In Off!

Gary Thompson managed to get a touch on a Cush shot and score the goal which gave United a deserved draw, 'in off the Cush,' if you'll pardon my pun. The majority of the home stand was convinced that United had equalised earlier just after the Glens had taken the lead, when in a goal mouth scramble the ball seemed to cross the goal-line but referee Hetherington was unimpressed. The majority of Sky Blue fans were less than impressed with the referee later when he booked two United players when fighting broke out after a fair tackle by Sparky. A Glens player pushed Sparky and was seen to spit at him and Sparky gets booked along with Cookie Munster who had come on as a sub for Johnny Taylor. Manager Spike made one change from his starting line-up of Tuesday past, Sparky for Gavin and it was nice to see Alan D on the subs bench.

The Glens started brightly and it was obvious from the start, that they wanted to carry the match to United. Their ploy seemed to be to try and draw United in to committing more men forward, but United would have none of it and the game took on a 'cat and mouse' effect. United were happy to let the visitors dictate play along their 18 yard box and hit them them on the break. This seemed to have worked to perfection, when Thompson fed Jimmy Mac only for a late flag for offside to rule the goal out, I'd like to see that on TV. A Glens player had taken a dive in the box earlier, but referee Hetherington let him away with. When the Glens mounted an attack down their right wing, Jamie D was late with his tackle and the referee harshly booked him, it was a foul, but not a bad foul and no need for the physio, I consoled myself that maybe the ref would stamp out foul play, but it proved nothing of kind.

The first real chance fell to United when Jamie D broke through but shot straight at Elliott Morris in the Glens goal, who blocked the effort. Dwayne came to United's rescue when the Glens seemed destined to score, only to make a point blank save at the far post. Chris Rodgers was struggling with the pace of Stephen Carson and Spike instructed Tony Kane to warm-up, luckily Chris got to grips with the pace of Carson. not literally it should be added unlike Glens defender Callaher who could be clearly seen with a hold on Jimmy Mac, the referee missed that, unsurprisingly. Dwayne got his angles right near halftime when the ref awarded the visitors a free-kick for no obvious infringement, the ball came off the crossbar and was cleared. There was one minute of added time and the ref motioned to a Glens player preparing to take the throw that he was to go back and take it from a different spot, but he ignored the ref instructions (as you would), but the referee had the last laugh when he blew his halftime whistle when the ball came in to play.

2nd half
This half started badly for United when with just 4 mins on the clock (49), the Glens took the lead when the United defence and midfield was too deep and the ball fell nicely for Glens player Howlands and he struck a magnificent shot past Nelson. United came back almost immediately and in a goalmouth scramble the ball seemed to cross the goal-line, but referee Herrington and the linesman were unimpressed. I think the visitors lost their composure somewhat after this, they started to run down the clock and as a consequent they surrendered the initiative to United. United lost Johnny Taylor to an injury which looked like a hamstring and Cookie took his place. I must say at this juncture Johnny was not up to his usual standard against his former club, he seemed to trying too hard. Spike caused somewhat of surprise taking off Jamie D and bringing Ally.

I thought personally that Jimmy Mac should have the player to go off, but Spike knows best. Ally it has to said spiked (not an intentional pun), things up a bit and when he won a ball in the air he set up Jimmy Mac but he shot wide when well placed, a bad miss. Spike played his last ace and brought on Alan D for Ruddy who had been fairly inconspicuous and we started to look like the 'real deal'. Cush earned the wrath of some supporters when he shot selfishly instead of feeding Thommo, but David has his own agenda and that's alright with me and more importantly his manager. Alan D fashioned out an opening for Cush but unexpectedly he miskicked, what a chance. In the last five minutes we had that melee that resulted in two players for home side getting booked and an a Richard Clarke shot which I thought Nelson pushed over the bar but a goal-kick was given.

Then in the 90 minute Andy Waterworth was tearing into our box to make the game safe only for Dwayne Nelson to deny him with a magnificent save. After this United were encamped in the Glentoran half and after a another Cush shot had been blocked for a corner the stage was set for a fitting finale. Cush corners it has to said, were not good all night, too low, but he got this one right and Morris could only palm it away. The ball was driven back in to the Glens box and it fell to Cush who rifled a shot towards goal which Thommo got a touch to, to make certain. This goal sparked wild celebrations in the stands and on the pitch, it was sheer bloody relief. The ref had added five minutes stoppage time and was nice to see the negative tactics employed by the visitors in the 2nd half coming back to punish them at the death, I went home happy. In a break with tradition, I give Dwayne Nelson a rating of 9, no superlatives can sum up his contribution to this match, he was truly outstanding, long may it continue!

