Lakeview Horror!

I have been struggling for two days almost as to what to say about United’s trip to Loughgall on Saturday. When we went there last year and lost the first league match of the season, I foolishly thought that was my lowest ebb, but I’m afraid Saturday’s match was even worse. Let’s face it, we were out played by the home team in every department, attack, midfield and defence. United manager Tommy Wright is looking like a man devoid of ideas, he changes the team and still we serve up the biggest ‘crap’ imaginable. I was one of the greatest critics of former United manager Kenny Shiels’s perseverance with the ‘half paced’ Joe Gray, but I have to say at the end of the day, I couldn’t have accused Joe of not putting in the effort. On Saturday United had so many players way below form it was hard to pick somebody playing to the best of his ability. The exception to this was young left back Craig McClean, but he was fighting a lone battle. United forced about four corners in the first half and every time they were sent to the far post, where they proved ineffective, as we never had anybody wide enough to capitalise on them. Kieran Donaghy did manage to get on the end of one, but couldn’t hit the target as he headed over the bar. New signing Phil Charnock showed some nice touches early on, but he too faded into oblivion as the match went on. Midway through the half United keeper Willie McFrederick, under no pressure, fumbled an easy catch and a Loughgall player tapped the ball into the empty net. I knew in my heart that United would not be able to come back from this setback and unfortunately I was proved right.

At the start of the second half United manager Tommy Wright took off the totally ineffective Kevin Kelbie, bringing on young Aiden Watson, while pushing Sweeney upfront, a complete waste of time. Sweeney has been tried up front and found wanting and so it proved this time. Neither he nor Rory Hamill are target men, they can play there occasionally, but it is a position totally alien to them. One only has to watch them, they are never in a position to attack the ball and they never look likely to score. United did play better in the second half, but I still couldn’t see where a goal was coming from. Manager Wright in a last roll of the dice brought on Gary Haveron, pushing Captain Gary Smyth into attack, but why did he have to take Rory Hamill off to accommodate him. When is he going to realise that Hamill’s best position is wide right and if he was desperate why not bring on Albert Watson as well and really go for it. Gary Smyth just failed to get to a header from a McClean cross and everybody missed a Scates cross from the right, which had the United management tearing their hair out. Referee Davey Malcolm who was his usual incompetent self added on at least 5 minutes of stoppage time, but I knew United were never going to score and so it proved. As we left the ground I couldn’t help thinking why did we come to Loughgall with two centre halves and one midfielder on the bench, have we no strikers in our panel at all, or can our management not see the wood for the trees!

McFrederick          5          Charnock           6     MoM:     C. McClean

Collier               6          Hamill                6

McClean          7          Kelbie                4

Scates               6          King                5     Referee:     D. Malcolm     3

Donaghy          6          1st Sub: Aiden Watson 5

Smyth               5          2nd Sub: Haveron      5

Sweeney          4