so hopefully their supporters were cheered up by the posters which had sprung up around the Abbey to advertise Steve Fallon's testimonial in May.

The atmosphere was less intense that it had been during Histon's glory years, but it was no less competitive out on the pitch. The best early chance fell to Willock, who controlled Palmer's cross on his chest eight yards out but prodded his shot straight at keeper David Knight. But no South Cambs derby would be complete without some controversy, and we got some on 25 when Gareth Gwillim fired a free-kick into the United wall and to everyone's astonishment, ref Madley pointed to the spot, penalising Crow for a handball in the wall which no-one had so much as noticed, never mind claimed for.

Charlie Sheringham, Julian Lennon to his father's John, stepped up and hit it low to Brown's left, and justice was done when Brown got down smartly to scoop superbly over the bar.

Crow burst between Histon's centre-backs ten minutes later but ballooned his shot wide, and there were no further major incidents until the interval, when Fallon and good old Graham Eales were brought out to say hello to the crowd.

Neilson spurned a good chance with an underhit shot on the hour, and not long afterwards the visitors took the lead with an old-school Histon goal, Gwillim's long throw flicked on at the near post for Andy Pugh to sneak in and sidefoot home from close range.

United responded swiftly, however, introducing Gleeson and Murray, and the ex-Histon man's cross on 67 was fumbled under pressure from Willock and it fell perfectly for Neilson to control coolly before rifling home past a defender on the line from ten yards for the equaliser and his second goal in three games.

The hosts now went for the three points, introducing Phillips for Willock. Murray shot over, Neilson fired wide, but five minutes from time their pressure finally bore fruit. Neilson's corner was met on the full by Saah near the penalty spot, only for his header to crash against the post. The ball was cleared as far as Carden, almost thirty yards out, and instead of lofting it back into the box, he went for goal. It wasn't a supersonic screamer like his previous two goals for the U's, but it was accurate, flying through a crowded area and scudding into the bottom left corner past a bemused Knight.

It was no more than they deserved, and they held on comfortably to record their third victory in a row. The only way was up.

Ling's verdict: "In the first half we weren't good enough at times. Josh Coulson was excellent at the back, and Simon did well to save the penalty, but I felt there were too many people out there waiting for someone else to take responsibility and make things happen. But second half we were the better side and we've got our rewards in the end."

"We've been getting all sorts of monkeys off our backs, with the first away wins since August, and now the first home win for a long time. The job isn't finished yet, but now I want the players to aim for a top-half finish. That's my target and if we keep putting in the effort I see no reason why we can't achieve it."

Neilson certainly enjoyed the win: "I said after last week's game I wanted to get one over them, so scoring the equaliser meant a lot to me and I'd like to dedicate it to not only all the fans here who have been great to me over the last three games, but also to all at Milton Road as well. Looking back I should have got one five minutes before, but their keeper has pulled off a good save.

So when the chance came so soon after I buried it. The reaction of the fans when it hit the net was something special…

Personally I would love to be here till the end of the season. Hopefully Bradford will agree to that because it's great to be home."
Brown on penalties: "To be honest I haven't had to face too many penalties over the years. I remember playing for Colchester away at Yeovil midweek in the cup, which went to penalties, and I did well that night. They had a couple retaken after the referee accused me of coming off my line and I saved those as well. Today was the same as it normally is. The pressure is always on the taker, who will always be favourite to score - all I have to do is try to get on to it."

Carden summarised: "We needed a wake up call in that first half and should've kicked on from the penalty save but we didn't… It took until they did manage to score for us to wake up. We didn't start as we would've liked. We needed to push on and the onus was on us as the home side to step our game up and we only managed that when the double substitution was made. Both Dan Gleeson and Antonio Murray came on not only with fresh legs but also with something to prove to the opposition - Antonio against his old club and Dan being United through and through - they definitely added something to the team performance."

Out of favour striker Mark Beesley was sent out on loan to Conference North side AFC Telford United for the remainder of the season. Ling explained: "Mark's gone out to get some football. He needs to be playing as his contract is up at the end of the season. His chances have been restricted here recently and it's a good chance for him to go and play as we've got plenty of cover in the forward areas."


