Windsor Blues!

United fought out a hard earned scoreless draw at Windsor Park today and as forecast in Sky Blue Sport, they rarely got a break all day. Only referee Turkington knows how he failed to give United a penalty, when winger Eamon Murray had his legs clipped from under him as he sprinted into the opposition box. This of course was just one of many examples of the biased nature of the referee's decisions. Ten minutes earlier Murray Murray had crossed to the middle of the six-yard box, where a Linfield defender blatantly passed the ball back to keeper Alan Blaney, but the referee allowed play to continue. Of course it's quite possible that the back-pass rule doesn't apply to the I.F.A. team (sorry Linfield), unless of course it happens at the other end of the pitch.

Manager Roy Walker gave a debut to on-loan signing Neil McCafferty (Caff to us) and he had a good game, taking most of United's free kicks, an added bonus. With Dwayne Nelson out with a broken bone in his elbow, Ryan Brown returned between the sticks and after nervy start did a good job in the end. In fact besides Brown, the only change from the team who took the field at the Oval was Caff for Berry. Linfield looked menacing early on, forcing 3 corners in a row and the nervy United defence was glad to survive intact. Thompson (how did he ever get to play for Norn Iron), missed with a header on the one and only occasion all day that he got free of big Denver.

This was a bad miss and a few minutes later McAllister hit the post, but credit to Brown here for getting his angles right. In a rare United attack as I stated earlier a menacing cross from Murray was calmly played back to keeper Blaney by a home defender, but the referee saw no harm in it. Too many of United's attacks broke down today due to poor passing and the biggest culprit in this area was top scorer Cutch. The number of times he found himself in the clear but chose the wrong option and gave the ball away cheaply. United's first shot on target was from new boy Caff, as he swivelled on the edge of the box, but his right foot shot was straight into the midriff of Blaney.

Sparky came close with a shot later on but unfortunately could only find the side-netting with Blaney stranded. Then came the 'missed' penalty when referee Turkington completely ignored a deliberate trip on Eamon Murray as the winger dribbled into the Linfield box. It wasn't that the referee was unsighted either as he was less than ten yards away from the incident, but he indicated that Murray had fell, but why should he as he was through on goal. As halftime approached a nice bit of interplay between Caff, Sparky, Murray and Andy broke down when Cutch failed to react to Andy's through ball.

2nd half
United, as is their wont, took a little time to settle in the 2nd period but soon began to raid up the left flank. After an attack broke down we witnessed more biased refereeing when Archie was penalised when he rose to head a ball and two minutes later when Armstrong committed the same foul on Andy play was allowed to continue. The 'out-of-sorts' Murray was replaced by Gazza, which meant Sparky switching to rightback and Mikey to right midfield and then United began to exert more emphasis in midfield, but still couldn't find the vital breakthrough. Andy was running around 'like a headless chicken', but manager Walker seemed reluctant to substitute him. If at times he would've chased down what he thought were poor passes instead of ranting at his team-mates, we might've got something out of this game.

Manager Walker finally took off Andy with reserve striker Matthew Boyd coming on. Young Matt almost made an instant mark, but unfortunately shot wide when well placed. The United manager took off the tired Caff and brought on George Young and his fresh legs helped our cause immensely. United were denied a bare-faced corner, when Cutch wriggled through the ageing home defence and his cross-shot was diverted wide of the goal by Blaney, but instead of a corner referee Turkington gave a goalkick. Linfield sub Munster flashed a shot over the bar and Garrett dragged one wide as the match went into to stoppage time. Lee Colligan then almost made up for his late 'miss' at the Oval on Tuesday night, when he burst through the home defence, but his shot was diverted for a corner.

The fourth official held up the board which read four minutes, no doubt adding on a little after Albert and a Linfield forward had had to receive treatment. The home team laid siege to our goal, but the back four of Sparky, Albert, Denver and Archie ably backed up by keeper Ryan, deservedly held out. In virtually the last kick of the ball Garret found himself in space on the right, but drove his shot wide. When the final whistle was sounded the United fans were on their feet and applauded the team for a good five minutes. United manager Roy Walker joined his team in front of the North stand and it was very obvious that they were a happy bunch, maybe now we have boys 'really' playing for the shirt!

