Whited Out!

The dream I’m afraid is over for another season, United capitulated at New Grovesnor today despite taking the lead. The difference in the two sides was plain to see as the Whites were hungry for the ball and too many United players were just going through the motions. As prophesised on Sky Blue Sport, neither Paul Brown nor Craig McClean made the starting line-up and United began with Kevin Kelbie up front alongside last week’s hero Rory Hamill, with Boydie filling in at leftback in place of McClean. United survived an early scare when keeper Willie McFrederick ‘flapped’ at a long throw and even though the ball ended up in the net, referee Adrian McCourt adjudged that no-one had made contact and gave a goal-kick to United. Twenty two minutes into the game, United against the run of play, opened the scoring when Hamill’s driven cross was neatly trapped by Kelbie, before ‘rifling’ a right foot shot into the net beating home keeper Phillip Matthews all ends up. Surely I thought we’ll starting stringing a few moves together but we were content to keep pumping long ball up front hoping for a vital touch which never materialised. Despite forcing several corners we never looked likely to increase our score and as the half wore on our defence got ever more ‘jittery’. Despite there being no stoppages of any duration, referee McCourt found two minutes to add on and this was to prove costly for United. One minute into injury time the home team won a corner on their right and when it came over former United player Paul Muir rose unchallenged to head the ball goalwards. Willie McFrederick could only pop the ball up in the air and then punch it again, but it was forced over the line to bring the scores level. Twenty seconds later the referee brought the half to a close and I had the sneaky feeling that he had just brought United’s season to a close also.

Two minutes into the second period and the game was virtually over as a contestant, when the Whites number five rose unchallenged for a corner and gave McFrederick no chance as he headed powerfully into the net. After this I thought United played into the home team’s hands so to speak as they continued to launch high balls into their goalmouth which were ‘bread and butter’ for their big defenders. Even though they did create one or two chances the vital breakthrough eluded them. Midway through the half we witnessed one of those unsavoury incidents that give the game in general a bad name. Rory Hamill’s shot took a deflection and home keeper Matthews dived to save but released the ball slightly. Vinny Sweeny, like any good poacher pounced but made minimal contact with the keeper, who then rolled histrionically on the ground, causing referee McCourt to caution the United player, a very harsh decision. Matthews was completely unscathed and in fact took the free kick himself without any discomfort whatsoever. Gary Haveron went off to be replaced by Aiden Watson and he showed some nice touches, but United couldn’t find the vital breakthrough. With ten minutes remaining the United manager took off Boydie, switching to three at the back and bringing on Rowe to partner Kelbie up front with Hamill dropping back into midfield. United huffed and puffed but couldn’t find a way through the Whites well marshalled defence. United looked to have snatched a late equaliser when a Gareth Scates shot eluded keeper Matthews as he collided with one of his defenders. The United fans and players looked on in disbelief as the referee gave a free out to the home team and manager Wright was ordered from the dugout for his protests. On the stroke of fulltime Albert Watson headed a Scates cross wide when it looked easier to score and United had suffered yet another ignominious defeat. Manager Wright has said we are facing eight cup finals during the run to the end of the season. We have now played three and our record is to say the least disappointing, with two draws and one defeat and after this the games will get a lot harder. When you can’t put away teams like Distillery and Limavady, never mind Ards, then surely you’re admitting that your players are just not good enough. Rather than ‘re-signing’ players, I think we need a good clearout, as there are too many people happy to just get a good payday and they’re no good to us!

McFrederick          6          Hamill                    6     MoM:  Boydie

Donaghy          6          Sweeney               6

Boydie               7          Kelbie                    7

Haveron          5          King                    5     Referee:     A. McCourt          2

Albert Watson          6          1st Sub: Aiden Watson     6

Smyth               6          2nd Sub: Rowe               6

Scates               7                         
            

Roeside Regrets!