Tuesday 16th March 2010: U's 3-1 Salisbury City (Blue Square Premier - Att. 2,028, away 25)
Goals: Coulson 23, Murray 32, Neilson 74 / Tubbs 6

United's FA Trophy conquerors arrived back at the Abbey having just lost the first (home) leg of their semi-final 1-0 to Barrow. Ling made injury-enforced changes, Murray wide left depping for Russell and surprisingly, Partridge filling in for Palmer at left-back rather than specialist Coakley. Gleeson was recalled to the starting line-up in place of Roberts, and Beesley's departure meant an opening on the bench for Adam Marriott.

The hosts got off to a slow start and were soon caught out by one of the best goals scored at the Abbey this season. There seemed little danger when BSP top scorer Matt Tubbs picked up possession just outside the centre circle, but when the United midfield stood off him and he looked up to see Brown off his line, he aimed a quite brilliant lob from fully forty yards which looked in from the moment it left his boot. Brown tried to scramble back but he was already beaten.

The U's continued to look sluggish, with Partridge uncomfortable at left-back, and only Willock distinguishing himself further forward, but they equalised out of the blue when Carden crossed a half-cleared free-kick to the back post, Partridge nodded it into the six-yard box, and although Bittner tried to palm it away, there was Coulson to prod home for his first-ever first team goal.

That was the hosts' cue to start playing and they started to take control. And they were soon in front with another spectacular strike. Willock flicked Neilson's pass into the left channel where Murray was advancing, and with no challenge coming in 25 yards out, he let it bounce once then rifled a fantastic half-volley with his left foot which, like Tubbs' effort earlier, had 'goal' written all over it as it flew into the top left-hand corner past the helpless Bittner. Another first-time goalscorer. The U's finished well on top of a schizophrenic half.

On the hour Crow's fine ball past the orange-shirted back line sent Neilson clear into the box down the right channel, and he unleashed a shot of quite stunning ferocity which flashed past Bittner, crashed against the underside of the bar, bounced down on the line and was scrambled away. It was a close escape for Salisbury and for the crossbar, which I hope they checked for a hairline fracture later.

Salisbury responded gamely and walloped the woodwork themselves when Chris Flood crashed a spectacular long-range shot against the bar and Brown stopped the rebound shot from Ben Adelsbury. The sides continued to go at each other hammer and tongs but United sealed it with yet another top-quality goal: McAuley threw the ball to sub Phillips out on the left, he flicked it on to Neilson, he side-stepped a defender then before the visitors could react, he hammered a venomous shot into the top left corner from twelve yards which Bittner could hardly have seen as it screamed past him. Awesome, and three goals in four games from the Bradford loanee.

United began to relax, but those pesky Whites would not give up and dominated the last ten minutes. But they could not penetrate the U's rearguard and it was four wins on the bounce. And what cracking entertainment, too. Relegation worries? What relegation worries?

Ling beamed "Earlier in the season the early goal would have put us on the back foot and given us too many questions to answer. But today, although the half-time score flattered us, the final score didn't. Scotty had that chance to make it 3-1, but they hit the bar at 2-1 as well, and it ended up being a comfortable night if not a scintillating performance.

"The finishes from both the wide boys were excellent. Antonio Murray played out on the left and scored with his weaker left foot, which to be fair he uses a lot in training. The goals were pleasing for them and good for everybody. We're seven games unbeaten now, and winning becomes a habit in the same way that we had to break the losing habit we were in previously. As a squad we feel we can win even when we go behind now, and you can see it in the team and also in the confidence around the club as a whole. When you go behind you need to answer the character question and in the last two games we've answered it with flying colours."

CFU reported that pledges in its campaign to buy back the Abbey had topped a remarkable £1 million. But there was a still long way to go, and the clock was ticking inexorably on.

United were one of ten teams which lodged an appeal with the FA and the Conference regarding the expunging of Chester's record. A club spokesperson explained "The strength of feeling within the clubs that have appealed is that the decision to expunge points so late in the season was not the right way of dealing with this situation. We don't think that it was fair or reasonable when the Conference as a whole is considered. By the time Chester were expelled, 80% of the playing season had passed and we believe it would have been fairer to all to have awarded teams three points for the unplayed games, a solution the FA has previously implemented.