Brown (6), Mikey (7), Archie (8), Albert (8), Denver (8), Murray (6)(Sub: Gazza 8,), Caff (8)(Sub: Young 7,), Sparky (7), Colligan (8), Andy (6)(Sub: M. Boyd 7,), Cutch (6)

Man of the match: Denver Gage

Oval Mugging!

For the second game running referee Steven Weatherall was a controversial figure and he eventually led to United's downfall and elimination from this years Irish cup. United had started with two changes to the eleven that started their last game. Transfer listed Nathan Hanly, serving a one game suspension was replaced by Lee Colligan and Captain Gazza, also missing through suspension, was replaced by Ryan Berry. This time though Sparky did start in central midfield and played there for his entire time on the field. United were caught cold as the Glens were quickly out of the blocks, in fact just 3 minutes were on the clock, when Glens veteran Paul Leeman rose unchallenged to head goalwards and when the ball was partially cleared the United defenders stood and watched as Leeman hammered the ball into the net.

United seemed to have weathered the home teams onslaught but were caught cold when a Glens player squared the ball for Waterworth to power a header into the net. I have to say we looked dead and buried at this stage, as we could hardly string two passes together and when we did we were, bundled off the ball by the home team, while referee Weatherall looked on, ignoring at least two deliberate elbows in the process. United finally got a lifeline in the 28th minute when Eamon Murray out-sprinted the home defence, before nut-megging home keeper Elliott Morris. The keeper tried to claim he stopped the ball on the goal-line, but the linesman disagreed (at least he was willing to make a decision) and the goal stood. Morris continued to protest and flaunted Weatherall's authority by holding onto the match ball even after the referee had indicated he should return it.

This goal lifted the entire United team and we began to put pressure on the home defence. After a delightful move down the left-wing, Lee Colligan found Andy Smith with a nice pass and even though Andy was fouled he kept his feet. Would he have got a penalty if he had went down, somehow I doubt it, he might even have been booked for diving. The ball was partially cleared to Sparky, who did go down under a strong challenge and referee Weatherall surprisingly gave us a free kick about 25 yards from goal. The referee obviously thought there was little danger, but the wee Cutch had other ideas and he hit a beauty into the top corner with Glens keeper Morris, grasping at thin air. That goal came 3 minutes before halftime and suddenly United were right back in it and as the Glens attempted to step up the pace Nelson made a good stop.

2nd half
Five minuted into the 2nd half Walker took off Berry and brought on George Young and he almost broke the deadlock with his first touch. United were on the attack and a Cutch shot struck George and referee Weatherall adjudged it to be a deliberate handball, the mind boggles. The referee suddenly remembered he had yellow cards when cautioning a Glens player for a bad foul and then booked three United men for their first offences while allowing the home team to get away with 'murder' again. With an hour on the clock Waterworth burst through our defence and looked destined to score, before Nelson dived bravely at his feet, while the Glens player appeared to 'deliberately' trod on the United keepers hand. The upshot was that Dwayne had to come off with Ryan Brown taking his place.

Then we witnessed one of those strange cameos that the Irish league is so famous for or 'infamous' for. As Brown came onto the pitch with his gloves and his towel referee Weatherall signalled for play to start and the keeper had to pick up the ball from a throw-in with only one glove on and his towel lying in the penalty box, why oh why do we pay them (referees), £160 a game, when they can't even get the simple things right. Five minutes later Sparky made way for Gibbo, who has allegedly made a pre-contract agreement with Glentoran. If this is the case and his half-hearted attitude seemed to confirm this, wouldn't it have been better to keep Sparky on or bring on possibly Mo McDowell, who might not be the best alternative, but would give you 100% effort for the cause.

United did manage a couple of chances, first a Cutch shot, appeared to be cleared by Gibbo, when if he'd left it alone it might've hit the target. Then Albert rose unchallenged at a corner, headed downwards but Morris made a good stop on the goal-line. But the biggest talking point came deep into injury time, when George Young chased a seemingly lost cause, found Colligan and his cross found Gibbo with the goal at his mercy but he glanced the ball wide of the posts. This supposed 'deliberate' miss brought the wrath of some United fans and they began to boo Gibbo and if I had thought he had deliberately missed it, I'd have booed him also I must say.