Nelson (9), Rodgers (7), Black (7), Taylor (6)(Sub: Cookie 7,), Archie (8), Thommo (8), Sparky (7), Ruddy (6)(Sub: Ally 7,), Cush (7), Jamie D (8)(Sub: Alan D 7,), Jimmy Mac 7

Man of the match: Dwayne Nelson

Goliath Slain!

When you knock out the holders of a competition as prestigious as the County Antrim Shield, you have a right to feel proud and liken the victory to that which the bible tells resulted in David defeating Goliath. Make no mistake this was a resounding victory for United, I'm only disappointed they had to fashion it in front of their lowest crowd all season. Where were all their ''legendary' Sky Blue fans last night, who couldn't be bothered to get their arses down to see the wee Sky Blues, it beggars belief. United manager Spike made four changes from his starting line-up and one positional change from his team of last Saturday. Out went Tony Kane and Cookie Munster from the back four, Archie switched to central defence in place of Cookie, Chrissy Rodgers and (Hammersmith)Ross Black came in to take up the fullbacks role. Michael Ruddy got the nod over the disappointing Ally, who had a stinker against the scum and James McCabe came in for the injured Captain Jenks, with Archie assuming the role of Captain.

Archie duly won the toss and we started off with the wind in our favour and as early as the 6th minute, Cush tested former United keeper Ryan Brown and again in the 12th minute and Brown was happy to see him missing the target. Chickenville showing a few changes from their usual line-up stepped up the pressure but couldn't break the United defence where Archie and the superb Johnny Taylor were rocks. Only one time did they look vulnerable when Johnny slipped on the wet surface and when the ball came in Archie and Dwayne got in each others way and Reds forward George McMullan's header missed the target, referee Ross Dunlop surprisingly gave a corner when no United player had touched the ball, needless to say I found this unsurprising. Cush then got his head to a superb Black free-kick which the keeper could only parry, but it was eventually cleared. But Cush wasn't going to be denied for long, in 31 mins after some neat work by McCabe he gave Brown no chance with a rasping shot to give United the lead.

In the remainder of the half United were content to soak up pressure from the visitors and attempt to hit them on the break. Referee Ross Dunlop was fairly lenient with the robust tackles coming from both sides especially the visitors. But he surprisingly took one of the visitors player's name when he was guilty of a hand ball and kicking the ball away. United kept trying to play football which was good to see although a long clearance from Dwayne nearly embarrassed Brown in the opposite goal. The United midfield three of Ruddy on the left, Gavin inside and Gary Thompson on the right gave us a solid look and were a far cry from last Saturday's abysmal performance, while the two teenagers Jamie D and James Mac ably backed up by David 'the slingshot' Cushley gave the Reds defenders no respite.

2nd half
The major talking point in the second-half was how United failed to add to their score despite numerous chances. Chief culprit was James Mac, first he rose unmarked to a brilliant Cush corner and incredulously headed it wide with the goal gaping. Then when the brilliant Cush sprinted up the left-wing and put over a gem of a cross, hard and low, he failed to get a touch and late-on from another piece of magic this time from Johnny Taylor he took up the wrong position and the chance went begging. I hasten to add that James Mac had a good game and run his heart out and was replaced by Sparky late on. Michael Ruddy should have scored when he went round keeper Brown only to seem to get the ball mixed up with his feet. From a corner partially cleared Gavin rifled a shot from 30 yards narrowly past with the keeper beaten all ends up. Not to be outdone Cush tried a shot from distance, but this time it was easy for Brown to collect.