"This way all events that happened on the field of play, whether they be points gained or lost, bookings, injuries, bonus payments, goals scored etc all count, which is as it should be. We do not believe it fair that points and the record of goals scored are expunged, yet bookings incurred in those games remain in force and count towards match bans." After due consideration and the withdrawal from it of several clubs, the appeal was dismissed.

Ling reflected on his team's recent revival. "I think the changes of personnel have helped us get results. You always look to put your own stamp onto a side, and in the last few games I've had seven players out there that have been signed by myself. So the team is largely my doing now, and looking ahead, if any of the players that were here before I arrived stay on next year they'll become my 'signings' too and I hope the results and performances will continue to improve. It's taken more sorting out than I thought it would at the start. But we've done the work now and are beginning to see the fruits of our labour… There's a top half finish in us. We dropped into the bottom three at one point, but since then we've had a good reaction. It's been a real character test, and we've answered it well so far, but there's still another ten games to go."


Saturday 20th March 2010: Wrexham 2-2 U's (Blue Square Premier - Att. 2,105, away 205)
Goals: Mangan 9, Smith 14 / Crow 83 (pen), Marriott 90

Ling named an unchanged starting XI for the visit to deepest darkest Wales, Palmer having recovered from injury but confined to the bench.

United made a bright start and McAuley saw his header from a corner cleared off the line by Mark Jones, but the contest soon switched violently against the visitors. Two goals in five minutes saw Andy Mangan burst down the middle between the centre-backs to fire across Brown and in off the far post, then Lamine Sakho beat the offside trap, was foiled by Brown, but from the ensuing corner former U's loanee Christian 'Brick Wall' Smith thudded a header home.

The devastated U's tried to respond and enjoyed some decent possession without causing keeper Sam Russell too many palpitations, then Wrexham caught their second wind and had the better of the rest of the half, Sakho again beating offside once but firing wastefully wide.

Reason replaced McAuley for the second half and United saw plenty of the ball but could not find a cutting edge in the final third. Ling went for broke, replacing Coulson with Marriott and going to three at the back with fifteen minutes to go in response to the hosts' negative change to 4-5-1, and inside the last ten United pulled one back when the ref spotted a handball in a crowded box and Crow sent Russell the wrong way from the spot.

Saah joined the attack in the last few minutes as United threw the kitchen sink at the Dragons, and three minutes into added time they were rewarded when Marriott controlled a pass a few yards outside the box and, cool as you like, rifled a low drive into the bottom corner for his first Conference goal. A star was born, and Maz almost snatched a winner too but was unable to control at the vital moment. But a hard-fought point had increased the unbeaten run to eight.

Ling saw it as a point gained: "In terms of character and know-how and the will power we've got now, it's a different dressing room. There's a different resilience about the place. They were all disappointed in the dressing room at half-time, so was I, but we would never have got that back six weeks ago, there's no doubt about that. If you look at the last eight games there are four wins and four draws so there's a little bit of resilience in there and character in there as well."

On his teenage match saver, the Gaffer said "I always know he's got goals in him and know he's got chances. He's now gone in as our number four striker and I've always got confidence [in him]. I don't think he's quite ready for a start but if we get out of danger then that might be the time to start bleeding him in slowly. There's no doubt about it that when he gets out on the pitch he gets chances, he had two today. There was his goal, which was a great goal, and it was actually a better chance that he missed. You don't get the goals that he's had at CRC level over the last couple of years without having the nous of how to put the ball in the net. He can do that at first team level, it's just a case of releasing him at the right time."

The mercurial Marriott said "I gambled on the second ball, cut inside and it opened up in front of me as they stood off, so I had a crack. It was a great feeling to see it go in the corner. It was great that we got it and also at the end where all our fans were, so we could go over and celebrate with them. Saying that, I didn't see a lot as everyone seemed to pile on top of me! It's a shame I couldn't win it at the death but their keeper pulled off a great save and credit to him for that. It shows the mental strength and togetherness of this squad that we can come back from being behind but it's something we have to cut out. It's great that we are on this unbeaten run but to get all the points with a clean sheet would be better."