Extra time.
Five minutes into stoppage time the United defence was unlocked once more and when Brown spilled a fierce shot, Waterworth, looking very much offside drilled the rebound into the net. United looked dead on their feet and having used all their subs unfortunately they had to carry on. During this first period of extra time, Glens sub Jason Hill, went in 'over the top' on United's Denver Gage, conveniently not seen by the referee and then as if to add insult to injury, Waterworth threw the ball for a goal-kick (a totally unsporting gesture), instead of back to our keeper. United manager Roy Walker could be seen shouting at the referee but I'm reminded of the old saying 'that there's none as blind as them who don't want to see', when Weatherall is strutting his stuff.

We did manage one late chance and only Lee Colligan knows how he managed to scoop the ball over the bar from inside the six-yard box, but it would probably have been ruled out for some supposed infringement by this incompetent official. In a final throw of the dice substitute keeper Ryan Brown went up when we won a free kick and despite causing panic in the home defence we couldn't find the vital touch that would take us to the penalty shoot-out. A season that had looked so promising a few weeks ago has now gone 'tits-up', there's only one thing for it now, we'll just have to win the league!

Nelson (8)(Sub: Brown 7,), Mikey (8), Archie (7), Albert (6), Denver (7), Murray (8), Berry (6)(Sub: Young 7,), Sparky (6)(Sub: Gibbo 4,),Colligan (7),Andy (6), Cutch (7)

Man of the match: Dwayne Nelson

Technology Needed!!

After four meetings with the Crues this season, 3 of which were at Ballymena, United's record against the 'hatchet' men leaves a lot to be desired. A draw in their previous meeting at the Showgrounds, is all United have got, while they've suffered 3 defeats. The previous two defeats were close, 2 goals in stoppage time at Seaview in a 2-1 defeat in the league back in August 31 and a week later a 1-0 loss in the County Antrim Shield. Those two defeats and the manner of them were honourable defeats, when with a bit of luck the result could have gone the other way. Tonight United were punished two fold, they played poorly and they were 'robbed' of a perfectly legitimate goal midway through the first half which would most likely have changed the whole game. If that wasn't bad enough referee Steven Weatherall, who seems to believe that elbowing players is okay, gave a dubious penalty to the visitors for a push, when it was a United player who was pushed.

United manager Roy Walker, who likes to 'tinker' with his formation made one change to his starting line-up from last Saturday, Andy Smith for Gibbo. Not content with this he changed his formation, starting with Sparky upfront and Andy on the right-wing. This formation never clicked as Sparky was badly off-form and he soon switched to right-midfield and then to rightback, with Mikey going to right-midfield and Andy up front. United started, as is their want, very sluggishly and it seemed only a matter of time before the visitors scored. This they did after 15 minutes when after a corner was partially cleared the United defence defended too deep and when the ball came back in Morrow had the easy task of heading past Nelson.

Try as United might they could barely string two passes together and when they did the linesman at the Fisherwick end flagged them offside whether anybody was offside or not and regardless if he was up with play. It seemed as if the 'gods' were against us and this point was perfectly illustrated when after the Crues keeper made a hash of a clearance the ball fell to Andy Smith about 45 yards from goal. With the keeper trying to regain his ground Andy hoisted a shot goalwards, the keeper misjudged the flight of the ball stepped back into the net and then tried to claim he'd stopped the ball crossing the line. The linesman who was making offside decisions when 'miles' behind the play, suddenly could see nothing and even Steven Weatherall who can make decisions in semi-darkness from 30 yards, couldn't award a goal in perfectly good visibility from 35 yards.

I have to say here that' I'm against goal-line technology and even though this incident wasn't as clear-cut as Frank Lampard's goal for England v Germany in the World cup, it still was quite obviously a goal. Goal line technology would have proven the fact, but it wasn't needed as it was obvious to everybody but the referee and the linesman that the ball was technically 'in the net'. This was United's lifeline back into the game, but it was cruelly snatched away and even though they came more into the game they couldn't make the vital breakthrough.