After playing 16 league games without a draw, United are certainly making up for lost time with five draws in their last nine league games. Drawing their last three has actually moved them into joint fourth with Dungannon Swifts, but with a vastly inferior goal difference, which should’ve been vastly improved in the first half yesterday. The United manager gave a starting place to the out of favour Rory Hamill up front alongside Paul Brown, but dropped Gerard Rowe giving leading scorer Vinny Sweeney a start in midfield against his old club. Ballymena’s kick-offs are the brunt of jokes among the fans as they usually entail Gary Haveron booting the ball out of play in a vain attempt to reach a United player wide on the right. Surprisingly yesterday it almost paid off when the Limavady fullback made a ‘hash’ of an easy clearance and Paul Brown took the ball off him and homed in on goal, but his mis-hit shot was easily dealt with by home keeper Michael Dougherty. Two minutes later United spurned an even easier chance when Rory Hamill found himself in the clear, took the ball round the keeper and then somehow failed to find the target with the goal gaping. United spurned another glorious chance when Sweeney shot tamely at the keeper from 15 yards out. Limavady began to come more into the game and Willie McFrederick could be heard shouting to his defenders not to play the ball back to him. As I was standing quite close to the dugouts I heard the United manager saying to his colleagues, ‘Why’s he shouting that?’ I felt like asking him that seeing as he’s been shouting that all season, why are you querying it only now? For once though Willie did everything else well enough and can’t take any blame for some slipshod defending by United in general and Albert Watson in particular. Ballymena then missed another glorious opening when nobody could get on the end of a superb Stuarty King in-swinging corner, which actually bounced inside their six-yard box. I had just started to think it was going to be one of them days when United finally got their noses in front. Rory Hamill was fed through after a delightful pass from Paul Brown and this time he cheekily chipped the advancing keeper to put United one up. Limavady stepped up the pace a bit and Albert Watson and Gary Smyth each gave away needless free kicks, by attempting to go for balls they could never reach, but luckily they came to nothing. From the first one on the edge of the box on the left, their number three drove it well over the bar and then from their second on the opposite side it deflected off the United wall, before going out for a throw-in. The lineswoman at that side gave the throw to the visitors, but after home manager Paul Kee remonstrated with the referee, he overruled that decision. This was to prove the first of many decisions called for by the home manager, with which referee Weatherup was only too eager to comply. Luckily for United nothing came from this change and they went into the break leading by a goal to nil, but it should’ve been a whole lot more.

Two minutes into the half the visitors were made to pay for their missed chances, when after Albert Watson was adjudged to have fouled home striker Parkhorse, their number three got his range perfect, leaving visiting keeper McFrederick grasping at thin air with a superbly struck free kick, to level the scores at one apiece. United had made a change at the interval with Boydie replacing McClean at leftback and the United veteran looked a bit ‘rusty’ as he struggled to get to grips with the game. United’s Rory Hamill attempted an overhead kick as the ball was going out of play near the halfway line, but unbeknown to him a home defender was coming in behind him to head the ball and Hamill accidentally hit him on the nose. The home dugout was up in arms with their manager claiming that the player’s jaw was broken, but the referee said it was an accidental challenge and then somewhat surprisingly showed Hamill the yellow card. I found this somewhat surprising as two minutes earlier Hamill had been head-butted by a home defender in the box and pushed by goalkeeper Dougherty, yet the referee had taken no action at all. The Limavady player had not broken his jaw and in fact at worst had sustained a broken nose, but I think the referee was influenced by the ravings of the home manager. The visitors went in search of another goal but found home keeper Dougherty in superb form as he commanded his box with some good handling. Scates missed a glorious chance when King found him free on the right but he shot miles wide when it looked easier to find the target. In a rare attack by the home side McFrederick distinguished himself with a good save at the expense of a corner. United got their noses in front when from a partially cleared corner, Sweeney headed the ball in and Paul Brown nodded it into Hamill’s path and he notched his and United’s second with a low shot into the corner giving Dougherty no chance. That was in the 71st minute and the visitors lead lasted barely two minutes when diminutive strike Austin Friel shrugged off the attentions of Albert Watson to thump the ball past McFrederick and into the corner of the net and leave the match all square. United ‘huffed and puffed’ during the remainder of the match but couldn’t find the vital touch to get the winner although it appeared during one attack that a home player handled the ball near the goal-line. The United manager substituted Scates with Rowe taking his place but he made little difference and then had to take off a limping Paul Brown with the fit again Aiden Watson taking his place. United had once again failed to deliver the goods in what their manager has termed the second of eight finals and all I can say is that on this and last Saturday’s showing, we’ve got a long way to go yet, before we can start winning finals!


McFrederick 6 Hamill 7 MoM: Hamill

Donaghy 6 Brown 7

McClean 6 Sweeney 7

Haveron 6 King 7 Referee: S. Weatherup 3

Albert Watson 5 1st Sub: Boydie 5

Smyth 7 2nd Sub: Rowe 5

Scates 5 3rd Sub: Aiden Watson 6

Final Failure!