Maz added "I'm happy to be coming on as a sub to try and impress the gaffer. With Tamworth on Wednesday, I hope I'm part of the squad again. I'm young and like a lot of the CRC lads on the fringe of the team. We all know we can't all be thrown in at once because the team won't get the results we need. We are all trying to make our own impact on the squad here and there as we have throughout the season. This is a learning curve for us all and we know we have to be patient and take our chances when they come, picking up experience on the way. The important thing is winning matches and with that bringing success to the club."


Wednesday 24th March 2010: U's 2-0 Tamworth (Blue Square Premier - Att. 2,121, away 37)
Goals: Crow 51, 68

Tamworth had, like United, lost six points with the expunging of Chester, and with only one win in their last ten games which included an embarrassing defeat at strugglers Histon, and clubs below them like Forest Green, Barrow and Gateshead starting to pick up points, they were starting to look anxiously over their shoulders. And a 'goals for' record of just 29 in the league showed where their biggest problem lay.

Ling made two changes from Saturday, restoring Reason in place of McAuley and bringing in Phillips for Willock, whose fitness seemed in some doubt. Partridge retained his place at left-back and Simon Russell returned from injury to the bench.

A mediocre start to the game was exacerbated by man in black Mr Jerden, vying for that coveted 'worst ref of the year' title with an astounding display of incessant unnecessary whistling, soft free-kicks and pompous, time-wasting lectures to disinterested players. As a result the match had no flow at all and the crowd became increasingly restive because of the all-too-frequent stoppages.

Brown had to be alert to tip Aaron Mitchell's snap shot around the post on 18, and United's first goal attempt of note came on the half-hour when the overlapping Partridge crossed to Neilson at the far post and he nodded inside for Phillips to send a cheeky backheel goalward from close in; it was cleared off the line with many claiming it was already in. The linesman couldn't tell as he was nowhere near in line.

The whistle for half-time came as a blessed relief from a tedious, stop-start spectacle, and Tamworth must have regretted not finding a goal from the large number of free-kicks that they had been awarded every time one of their players fell over.

United looked more purposeful after the break and soon took the lead when Neilson sent a long ball over the top down the middle, Crow gave chase behind defender Chris Smith, the Lambs man tried to nod it back to keeper Alcock but got it all wrong and Crow muscled past him and lashed a fine finish past the exposed glovesman from fifteen yards.

Some positively comedic defending handed the U's their second goal. Partridge threw the ball into the box, three defenders went for it at once and fell in a heap, it squirmed sideways and Crow was the most alert to prod it into the net from close range.

Ex-U Neil 'Countdown' Mackenzie appeared from the bench for the visitors, and United saw out time against the toothless visitors with comfort, although the home fans were disappointed to be denied a cameo from Marriott. United's patience had won through.

A satisfied Ling said "First half I felt we started to lose our shape too often. The wide boys weren't getting good service and because of that we were drifting inside and making us too narrow. I said to them at half-time that they had to be patient and we would get the ball out to them, and I think once we started using Antonio Murray and Scott Neilson we stretched their defence and it was comfortable in the end."

Of the ref, the manager commented "…I'm not in the business of criticising referees, but he was killing my ears with his whistling. I wouldn't like to say how many times he blew it. It's a man's game and sometimes there will be a bit of physical contact and I think he was too hasty with the whistle, which helped them as it slowed us down."

And of the increasingly prolific Crow, he said "Danny took his goals well and he is a striker in form. He's on 17 now, although he thinks it's 18 as he's still counting the Chester one! He's now got a chance of ending the season as a 20-goal striker, which can only be good for us."

Crow added "Before the start of the season, I wasn't only disappointed that we failed to get the Club up but personally I didn't feel I did myself justice. But this season to have 18 goals already feels like I've gone some way to paying the fans back for their support. I set myself the target to get 15 at the start of the year, mainly because Chris Holroyd was here and he was played as the main striker, so my job involved helping to make chances for him. Now it seems everything is falling to me and I'm taking those opportunities. I think the players and the gaffer have believed in me and that belief has paid off."

CFU's brave efforts to raise the cash to buy back the Abbey for the Club before the option to sell to Grosvenor took effect finally ran out of time. A Trust statement read 'CFU had until 2pm on Wednesday 24th March to put down a deposit of £350k and to have commitments of £3.15m in place and were hoping that an 'Amber Knight' would have emerged to assist them in reaching their target. CFU Chairman, Dave Matthew-Jones, said "Whilst we have had tremendous support from fans and others, with expressions of interest from over 700 people, some of considerable value, we have to admit defeat on this. A team of people have been working really hard to put this thing together by the deadline. We firmly believe that, given extra time, we would have been able to put the funds in place, but we have been told by Bideawhile that there will be no extension of time."