2nd half
Five minutes into the 2nd period Walker finally took off the 'out of form' Sparky and brought on Gibbo and even though we created a few chances we couldn't find the vital breakthrough. The final nail in our coffin came when after the linesman missed another 'blatant' offside the ball was returned into the box and Jordan Owen headed into the net after pushing Denver Gage. The referee immediately blew his whistle but to our utter amazement awarded a penalty to the visitors, when it was our man who had been pushed. This was strange to say the least as the referee was at least 20 yards away at the time, but suddenly he saw things no-one else did. Morrow duly dispatched the penalty and United were out of the C.I.S. cup.

One of the few success stories for United on the night was captain Gazza who led his players by example as he continually probed and tried to find incisive passes. With about 8 minutes remaining United made a double substitution, taking off Gazza and Hanly and bringing on Berry and McCaughern. As luck would have it Berry missed a chance to give us some hope, firing over from close range shortly after coming on. It was a sad night for the Sky Blues and their supporters, but especially sad for one United player. Albert Watson was making his 300th appearance for the club and his disappointment was enhanced somewhat by a totally unnecessary challenge from former Glentoran player Michael Halliday who pushed the United stalwart onto the Stock car track. Referee Weatherall blew the final whistle and took no action against Halliday, but Albert, quite rightly in my opinion, refused to shake his hand after the game. The Crues are back at the Showgrounds for a league game this Saturday, hopefully we'll be up for that!

Nelson (7), Mikey (6), Archie (6), Albert (6), Denver (7), Andy (6), Hanly (5)(Sub: Berry 5,), Gazza (8)(Sub: McCaughern 5,), Murray (6), Sparky (5)(Sub: Gibbo 6,), Cutch (5)

Man of the match: Gazza

Denver Delivers!

United central defender Denver Gage has been threatening to open his United scoring account all season, but he chose today to deliver the goods. What a timely goal it was, the big defender got on the end of Hanley cross to power a header past Glens keeper Elliott Morris, which forced a replay at the Oval on Tuesday January 25. United had made only two changes to their last starting line-up, with Sparky returning from injury, allowing Mikey to switch to right-midfield and Gibbo getting the nod upfront instead of Andy Smith. United were caught cold after only 4 minutes when after referee Courtney awarded the visitors a dubious free-kick, the United 'wall' was breached by Johnnie Black's fierce shot which swerved viciously leaving Nelson well beaten as it hit the back of the net.

Definitely not the start we wanted and five minutes later Nelson rescued the home team with a finger tip save from visiting forward Waterworth. United were unable to string more than two passes together early on as at least three players, Sparky, Murray and Gibbo were badly off form. Captain Gazza and Archie were on top form and with their contribution United began to find the chinks in the visitor's armour. Hanly was right out of luck when his shot from the edge of the box squirmed under Morris's body before hitting the post. Gibbo had a header on goal, but it was easy for the keeper, from Mikey's cross. The visitors almost doubled their lead when Denver was beaten for pace but Nelson blocked Burrow's shot with his legs. Albert, what a rock of strength he is, came to our rescue with a timely interception as Waterworth dribbled through.

There was no fourth official for this game and it was fair to say there was a wee bit of banter between the two benches. This was especially evident when a Glens player 'stooped' for a header and literally got what he deserved (a kick in the head) and the Glens bench harangued our boys for not putting the ball into touch. This was a bit strange as their team was in possession and played on, so the fault was theirs not ours. Referee Courtney managed to calm things down and we reached halftime with the visitors still in the lead and with United needing to up their game if they were to remain in the cup. A collection was taken up at halftime for the United youth academy and the small band of visiting fans (roughly 723), showed their generosity with a donation in excess of £230, no cheap skates in East Belfast.