The visitors had their moments too and Johnny Taylor cleared one effort off the line much to the relief of the Sky Blue faithful. Referee Dunlop missed at least 3 blatant tackles which should have brought at least a yellow card and one when Jamie D was punched after the ball had gone. But his biggest gaffe was to signal for a corner to the visitors when Rodgers saw the ball pass over him with a yard to spare and the Chickenville forward, Boyce I think it was, try to keep the ball alive but failing and referee Dunlop astounded everybody by signalling for a corner. With 15 minutes to go Spike removed Jamie D with Neil Lowry taking his place. Lowry it has to said is not an 'out and out' striker but he filled in quite well, but he made a few wrong choices, but that's all down to experience and he has no better teacher than the legendary 'Spike'.

The referee decide to add on 4 minutes at the end of the ninety and Gary Thompson, who had battled with Reds Ryan Catney all night showed his experience by helping his team run down the clock. Finally the ref blew his whistle, Goliath had been slain, United were in the semi-final, deservedly! I thought the response from the players after Saturdays debacle was magnificent and the players who came in dovetailed perfectly. It will be interesting to see who Glenn selects for our next match on Friday night against the undefeated Glens, will it be the same again or will he just tweak it a little, barring injuries I wouldn't be surprised if he says same again. No matter who he picks, we need the same commitment as that shown last night, then maybe we can slay another Goliath!


Nelson(8), Rodgers (7), Black (7), Archie (8) Taylor (8) Thompson (8), Gavin (7), Ruddy (7), Cush (8), Jamie D (7)(Sub: Lowry 7,), James Mac (7)(Sub; Sparky (6)

Man of the match: (David) Cushley

Brick Wall!

United manager Spike has come face to face with the 'brick wall' that has stomped all United managers in the last 23 years. He can plan all he likes, get them super fit, but he can't instil belief in them and we have been sadly lacking that since '89. Omar tells the story of that '89 cup run (to anybody that will listen), when he asked the players (Billy Piper, Ricky Simpson etc)before the 3rd round at Seaview what did they think about their chances, they answered to a man, that were going to win the cup and they duly did. I think that was the last time we had a group of players that truly believed in themselves and that's what we need right now. During Roy Walker's reign we had some good times, away from home especially, but when we came to a big occasion like a derby game or a cup match, we were at best mediocre, I fervently hope history is not going to repeat itself in Spike's reign.

Spike in his wisdom named the same team as in the last game at home to Dungannon Swifts, continuing with Archie at leftback, where he is a 'fish out of water' and insisting we play a 4,3,3 formation. We have not got the players for this system, to play this system well you need three all-round midfielders who can tackle, win balls and create openings, not the three we have, who fall woefully short on at least two of those skills. When he tried to switch yesterday to a 3,5,2 formation, we just fell apart and Johnny Taylor who has been our rock all season seemed to lose his focus and got caught on the hop which led to the scum's third goal and was adjudged to give away a penalty after that. It was obvious to me, a 'layman', that our defenders weren't happy playing 3,5,2 which is almost as hard as playing 4,3,3. If he wanted to play that system, he should kept Tony Kane on and substituted Ally, who was virtually a passenger anyway, with Ross Black. Kane and Black would have made two excellent wing-backs instead the holes in our defence we were left with the personnel he had on.

The story of the match was typical of this season, United started brightly created the first real chance when Jamie D strength took past the scum defence and with the goal at his mercy could only find the crossbar. That chance came in the 6th minute and four minutes later tragedy struck when Captain Jenks came off worst in a tackle and despite going back on after treatment he had to be substituted with Sparky taking his place. United had been struggling before Jenks had to go off, but it's true to say we struggled worse after this and the midfield belonged to the scum. They were stroking the ball about with consummate ease and Nelson in the United goal was the only thing stopping them. In one incident Tony Kane let his man cross the ball, but when this was partially cleared, Gavin didn't track his man and Nelson was relieved to see the ball finish wide of the posts. But this didn't stop him admonishing Gavin in no uncertain terms.

Just when it seemed we were holding out to halftime, Sparky lost his marker, Heggarty, who found Scullion on the right and when he crossed Boyce was all alone in the middle and he stroked the ball home. I felt surely this will sting United and get them going but the match continued with Coleraine dominating the midfield area to such an extent that you would thought United were a man a down. We managed to hold out to halftime despite the 2 minutes added on by referee Andy Hunter who gave his usual abysmal performance, booking Cush for an attempted overhead kick, which had no malice intended and forgetting to make the scum player who received treatment at the touchline, go off the field, or is that at the referee's discretion and not a rule and if this is so, why don't we see more of this happening in matches or is it that Andy's merely incompetent. Answers on a postcard to the Sky Blue Sport, etc. or maybe Stephen Alexander will give an overview in the Times.