'Matthew-Jones continued "I wish I could say that the club's Board has been as supportive of the attempt as the fans, but this hasn't been forthcoming and that is very disappointing, especially as they have had five years to buy the ground back, but have failed to achieve it in that time. We had less than five weeks, so it is, perhaps, not a great surprise that we couldn't quite manage it. This just goes to show how brilliant the fans are and is one of the reasons I am proud to be involved with the Fans' Trust. We shall be seeking to work with Grosvenor in the interests of the fans and the club."

There was good news when Bradford agreed to extend Scott Neilson's loan until the end of the season. Ling said "We're delighted to have him for the rest of the season, he's been a major factor in our turnaround of form. We need him to continue in the same vein and help us finish the season in style. He'll go back to Bradford for the last two weeks of their season and we'll assess the situation in the summer."


Saturday 27th March 2010: U's 3-0 Grays Athletic (Blue Square Premier - Att. 3,125, away 43)
Goals: Crow 30, 37. 63

Grays were 'enjoying' a shambles of a season, having used 67 players so far (including Stephen Reed and Fola Onibuje) but won only three games, one of which was of course against the Not-so-Mighty U's, and with Chester's removal, they were now resoundingly rock bottom of the league, long-time mentor Micky Woodward having finally given up the ghost. Former U's Danny Bunce and captain Jamie Guy were in their current line-up.

The home side was unchanged from Wednesday, although the colour of their socks had changed from amber to black. United made a quiet, slightly complacent start, and Grays had the majority of shots in the early stages, albeit many of them ended up in the car park.

There was a danger of the match drifting sleepily like a pre-season friendly until United opened the scoring on the half hour. Murray found Phillips in the area, who shielded the ball well with his back to goal and held it up for Crow to nip in, whip it off his toe, ghost past a bewildered defender and place a delightful shot low past Glyn Garner into the far corner of the net.

Murray managed to head wide of an open goal five minutes later, but the lead was soon doubled when Coulson lofted it long, Phillips flicked into the middle, and Crow managed to bulldoze between Garner and his defenders to prod a trundler home from near the penalty spot.

Shortly afterwards Reason hit the foot of the post with a twenty-yard skimmer, and after a slow start, it was already looking to be a question of how many United would score in revenge for that dismal defeat at the New Rec in September.

Gleeson withdrew injured early in the second half, McAuley stepping in, and Grays almost pulled one back when Brown saved well from Alsenny Cissoko and Duran Reynolds rapped against the bar from the rebound inside the six-yard box. Wakey, wakey. The visitors tried to take the game to their hosts but, like Tamworth, lacked the fire power to truly threaten. And the contest was sealed just after the hour.

Reason swung a long ball towards Murray on the left flank which looked like being intercepted by Garner, but with the United man bearing down in him, the nervy keeper panicked, fumbled and Murray took it past him; with the angle too wide, he pulled it back into the middle, and there was Crow, arriving late to fire a fine finish into the bottom corner past Reynolds on the line to complete his hat-trick.

Willock soon replaced the three-goal hero, rested for another day, and Neilson was foiled by an acrobatic Garner save before Marriott came on for Phillips. The CRC marksman soon threatened, skipping past Reynolds to flash a snap shot a yard wide of the post, then he turned provider, flicking on to Reason whose first-time half-volley beat Garner all ends up but clanged off the inside of the far post.

Marriott was denied by Garner from close range when he slalomed through the defence, then United cruised to the finish to make it ten games unbeaten and climb to 11th place in the table. Safety was assured.

Happy Ling: "You always feel like we're going to score at the moment, and also that those half-chances the opposition get, like the one that hit the bar for them, will stay out. It's a different outlook to that which we had earlier in the season. We've got to keep being professional and doing things right, and the most pleasing thing for me was keeping a clean sheet. Confidence is a massive part of it, but there's also been a big personnel change, and I think with the people I've brought to the club the emphasis in the squad has been just about right.

