Unlikely Hero!

Never was a better illustration on what's was wrong with trying to play football on an unnatural surface (3g), than last night's match, when United were forced to alter their tactics and resort to the their hosts, Crues, tactics, hoofing the ball up-field and fighting for secondary possession. These tactics only work if you have a target man or men and the Crues have two, in Timmy Adamson and Jordan Owens. United, have no target men and we have to utilise our Captain, Alan Jenkins, to be a stand-in, therefore taking away from his midfield duties, but it is the only way to play the game at Seaview and have any hope of getting something out of the match.

United manager Spike, selected the same team and the same subs bench as last Saturday and Captain, Jenks, having won the toss, elected to play attacking the Railway end in the first half. I can't help thinking, that the Crues took more comfort out of this decision than United, for Crues seem to enjoy attacking the railway end in the second half, but I admit it's only a personal opinion. United started nervously and Crues won a doubtful free-kick, but despite beating our defensive wall, the kick missed the target. Referee Andrew Davey had started favouring the home team and he continued with that nearly the whole of the match, much to the frustration of the good crowd of Sky Blue fans who were at the game.

He pulled United up for petty fouls and let Crues away with blatant pushes as if they were part and parcel of the game. When in the 2nd half immediately below where I was sitting, Robinson, of the Crues, committed a foul on Tippers and they became entangled and Tippers seemed to kick-out at Robinson, but not viscously,  Robinson tried to 'make a meal out of it', writhing on the ground, to try to get the United man a yellow card. The ref to his credit, saw through his subterfuge and motioned him to get up, but Robinson stayed on the ground and Davey called for the physio. When the physio arrived, Robinson immediately got up and got no treatment and confirmed what we already knew, he was a cheat and a time-waster, but surely the referee had to book him for simulation, but he took no action.

United could get nothing going in the first half and the ball seemed 'like a hot potato', we had it so little. But surprisingly we managed  to force two or three corners and from one of these, JT, fouled a Crues defender and Ogre rushed from his goal and pushed Taylor and we got a bit of a tussle going among the players of both sides, when it all settled down again, referee Davey let Ogre away with starting the commotion, weak or what? United started to get inroads into the match, but Steeky's cross was just too close to Ogre and he plucked out of the air. When attempting  to help his defenders from a Crues corner, Tippers was fouled and made contact with the ball with his hand on the edge of United's penalty box, Davey gave the handball, completely ignoring the foul on Tippers, but United survived the free-kick.

Captain Jenks found space, about 30 yards from goal but his shot didn't trouble Ogre, but it was encouraging. Then disaster struck for United when JT got a head injury and had to go off to get treatment and returned with a different jersey because his own was covered in blood, I think. Crues managed to find an opening, but Owens free header was saved easily by Dwayne. With ten mins to go until halftime, Cush attempted an overhead kick, but alas his timing was off and he looked foolish, but credit to him for trying. Caddell of the Crues seemed to get injured, one of a spate of injuries in the first half and had to go off, with no replacement as it was nearing halftime. The ref saw fit to add two mins, but we had lost a good 3 or 4 mins by my calculations, but we saw the time out without further incident.

2nd half
Just four mins was on the clock when Alan D was replaced by Gavin Taggart, whether Alan was injured or this was just a technical switch, I don't honestly know, but it was to be a monumental decision taking by our management. We had heard at the halftime interval (thanks to twitter, the Crues tannoy didn't give any info about anything, preferring to deafen us with loud music), that we'd been drawn to face Newington Y C in the first round proper of the 'Wasp Solutions' league cup, it is my understanding that the game will be played at the Showgrounds on Monday 25 August, a bank holiday. United threatened the Crues from a corner by Neal Gawley, but Captain Jenks failed to get his shot away through a ruck of players.

Almost immediately United conceded a goal from a corner at the other end, but Dwayne seemed to be impeded as he came for the ball, but ref Davey saw nothing untoward and Jordan Owens header found the net despite Dwayne's protestations. United tried to get a foothold in the match, but the Crues defenders were winning nearly every high ball. 'Cometh the hour, cometh the man', is a hackneyed saying among scribes and scholars, but it proved especially fitting last night with exactly 60 mins on the clock and another United corner. The ball was half cleared to Gavin about 30 yards from goal and he released a half-volley screamer, that Ogre never smelt, let alone seen, into the roof of the net, to tie the scores up at one apiece.

The United fans were delirious and took Gavin to their hearts once again, for he was not their favourite person after the Irish cup final, wrongly blamed in my eyes, it was a collective bad performance by the whole team that day. But this was another game and United had clawed their way back into the match. From a free-kick taken by Gawley, Tippers was unlucky to see his header strike a post. The Crues manager, Stephen 'Mr ugly' Baxter, made a telling sub himself, taking off the best player on the pitch in my mind, O'Carroll and bringing on the poisoned dwarf, McCutcheon. Crues nearly got back in the lead but Owens headed wide from a corner and the dwarf took a hand in the match by fouling his 'mate', United Captain Jenks, no doubt a huge talking point going home in the Cairnryan ferry last night.

The Crues missed another good chance to take the lead, but sub Whyte shot past Dwayne's post when well placed, from a quickly taken throw-in which caught the United defence napping. Cush managed to get a shot in at the other end, but it was easily cleared by the Crues defence and them we had the Robinson affair which I alluded to earlier.  In another indent Crues player Leeman, seemed to injure himself badly and had to taken off with a suspected broken arm, I wish him well. United took the lead shortly after this when from another Gawley corner, JT scored with a powerful header past a bemused Ogre, to give United the lead at 2-1. However that lead was short-lived and Marky, who had an otherwise great game was guilty of getting caught in possession by the dwarf and worse still, letting him cross the ball to the unmarked Adamson, who headed the ball into the net to tie the scores at two apiece.

It  was end to end stuff after that and either side could have won it, but it finished with honours even. Tippers thought he had given United the win, but former Sky Blues keeper, Ogre, saved his header at the second attempt. Then Owens, of all people, missed a sitter at the other end, scooping the ball over the bar and JT blocked another effort as we were in added time of four minutes. As referee Davey blew his whistle to bring the game to a close, United fans rose to their feet and warmly applauded their heroes, who had confronted the 'tigers' in their den and came away with a share of the spoils. Hopefully the next time we meet the Crues it will be on a real pitch and we won't need any excuses about the surface, if 3g pitches are progress, I don't want any part of it and the sooner we get back to real football, the better, in my humble opinion!

Dwayne (7), Marky (7), Steeky (7), Kyley (7), JT (8), Gawley (7), Alan D (8) Sub: Gavin 8,), Jenks (7), Ally (7), Cush (7), Tippers (7)

Man of the match: JT