2nd half
I was dismayed to see United take the field with the same team and attempt to play the same system. As in the first half we started brightly and Sparky directed a free header into the grateful arms of Cullen (Skink or is it Skunk), in the scum goal. Then the referee and linesman combined to stop us in our tracks when Archie was late-tackled, instead playing the advantage rule, play was called back to deep in our half. From the resultant free-kick the scum set up an attack and Heggarty was given a free run down the left to beat Nelson easily to make the score 2-0 in the 56 minute. Then Fergie pulled his master-stroke, bringing off Kane and bringing on Lowry and in the 65th minute the home team wrapped up the points with the United defence all at sea, leaving Scullion to pick his spot with a sweet left-foot shot. Cush who was lucky to stay on the field after a two-footed tackle was fouled in the box but Hunter ignored United's pleas for a penalty. Then Sparky missed an easy chance when he could only direct a shot past with the goal at his mercy from a cross by Jamie D.

Spike played his last trump card bringing on McCabe for the limping Cush but it was the home team that were creating all the chances. They should've added a fourth when referee Hunter awarded them a rather dubious penalty, judging that Johnny Taylor fouled in the box, but it looked at best to be obstruction or nothing at all. Curtis Allen's spot kick was saved by Nelson who also saved the follow-up to give United hope. Ally, who had been a virtual passenger throughout the match won a corner on the left, took it himself and Cookie challenged the scum keeper, who dropped the ball and Gary Thompson prodded it over the line. That goal came in the 84 minute but United just continued to play the same way and we were punished in the 91 minute when Allen had all the time in the world to pick his spot with the United defence in disarray. This was a disgraceful display by United, the only player that can lift his head and say I gave my all is keeper Dwayne Nelson, the rest of them need to have a rethink!

Nelson (8), Kane (5)Sub: Lowry 5,), Archie (5), Cookie (5), Taylor (6), Thompson (6), Gavin (5), Jenks (6)(Sub: Sparky 5,), Ally (4), Cush (6)(Sub: McCabe 5,), Jamie D (6)

Man of the match: Dwayne Nelson

Last Gasp!

United's bogey team over the last few seasons has been undoubtedly Dungannon Swifts. The number of times United looked like getting something out of a game, up popped a Swifts player to 'spoil' things for the Sky Blues are too numerous to mention. Yesterday was no exception, with United leading 1-0, Dungannon got a free-kick on the halfway line in the 92nd minute, the United defence didn't deal properly with it and Josh Cahoon looking suspiciously off-side scored to make the score 1-1. But United had no-one to blame but themselves, admittedly referee Ross Dunlop who could've sent off at least 3 Swifts players, had a bad game but United couldn't turn their superiority into goals. United manager Spike had said after United's first game against Linfield, 'that the team need to play like that every week', but alas the performances have never reached those heights since and they'll need to 'up' their game for next 3 matches at least.

The United manager had made one change from his starting line-up of last week, James McCabe replacing the disappointing Neil Lowry, who didn't even make the panel. United had started brightly straight from the kick-off Cush found himself some space but he missed the target. Then Tony Kane had a free-kick saved by Morgan in the Swifts goal, but United were guilty of heavy final passes. McCabe had one good run down the right and the Swifts defence were glad to put it out for a corner. Halfway through the half the Swifts unsportmanship came to the fore, trying to get a United man booked for a fair tackle. Defender McMinn and Gavin came together in a 50/50 tackle, which left the Swifts player writhing in supposed agony. Referee Dunlop to his credit was not fooled by this and took a minute to bring the physio on. The physio 'worked' on the injury and surprise! Surprise!, McMinn was able to continue.

McMinn went down again writhing and I think the ref should have booked him for simulation, as it was obvious there was nothing wrong with him and he was able to continue with no apparent handicap and played the full 90 minutes. Dwayne came to United 's rescue when he came out to block a Swifts forward and the other end Swifts defender Ryan O'Neill grabbed Jamie D round the neck when the United was clean through, but he only picked up a yellow instead the mandatory red card for this offence. Swifts forward Stephen O'Neill was 'kicking out' after the ball had gone and United team coach Lee Doherty told the linesman in no uncertain terms why he should punish him for this indiscretion. The tackles from both teams were 'meaty' to say the least and United's Gary Thompson was lucky to not get a yellow for one robust tackle. United spurned a great chance to go in one-up at the break, when with the goal at his mercy Captain Jenks missed the target after a great cross from Jamie D.