2nd half
United took to the field with the same personnel and it was hard to see where they were going to get their inspiration from. Archie almost provided that touch of magic when he sprinted down the left wing and despite being fouled, put in a gem of a cross but unfortunately no United man could get on the end of it and we had to settle for a corner. Mikey took an in-swinger but it was cleared by the visiting defence. Archie then showed his defensive skills with a great interception at the other end. United deservedly drew level in the 60th minute when Mikey took a short corner to Hanly and his precision cross was headed powerfully into the net by Denver. This brought the United fans to their feet, as much in relief as in enjoyment.

United manager Roy Walker rang the changes after this, taking off the 'out of sorts' Murray, with Colligan taking his place. Then Andy Smith came on for Sparky, with Mikey dropping back to rightback. Somehow we never looked quite as menacing after this as for some reason we were reluctant to take them on down the flanks and kept trying to cut inside. Mikey almost broke the deadlock when he sprinted at the Glens defence, only to be cynically tripped about 25 yards from goal. Nathan (Hanly), beat the defensive wall with a beauty of a free kick but his shot smacked the crossbar with Morris well beaten. Visiting player Richard Clarke went down after a collision and had to be stretchered off, hopefully the injury looked worse than it really was. United Captain Gazza was hurt near the end and was replaced by Ryan Berry but he had little time to make an impact.

The visitors almost snatched an undeserved victory when Waterworth saw his shot turned round the post by Nelson. United were also looking to end the tie but their final pass seemed to go astray every time they bore down on the visitors goal. This was perfectly illustrated when Colligan, with perfect control opened up the Glens defence, but then made a complete hash of his pass and the chance was lost. Referee Courtney did his best but despite 7 minutes of added time the game ended in a 1-1 draw. A fair enough result, but yet another match we could well have done without as we're already four games behind the schedule. We'll just have to go to the Oval on January 25 and complete the task. I feel I must pay tribute to both sets of fans who reverently kept the one minute of silence as a mark of respect for the untimely death of Michaela Hart!

Nelson (8), Sparky (5)(Sub: A. Smith 5,), Archie (9), Denver (8), Albert (9), Mikey (6), Gazza (8)(Sub: Berry 6,), Hanly (7), Murray (6)(Sub: Colligan 5,), Gibbo (5), Cutch (7)

Man of the match: Archie Stewart

Nine Three!

Nine three is how the scores stand after three league meetings between United and Portadown and hopefully there won't be a fourth, as we're aiming for a top six finish while the Ports look like being dragged into the relegation dogfight. United manager Roy Walker did as Sky Blue Sport suggested and tweaked his defence a wee bit, dropping Lee Colligan and bringing in Denver alongside Albert, with Archie moving to left back and Mikey dropping back to rightback in place of the injured Sparky. As expected Nathan Hanly returned in midfield but in a wide right position where his considerable talents are somewhat wasted. Gibbo, who had a poor game on Saturday was left out with Andy Smith getting the nod against his former team. United playing against the strong breeze were a bit slow out of the blocks and then as so often happens in football took an early lead against the run of play. Ports were penalised just over the halfway line and as Taggart's free kick came in Denver challenged visiting keeper Miskelly, who fumbled the ball and Andy Smith caught the ball on the half volley to score his first goal of the season.

I half expected referee Carvill, whom I inadvertently named as the referee in United's last game to rule the goal out, but he rightly allowed it to stand. That goal came in the 12th minute and two minutes later Carvill proved it was a complete fluke, as Andy was elbowed as he went for a high ball, but the referee administered no yellow card. United were under the 'cosh' a wee bit, but the visitors rarely troubled keeper Nelson. The Ports were taking no prisoners with their tackling but it came as no surprise when the first player booked was United's Gavin Taggart. The Ports got an undeserved equaliser after 30 mins and it should never have happened as the linesman at the Fisherwick end of the ground missed another blatant offside and United were lucky to scramble the opening away for a corner. Under severe pressure from the corner kick, Denver was adjudged to have handled the ball although it looked more like a case of ball to hand, than hand to ball, but referee Carvill gave the penalty. Nathan Hanly was booked for protesting the decision and despite Nelson diving the right way he was unable to stop Tipton's kick which crept in at his left post.