I have to say that the games I fear most and fear is not too strong a word believe me, are the ones when United face so called easy games. Over the years, in fact let’s be honest, over the many years of following the Sky Blues, they’ve had lots of hiccups against seemingly weaker opposition. So it was with a little trepidation that I approached yesterday’s game against bottom club Ards at the Showgrounds. My fears were totally vindicated, when after only 6 minutes, United keeper Willie McFrederick called for a high ball inside the box. Willie as most United fans realise, rarely comes for any ball and stands ‘rooted’ to his goal-line when the ball is easily his. I could see as he came for this cross that he had totally misjudged it and the ball looked as if it was destined for the net. Luckily for United, team Captain Gary Smyth was covering the inept keeper and saved the day with a timely clearance. The goalkeepers place is a position which has haunted United since manager Wright ‘foolishly’ released number one custodian, ‘Goosey’ Robinson, before having another keeper in place. United recovered from this early setback and began stringing a few attacks themselves. After 14 minutes Gareth Scates almost gave them the lead with a good shot from fully 30 yards, which the Ards keeper pushed for a corner. As is usual on these occasions, Gary Smyth and Albert Watson went up for the corner. The corner proved fruitless as usual and when it was ‘punted’ clear I could see that Craig McClean and Donaghy were struggling as they attempted to defend against one lone Ards attacker. This in my opinion is a knock-on effect from our keeper’s reluctance to come for back passes and through balls. So it proved once more as McClean and Donaghy both dithered, Jason Hill of Ards nipped between them before slotting the ball into the net past the stranded McFrederick. United were given a lifeline 9 minutes later when referee Black, awarded them a penalty for dangerous play, booking goalscorer Hill and another player in the process. With United’s two ‘normal’ penalty kick men both on the bench, Hamill and top scorer Sweeney, the task fell to Kevin Kelbie. The Ards goalkeeper easily saved Kelbie’s feeble kick and United had missed their opportunity. Gary Haveron missed his ‘customary’ free header from a King corner, he should be United’s top scorer by now in chances and then Albert Watson saw a header cannon off the bar with the keeper beaten all ends up. After yet another Ards player had been booked, the referee had to encourage the visiting keeper to ‘get on with it’, as he was already wasting time. Personally I think the only deterrent for this offence is the yellow card as then the offender is walking the ‘tightrope’ for the rest of the game. United were unable to find the vital breakthrough for the rest of the half and came in to quiet reception at halftime.

The second half was little improvement on the first, but at least United did try to force the pace. Gerard Rowe, named in an unchanged starting line-up by the United manager came more into the game in the second period. The referee finally lost patience with the Ards keeper’s time-wasting and cautioned him, not before time in my opinion. In a strange quirk of fate as he attempted to take the goalkick immediately after being booked, the ball actually moved and he had to replace it, luckily for him the referee gave him the benefit of the doubt. The home team were a bit panicky when the opportunities came and I honestly couldn’t see where we were going to conjure up an equaliser from. Gerard Rowe almost became the hero when he stroked the ball goalwards, only for the Ards keeper to save with his feet. I almost resigned myself to defeat after this as I thought it was just going to be one of those days. Twenty five minutes into the half the United manager decided a change was necessary, bringing on Sweeney and Hamill, for Rowe and Kelbie. I and my colleagues at Sky Blue Sport had thought that Kelbie might have been rested for yesterday’s game, as he must sit out next Saturday’s trip to Limavady due to a one match ban. This move was greeted by boos from the home supporters who felt it would’ve been more prudent to have taken off a defender and a defensive midfielder, rather than two forwards. Soon after United dropped Gary Haveron back to make three at the back and played Hamill behind the front two. United were given a lifeline when Hamill sent in a clever shot which the visiting keeper could only parry and Paul Brown volleyed the rebound into the net. This should’ve set up a grandstand finish for United, but like their last game against Dungannon two weeks ago, they seemed unable to go for the ‘killer’ punch. Surely with a win taking them up into fourth place it was almost vital and in fact the United manager was quoted as saying we were facing 8 cup finals. Well I have news for you Tommy, we failed miserably in our first final and that usually sets the trend. The referee, who had cautioned at least five of the visitors during the game, then failed to take action when one of their players went down feigning injury. McFrederick came to his teams rescue when he pushed a fierce shot round the post as Ards came out of their defensive shell. United almost snatched the winner late on when Craig McClean’s cross came off the crossbar but fell beyond the waiting United strikers. Two minutes earlier Stuarty King had shot wide when well placed, a missed chance to be a hero for the second game running. The referee despite signalling that he was adding on time for the visitors time-wasting tactics, played only two minutes of stoppage time and United had once more failed to deliver when the ‘chips’ were down!

McFrederick 5 Scates 7 MoM: Watson

Donaghy 6 Brown 7

McClean 6 Kelbie 6 Referee: A. Black 4

Haveron 6 King 6

Albert Watson 7 1st Sub: Hamill 7

Smyth 7 2nd Sub: Sweeney 6

Rowe 6