2nd half
United began the 2nd half with the wind at their backs, but it was obvious that a change would be have to made and with Baker on the subs bench it was obvious that he had to come on. Spike sprung a surprise with a double substitution, taking off his two strikers, McCabe and Jamie D and bringing on Baker and Ally. Suddenly United were looking better with Ally raiding on the left and Baker make his presence felt in the centre. Baker first shot was nowhere near but his next one only cleared the crossbar with the keeper beaten. United won a free-kick and from Cush's free the keeper could only parry and Cookie drove ball home only for the linesman to flag for off-side. I can't see how this was off-side, Cookie reacted quicker than anybody but the goal was disallowed. Then Jenks missed a free header from an Ally corner which drifted by the far post and Johnny Taylor brought a marvellous save from Morgan when he got a head on one from Cush. Then in the 82 minute, when were thinking we were not going to see a goal, Ally went on a diagonal run, found Cush, who cut inside and drilled his shot into the net to give United a deserved lead.

United seemed to lose their way after this and started to defend deeper and deeper, instead of going and trying to get another goal to make the game safe. As if to emphasis this Gary Thompson made way for Sparky in an obviously ploy, a tackler for a creator. The referee then took a hand, adding on six minutes of injury time, whether he forgot to add on more in the first half, when despite about six minutes of hold-ups he only added on 3 minutes or whether he and the 4th official got their signals wrong I honestly don't know but it brought a collective 'groan' from United supporters who knew their team could not hold out that amount of time. They couldn't even hold out for 3 mins as in the 92 mins the Swifts punished United's negative tactics with a scrappy goal, that bears a similarity with the bad old days of last season, when United were leaking goals like a sieve.

True Josh Cahoon looked more offside than Cookie at the other end, but the linesman didn't even threaten to raise his flag and United were left to rue their defensive frailties. I think if they came through unscathed from this game Baker and Ally have to start at scum park next week and Jamie D as well, that'll be some formation and who does Spike leave out to accommodate them, from my perspective Captain Jenks is treading on shaky ground. On the plus side the 'Sports team correctly forecast that it be a perfect time for Cush to break his 'duck' this time around, although he has a dozen goals on United books in his first term, this one seemed to be sweeter, judging by his celebration, nearly knocking his manager off his feet. Is good to see Cush back and scoring but we need more boys to step up to the plate in the next few matches if are to get any impetus going. By an ironic twist of fate, we had the same points going in the Coleraine match last season,10, here's hoping for at least 11 when next Saturday's match is over, but 13 would be better.

Nelson (7), Kane (6), Archie (6), Cookie (6), Taylor (6), Thompson (6)(Sub: Sparky 6,), Jenks (6), Taggart (7), Cush (8), Jamie D (6)(Sub: Baker 7,), McCabe 6,(Ally 7,),

Man of the match: Cush

Gary's Blushes!

The hero against Chickenville in midweek, Gary Thompson, became the villain at Warden Street, when he missed two sitters, one in each half, though he did win us a penalty which started our fightback. But the real villain in the piece was referee Davey, he had a horrendous match, epitomised in not showing at least a yellow card for DC keeper John Connolly, who brought down Thompson. Spike made 2 changes from his starting line-up in midweek, Archie moved to leftback in place of the injured Ruddy, Gavin came in to Archie's place and Neil Lowry came in for Ally. The Sky Blue Sports crew were imploring Spike to start young Neil in place of Ally, but on this showing he's not quite ready and was substituted at halftime. The United defence had a nightmare first half and it was all down to mistakes. The only player in the back four who looked like a player, was Johnny Taylor, he continues to show leadership, more than be said about anyone of his fellow defenders.