United weren't behind for long and it was winger Murray, back to his dazzling best, who won the free kick about 30 yards from goal when he was fouled. Hanly, delivered a high tantalising free kick and when the ball was nodded down Gazza's shot was blocked on the line. The follow up from Andy was also blocked but the alert Murray was on hand to notch his sixth goal of the season. Two minutes later after Archie had his legs whipped from under him by a Ports player, Hanly's carbon copy free kick just eluded the United attackers. Captain Gazza picked up a head injury which required stitches, when he was kneed in the head but his assailant got off Scot free and then Andy Smith was punched in the chest, but this only drew a yellow card, not the mandatory red. While Gazza was off the field getting sewed up United had to soldier on with 10 men, during 3 minutes of normal time and two minutes of stoppage time, bit they deservedly held out.

2nd half

United were under pressure early on in the second period as they tended to defend a bit deeply and it was obvious a change would have to be made, but we had to wait a wee while for it. Referee Carvill cautioned Andy for an alleged elbow which seemed a bit rough given that Andy had been elbowed in the first half and no action taken and later on when he was elbowed in retaliation no action was taken. With 70 minutes on the clock the substitution was made with Lee Colligan coming on for Hanly, obviously to give us a bit more defensive cover. Two minutes later Taggart received a boot in the face no action taken once more and had to come off for treatment, almost immediately Cutch went down clutching his foot and had to be substituted with Gibbo coming on and soon after with Taggart unable to continue Ryan Berry completed our replacements.

Berry, wasn't more than 3 minutes on the pitch when he found Murray in space just over the halfway line and the winger strode forward before delivering a blistering shot from 30 yards that rattled into the net past the diving Miskelly. That goal came in the 78th minute and United should've added to their tally but seemed more than happy to hold their lead and do a bit of show-boating, as they teased and tormented the visitors defence. Miskelly did however come to his sides rescue when he got his fingertips to a Gibbo shot that looked to be going in. Despite an added five minutes of stoppage time, United couldn't add to their tally, although some of their inter-passing was a real treat to watch. A much better result than Saturday's but not really a lot better performance and with some tough fixtures in the offing starting with a trip to Ballyskeagh this weekend, we need desperately to up the ante, or alternatively, step backwards!

Nelson (7), Mikey (8), Archie (7), Albert (8), Denver (7), Hanly (6)(Sub: Colligan 7,), Gazza (8), Taggart (6)(Sub: Berry 7,), Murray (8), Cutch (6)(Sub: Gibbo 7,), Andy (8)

Man of the match: Eamon Murray

Poor Conversion!

No you haven't switched onto the wrong page, this is not a Rugby site, the poor conversion in question is United's conversion rates, compared to chances created. We're not talking about half chances here either, we're talking bare-faced 'look a gift horse in the mouth' chances. If United had taken half their chances today they would have been pushing Cliftonville (who lost to the Coleraine scum, what the fcuk is going on there), from fifth place, with a bit of a distance between us and the teams below us. As it is we're just in the top six by the 'skin of our teeth', one point ahead of Lisburn Distillery and no easy games on the horizon. Manager Walker gave Dwayne Nelson the keepers jersey, played a back four of, Sparky, Lee, Archie and Albert. A midfield of Mikey, Gazza, Taggart and Murray, with little and large, Cutch and Gibbo upfront.

Every time I see a referee and his two assistants have a howler, I think it's the worst I've seen and today was no exception. Referee Carvill began as he meant to continue with just a few minutes on the clock. United's Lee Colligan sprinted up the left wing and went for a 50/50 challenge with Glenavon's right back Brendan Shannon. Shannon obviously wanting to give himself the edge, came in with a two-footed tackle, which resulted in a player melee involving half a dozen players from both sides. Referee Carvill to the utter astonishment of the United team and supporters, cautioned both players and merely gave a throw-in to the home team, I just couldn't believe it. United carved out and missed a glorious chance soon afterwards, but Gibbo's weak shot was easily saved by home keeper Plummer.