"We've turned the corner with a mixture of new faces and quality players who were already here, like Danny, and we look especially solid as a back four. Simon Brown has steadied us and we haven't lost in the ten games since he's been here. It's about having that professionalism and knowing the job you've got to do, and that makes a massive difference. It's a pleasing place to be at the moment."

Ling also praised the strikers: "It's about partnerships up front, and I looked at Chris Holroyd and Danny earlier in the season and I didn't see a partnership there. They both wanted to play off a big man and Lee Phillips did that job today, just as Calum Willock has done on occasions. It's not always a case of putting the two best strikers together, you need a partnership up there. Danny has got the match ball in there and the first one he's gone to say thank you to is Lee Phillips.

"…And Adam Marriott will always get chances. He's going to be a player, the more I see of him in training the more sure I am of it. He has everything you need and scored 90 goals for CRC at what is a difficult level for a young player, so he's definitely got goals in him."

Reason reflected "It's nice to be back playing, I've had a bit of time to think about my game and what needs improving. Hopefully I've come back in the right fashion and doing the right things. It was good out there, playing can only increase your confidence. That not only goes for myself but also the team as this run goes on."

Carden said of his midfield partner "Last season Jai Reason was outstanding and there was a lot of interest in him. This year has been a bit stop-start for him, and for everybody, myself included. The experienced lads have not been at their best and that makes it hard for the young players. Jai came into a side that was doing well and chasing promotion, and he was used to winning games. He hadn't been in a losing team before where things are changing all the time.

"He was outstanding on Saturday and had an impact when he came on at Wrexham. When he's on his game he's a strong, powerful midfielder who is a good player, but he sometimes goes into this mode where he wants to get the ball off the back four and looks slow and sluggish. On Saturday he was getting forward and getting shots off, and he was unlucky to hit the post twice."


Tuesday 30th March 2010: Kidderminster Harriers 1-0 U's (Blue Square Premier - Att. 1,141, away 163)
Goal: Smikle 18

Gleeson failed to recover from his injury and was replaced by Kevin Roberts, the only change made to a United side on a fine run. After an even start at Aggborough they fell behind when Brian Smikle ran through unchallenged with a hint of offside to slot past the exposed Brown, and the same player might have made it two five minutes later when he met a cross six yards out but could not beat Brown on the line, who parried impressively then gathered the follow-up.

The rest of the half was basically Kidderminster vs Brown as the U's keeper blocked two good chances for Darryl Knights, and on the one occasion he was beaten, rounded by Robbie Matthews, Roberts was there to clear the ball off the line. But United had been totally outplayed and needed to up their game dramatically if they were to preserve that unbeaten record.

The underperforming Reason and Murray were replaced for part two by Russell and McAuley, and the visitors started to create chances for the first time, Phillips testing the keeper twice. But Brown was still kept busy by the hosts, and after Crow looped an effort onto the bar, there was only one victor and the winning margin could ultimately have been greater. All good things come to an end.

A disappointed Ling summarised "We were lucky to get nil, to be honest. We were outfought. We had to change our system to accommodate them, which I don't like doing but we had to with the way things were going. We had two wide boys who didn't get involved and their three-man midfield was overrunning ours. So we made changes at half-time and went 4-3-3 and got a head of steam going for ten minutes but it wasn't enough. Simon Brown was our best player so that just about sums it up.

"Over the last few weeks I've been able to point at eight players in the team who have had good games that would cover three who didn't have such a good game, but today that would be the other way round. I'd probably struggle to find three today, although Simon Brown is one of them and he takes no criticism tonight. Apart from that it wasn't good enough, I feel."

Brown concurred: "They fully deserved the win. I'm sure their manager is very happy in the way that they have performed. They were very sharp all over the pitch from the first whistle to the last. I'd even go as far as to say they were a yard sharper everywhere… they played really well, shifted the ball around and were well worth the points."

End of month position: 12th

Andrew Bennett

Cambridge United: YOUR CITY - YOUR CLUB

Make Your Click Count For The U's - talk about it on the Message Board!

You are respectfully reminded that any article, as with all content on this website, unless otherwise stated, is subject to copyright © and the Official Cambridge United Website must be acknowledged as the original source including all quotes.

WJ090610 web@cambridge-united.co.uk