With barely 8 minutes on the clock (referee Davey's first gaffe was to start the match 5 minutes early), so at 3 mins past 3, United found themselves a goal down, a goal that should've been avoided. Gargan of DC chased a long ball on the left wing but Cookie got between him and goal and then Gargan appeared to foul the United man, who had ample time to put the ball out of play, but referee Davey saw nothing and Gargan found the unmarked Miskimmon, who gave Nelson no chance. It was so like a gaffe Cookie made last season at Portadown, where he had ample time to put the ball out of play, but instead chose to be crafty, lost possession and we conceded a goal, all so simple. Worse was to follow when Archie got caught out of position (Archie's best position is sweeper, he'll never make a leftback), challenging for a high ball he had no mission of making and leaving his man free to find ex-United player Ryan Dean and he rifled the ball past Nelson to make the score 2-0.

I looked at my watch and it was 5 past 3, exactly 10 mins on the match clock and we were 2-0 down and we were all running about like headless chickens. When we did manage to string some passes together we couldn't find the target, despite loads of opportunities. Neil Lowry, who was struggling to say the least, did produce a bit of magic to set up Thompson, but with an open goal Gary dragged his shot wide. We must have forced ten corners but only two were telling corners, The first one of these was from the boot of Jamie D, Johnny Taylor with a free header couldn't find the target and the next one from boot of Tony Kane found Cookie's head but Connolly produced a brilliant save. Despite loads of possession United were guilty of over-elaboration (that's a mouthful), we fans were urging them to shoot instead of passing.

Chief villain in these events was none other than Cush, I sincerely hope he wasn't following orders, Cush needs to be unpredictable, it's his strength. Keeper Connolly was blatantly time-wasting but the referee took no action and striker Miskimmon was fouling at every opportunity and finally got booked. United suffered another killer blow when they failed to clear their lines and Cleary stuck out a leg to divert a cross beyond the reach of Nelson to make the score 3-0. That goal came 3 minutes before halftime and United, to their credit, continued to press forward and were rewarded when Connolly brought down Thompson as he knocked the ball past him. The referee's decision was a penalty but as it was goalscoring opportunity, surely a red card should've been flourished or failing this a yellow. But referee Davey had other ideas and took no action against the perpetrator. Captain Jenks duly stroked the penalty away and we had been given a lifeline we barely deserved.


2nd half
United had a dressing down at halftime I assumed, they were out early, that's usually a good sign that the manager has been quick in his team talk and to the point. Neil Lowry had made way for James McCabe and United set about the task of reducing the leeway. The DC defensive tactics were brutal to say the least and the number of times Jamie D and Jimmy Mac had their jerseys pulled is a testament to the kit makers Kukri for their durability, they didn't tear once. We pounded the DC defence, forced corners and when we were getting frustrated we finally scored. 60 mins was on the clock when Johnny Taylor's powerful header from a Kane corner, found the back of the net despite Connolly getting a hand to it.

A short time later from a Cush free-kick, which Connolly could only parry, Gary Thompson unbelievably headed over the bar from 3 yards. I turned to a fellow supporter in disbelief and we both agreed that a defender, presented with this opportunity to prevent a goal, would find it hard to head the ball over the bar for a corner, but Gary managed it. United weren't to be denied for long and just after referee Davey 'had grown a set' and booked one of the DC players for delay of game, Jamie D found the target with a neat turn and left-foot shot, to tie the scores at 3-3. That goal came in the 79 minute and United had ample time to go for the winner, but we're not there yet. Good teams go and clinch the points from a position like that, I think we were content to get a draw. I feel I must mention Gavin Taggart's contribution here, he was driving his team forward and was involved in everything good going forward, not sitting back, it's good to see. Miskimmon should've been sent off for kicking Taylor in the head in full view of the linesman, but he got away with it, blind or what.

There's one small point I feel I have to make now and it concerns a returning player, namely Ryan Deans. Whether Ryan feels aggrieved he didn't make as a United player, or not, I was disappointed by his unsportsmanlike behaviour, when after the referee had blown his whistle when a DC player was supposedly injured in their box, Ryan played the 'bounce-ball' into touch, instead of giving it back to the opposition as usually happens, except when your playing Limavady United. Admittedly there's no rule in the rule book which says you must give it back to the opposition, but as the referee appeared to give that instruction he has in his powers to administer a caution for ungentlemanly conduct, which I believe would been correct in this instance. It didn't make any difference to the result, but fairs, fair and we do like to see sportsmanship, it's what separates 'us' from the savages!