As the home team stepped up the pace, Colligan allowed Molloy to dance past him and Nelson was relieved to see his shot just miss the target. At the other end Cutch failed to find the target shooting over from a good position after good work by Mikey. Nelson came to United's rescue when a Hamilton free kick was headed goalwards, making a good save from Miskimmon's header. Cutch failed to find the target again after another good opening, when a goal would have set United up very nicely. Gibbo then found himself in the clear, but his lob over Plummer also cleared the crossbar. United were undone in the 29th minute when Molloy, forced the ball over the line after Nelson's feeble punch from a Kyle Neill corner fell to him in a goalmouth scramble. Four minutes later Neill late tackled Sparky right in front of referee Carvill, who to my utter amazement allowed play to continue and in fact Sparky had to wait for treatment until home keeper Plummer punted the ball out of play.

Despite intensive treatment Sparky had to be helped off and still the referee and his two assistants took no action. Andy Smith replaced Sparky and it was later confirmed he had ligament damage and not a broken leg as at first feared. Referee Carvill's ineptitude and he was only ten yards at most away from the incident in clear visibility , was in complete contrast to the incident at Ballyskeagh when referee Weatherall sent off United's Nathan Hanly, in poor visibility from 22 yards away, for a 50/50 tackle, Then as if to add insult to injury (if that's possible) he cautioned Gavin Taggart for a high challenge, when he and his Glenavon counterpart both had their feet up high. United's Eamon Murray was having a poor game against his former club and I for one thought he could've been switched from left to right to see if he could get any momentum going, but it wasn't done.

2nd half
United took the field with no further changes, but they switched Murray to the right and then we began to carve open the home defence. Andy Smith was late tackled right in front of the home dug-out and referee Carvill cautioned a home player, after a discussion with his linesman. After some delightful play between Mikey and Murray, Cutch took the ball round Plummer but somehow missed the target. United had their 'tails up' at this stage and the ball fell to Taggart on the edge of the box, but he shot straight at the keeper who made a fairly routine save. Murray then had a chance to shoot from the edge of the box but failed to find the target. Referee Carvill warned home keeper Plummer about time-wasting and thereafter ignored it as the home keeper continued to eke out every second. After a nice move up the right Mikey found Taggart, but he blasted the ball wide, surely time for a change I thought but Roy Walker obviously thought different. Glenavon manager Marty Quinn brought on Tony Grant in place of Miskimmon and he missed a sitter almost immediately failing to get his head to a cross, a wee warning for the United defence.

That was in the 69th minute and a minute later Cutch produced a piece of brilliance, to carve open the home defence. Collecting the ball just over the halfway-line the wee man weaved his way through a hesitant home defence, before chipping the ball over Plummer to level the scores. Surely this was the time to bring on a sub, either to counteract the threat of Grant or go all out for the win with a fresh pair of legs, but no such action was taken. Albert who had been a 'tower of strength' all day was finally caught out in the 80th minute, when Stewart, who had came on as a sub in the first half, chased down a seemingly lost cause and squared the ball to the unmarked Grant, who steadied himself before giving the home team the lead. United tried in vain to lift themselves and surely a fresh pair of legs were needed, but none came. The linesman at our end of the ground, who, let's face it had a real 'stinker', flagged for offside when the home team had a player inside the six-yard box, a real travesty.

As Albert attempted to clear his lines, Gary Hamilton, went in over the 'top' and was lucky to escape with a caution. The final 'nail in the coffin' was administered by Grant in the 90th minute when United were caught on the counter attack and Grant got his head to a cross from fellow sub Costello. Full credit to Glenavon who had used their final two subs to perfection and although I can't condone their rough house tactics, they were aided and abetted by inept refereeing and if you're getting away with it, good luck to you is all I can say. As for United they have to find some way to up their conversion rate or a top six finish will elude them and they desperately need to find a good reliable keeper. Marty Quinn later said on the radio that Gary Hamilton was a fine example for players to look up to. I wondered if this was the same Gary Hamilton who got so drunk at an awards dinner two years ago, that even though he was to be crowned 'footballer of the year', the sober Glenn Ferguson got the award instead, yes a fine example Marty!

Nelson (6), Sparky (6)(Sub: A. Smith 6,), Colligan (7), Albert (8), Archie (6), Mikey (8), Taggart (6), Gazza (8), Murray (7), Gibbo (6), Cutch (8)

Man of the match: Albert Watson