Shea's Riposte!

When Ballymena suffered a heavy defeat to Portadown, I personally blamed it on them being forced to play three games inside a six day period. Therefore I was kinda concerned about us playing Glenavon four days after a visit to Glentoran. As it was my fears were proved to have been completely warranted, as United were, to put it mildly almost completely second best in this encounter. Glenavon ‘set out their stall’ from the outset, with an attacking three, four, three formation and put United’s sluggish midfield and defence under extreme pressure. The United defence held out for a mere ten minutes and it was a former player who unlocked them. Shea Campbell, so often the hero at the Showgrounds, was the ‘villain’ of the piece, aided and abetted by a half asleep linesman. Shea lifted a cross over Gary Smyth’s head to the unmarked Aiden McVeigh who guided the ball past the flatfooted Willie McFrederick in the United goal. McVeigh was unmarked for a very good reason, he was in an offside position, but the linesman kept his flag down and the goal stood. In my opinion this goal could’ve been avoided if McFrederick had left his line, but then he seldom does and when he does he invariably makes a ‘horlicks’ as he did in United’s defeat at Shamrock Park. The United reply for once was instantaneous and for once we were indebted to referee Michael Ross. United striker Kevin Kelbie was the victim of a push in the visitor’s box and referee Ross immediately pointed to the spot. United’s top scorer Vinny Sweeney, elected to take the kick himself, but not before some ‘shenanigans’ by Campbell. Referee Ross failed miserably in this instance when surely a caution should’ve been administered. Despite Shea’s intervention Sweeney hammered the ball into the Glenavon net, to level the scores. With Rory Hamill failing a late fitness test, United manager Tommy Wright had made only one change to his starting line-up of Tuesday night, with Kelbie replacing Hamill. Aiden Watson was on the bench, alongside the fit again Phil Charnock and young reserve striker Randal Reid. The United manager appears to have a lot in common with United’s former manager Kenny Shiels, in that he seems unable or unwilling, to alter his tactics during the game. Everybody in the ground could see that the ‘pacy’ Glenavon midfield and forward line were running riot against their ‘sluggish’ United counterparts and a tactical change was clearly needed, of course nothing happened. The linesman finally woke up and saved United on a couple of occasions by flagging for offsides and somehow the United goal escaped further punishment during the first half. This was somewhat lucky as neither of United’s wide men, Rosbotham or King, seemed capably of putting in a tackle and the United defence was under extreme pressure as a result. The only bright prospect for the home team was the ‘budding’ partnership of Kelbie and Sweeney up front, which was giving the visitors defence, in which former United central defender Davy McAlinden was playing, a hard time. With halftime approaching and United still hanging on somehow, they then conjured up a score completely against the run of play. Gary Smyth took a long throw into the visitor’s box and when the ball broke Kevin Kelbie volleyed the ball into the net, off the inside of the left hand post. Three minutes later referee Ross brought the half to a close and United not only had survived the first half, but had in fact gone in a surprise goal in front. Surely I thought the United manager will change things around at halftime and when no subs were seen to be having a halftime kick-about, I thought I would be proved right.

Unfortunately the team came out with the same formation and I knew then that our manager was devoid of ideas and it was only a matter of time before things would ‘blow up in our faces’. Five minutes into the half Glenavon attacked down the flank, no tackles came in from United defenders and McVeigh’s crisp shot hit the crossbar with McFrederick well beaten. When the ‘dose’ was repeated five minutes later Glenavon striker Vernon scored from close range with the United defence looking dead on their feet. Surely the United manager would react now I thought, take off Gary Smyth who was struggling, with Haveron switching to defence and bringing on Aiden Watson or Charnock to see if we could get a grip in midfield. His hand was forced somewhat however when Scates was injured and Watson had to come on after 60 minutes or so. Sweeney and King combined well up the right and United’s leading scored was ‘hauled’ back by McAlinden almost on the edge of the box. Referee Ross adjudged the offence to be outside the ‘D’, but I thought surely this is Gary Smyth territory. But the United captain left it to Rosbotham who drove the ball against the Glenavon wall. After 70 minutes manager Wright took off Haveron with Charnock taking his place, but in my opinion he needed to keep Haveron on as he is if nothing else, a tackler. Three minutes later Glenavon took the lead, when they ‘waltzed’ down the United left flank, with never a tackle coming in and in a goalmouth scramble McVeigh bundled the ball over the goal-line. Two minutes later, after a Rosbotham corner was only partially cleared, Sweeney missed a ‘sitter’ when he somehow put a ‘free’ header wide inside the six-yard box. From a United free kick wide on the right Shea encroached and charged down Rosbotham’s free kick and was duly booked for it, but when the kick was retaken he encroached once more, but referee Ross took no action on this occasion, a candidate no doubt for the Davey Malcolm/Pascal Vaudequin award, the T.T. (tiny testes). Ten minutes from the end the match really ‘warmed up’ when Sweeney burst through the Glenavon defence and bore down on goal. The Glenavon keeper rushed off his line and Sweeney attempted to chip him, but the keeper caught the ball but was a good yard outside his box and was duly sent off. Referee Ross once again adjudged that the free was on the just inside the edge of the ‘D’, but surely with a substitute keeper in, well within the range of United captain Gary Smyth. Shea Campbell took over in the visitor’s goal and I thought the first thing he’ll have to do is pick the ball out of the net. Alas I was completely wrong as Gary Smyth once more rolled the ball to Rosbotham, who once more drove the ball against the Glenavon wall and the chance was lost. I don’t remember Shea having to make a save worthy of the name throughout the remainder of the match and the United attack once more failed to find the crucial finishing touch to at least salvage an undeserved but crucial draw. In a last 'throw of the dice' the United manager brought on Randall Reid, taking off Boydie in the process, but he looked short of pace and made no real contribution to the United cause. But alas it wasn’t to be and Tommy Wright and his backroom staff will have to start earning their ‘corn’ soon or United’s season will just go to pot. A massive game now looms away to the ‘scum’ on Boxing Day, three points there might just save their blushes, anything less and the United ‘sceptics’ will be calling for their heads!

McFrederick 5 Kelbie 7 MoM: Kelbie

Donaghy 6 Sweeney 6

Boydie 6 Scates 6

Haveron 6 Rosbotham 5 Referee: M. Ross 3

Albert Watson 7 1st Sub: Aiden Watson 6

Smyth 5 2nd Sub: Charnock 5

King 6 3rd Sub: Reid 5