Nelson (7), Kane (6), Archie (6), Cookie (5), Taylor (8) Gavin (7), Jenks (6), Thompson (6), Cush (7), Lowry (5)(Sub: McCabe 7,), Jamie D (7)

Man of the match: Johnny Taylor

Power Display!

United, despite a temporary loss of electricity supply midway through the second half, were way too powerful for the punch-less Whites. United manager Spike made three changes from his starting line-up on Monday last, Tony Kane for the injured Vaulsey and Archie and Ally returning after injury for Gavin and the unlucky Neil Lowry. I thought Lowry was hard done by given his display on Monday, but he had the last laugh. The first half was a non-event, United had the majority of the play, but the final pass was lacking. Cush came close from a free-kick when his daisy cutter just missed the target, but Jamie D missed a glorious chance when through on the keeper, hitting his shot straight at Windrum in the visitors goal.

The Whites forwards were well marshalled by the superb Johnny Taylor and Cookie and the two fullbacks, Kane and Ruddy. Some of the link-up play between these four was a joy to behold, but the pessimist in me was shall we say, concerned. The visitors were hampered by losing the veteran Halliday early on and were reduced to trying to break down United's resolute defence with long throws from Marty Hunter. That they didn't trouble United unduly shows what a difference Spike and the boys have made, last year under Roy Walker we had been panicking every time a long throw came in. But last night we dealt capably with the threat, but unfortunately at the other end we couldn't turn our superiority into goals.

Captain Jenks rode his luck when he charged down a clearance, which hit his hand, but his finish was woefully wide. With the half drawing to a close Jenks was fouled about 25 yards from goal. When the referee was making sure the Whites defensive wall was back, Tony Kane took a quick shot which the keeper saved easily, but the referee hadn't signalled for him to take it and he motioned for it to taken again. The Whites players and manager Tim McCann were angry about this turn of events and remonstrated with the official, all to no avail. This time Kane slipped the ball to Cush and his fierce grounder took a deflection off Harkness on it's way into the net and gave United a fortuitous halftime lead.

2nd half
United should have increased their lead two minutes into the half when Thompson found himself with only the keeper to beat but bleanged his shot over the bar. This signalled the pattern for the rest of the game, United subjected the visitors to relentless pressure, but just couldn't get the vital touch. Next it was Cush's turn shooting over from 25 yards when with nobody to challenge him, he could easily have made sure he scored, we who know him weren't surprised. But I don't want to detract from this virtuoso display from the Cush and he got appreciation from the spectators. Referee Burns and his assistant at the Fisherwick end, managed to miss a blatant elbow on Cush which threatened to turn ugly and then added insult to injury and booked United's Michael Ruddy for a foul five minutes later.

Despite forcing several corners United couldn't find the vital touch and Spike made a double substitution bringing on Gavin and Neil Lowry for Jamie D and Ruddy. This substitution meant Archie going to leftback and whether it was a tactical move, I honestly don't know. The visitors luck was completely out when they did mount a meaningful attack, we lost the power of the floodlights due to a power cut. It's not true that Davey King pressed the wrong button in the control tower. We lost about four minutes but we didn't lose our focus but we couldn't get the vital touch. Although were pounding the visitors goal, I couldn't help feeling that we didn't hardly deserve to be in front, missing so many chances.

Gary Thompson missed a real sitter against his former club when Cush swivelled and crossed into the six-yard box and he couldn't only side-foot the ball past the post when it looked easier to score. With time running out Neil Lowry saved his blushes when he burst into the box and his on target shot squirmed under the flailing dive of Windrum to give United a 2-0 cushion. Late in injury time Cush delivered a gem of corner which no United man could get to but Hunter headed it behind. From the resultant corner Jenks night was summed up when he missed an open goal with a header from six yards. The referee brought proceedings to a halt and United had earned a hard fought victory which takes them to the summit of the league, but it should have been easy peasey, never satisfied, am I!

Dwayne (8), Kane (7), Ruddy (7)(Sub: Gavin 7,), Cookie (7), Taylor (8), Archie (7), Thompson (7)(Sub: Sparky 7,), Jenks (6), Ally (6) Cush (8) Jamie D (6)(Sub: Lowry 8,)

Man of the match: David Cushley