Christ Almighty!

Buckets (6), O Kane (5)(Sub: Darhen 70mins 7), Jimer (6), Paddy Mac (6), Steeky (5), Gavin (7)(Sub: Thommo 60mins 6,), Tony (7), Frazer (8), Leroy (5), Jenks (6), Cush (5) (Sub: Tippers 80mins 5,). Subs (not used): Fergie and Mike 3rd.

Man of the match: Johnny Fraser

Referee: Keith Kennedy 7


No I've not turned religious, I just can't think of any other headline which sums up the way I feel today, about this disgraceful display by my former heroes. I say my former heroes, the way I feel today I'm ashamed to say I'm a United supporter, better to be like Saint Peter and deny ever knowing them, there I go again, quoting from the bible, Jesus wept, lol!

Our manager Spike, pulled no punches in an interview with the BT, heaping all the blame on the players for a shambolic display, but in all fairness, he selected the team. How he continues with selecting Jenks, to lead the line, amazes me. Jenks is done, he should be playing in midfield, he never won one ball in the air last night, but in all fairness to him, he's not a striker.

But Spike, who had no peers as a striker in a glittering career in Irish football, when he won medals galore, doesn't seem to know that. Its a well known fact that 'you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear'. Fergie, it seems has other ideas as he had two strikers on the bench, while playing Jenks and Cush upfront, both of whom were simply awful.

Its obvious to me that that Cush, is only going through the motions and showed his petulance when he was substituted last night, by kicking the bench, behaving like a spoiled brat. I said when he signed a pre-contract for the Crues, that we should have got rid of him in the transfer window and signed somebody who wants to play for us, but as usual it fell on deaf ears.

Last night he was set up by the one bright spark in our line-up, Johnny Fraser, but he tried to get onto his left-foot, when it was screaming for a right-foot shot and nearly hit the corner flag with it. In an ideal world he'll be on next week and make me 'eat my words' and be back to his best and him and Jenks, will dovetail superbly, but I very much doubt it.

A goal then would have given us some hope, but it truth we never showed the conviction needed to be a force in the game. Even when the scum went down to 9 men, we were second best and had no idea how to get back in the game. Owen Kane, is another player playing out of position, he's not a rightback, he's too slow and hasn't clue about tackling.

Tony, who signed a new contract, continues to be used in midfield, but is a rightback or a wide-right midfielder, who's lost in the centre. Gavin, tries hard, but he's basically a ball winner and needs somebody like Jenks or Thommo, alongside him to pick holes in the opposition defence, otherwise he just hits aimless balls easily cut out by the opposition.

Leroy, was playing wide-left, but he hardly got one cross in, his first move is back instead of forward, a waste of time in my book. The number of passes that went astray last night, when were in attack mode, are too numerous to mention. We gave a master-class in the art of giving the ball away, when we looked like getting a sniff of goal.

No doubt the fans will be baying for Spike's blood and rightly so in my opinion, but our board will be unmoved, but if we don't turn our season around in the next couple of weeks, relegation will become a stark reality as the teams below us start to win games and 28 points is still not enough, we need at least 33 points to be safe from automatic relegation and a lot more to avoid the play-off.

Spike, made five changes from his starting line-up from United's ill-fated trip to Fermanagh, out went Kyley, Fergie, Thommo Mike 3 and Tippers. In came Tony, Captain Jimer and Gavin, free from suspension and Leroy got a rare start and on-loan signing from Linfield, Johnny Fraser got a right-wing berth

To the game itself, truth be told it was a game that's best forgotten, we showed nothing in the first-half, except a Cush shot, when Tony, played a short-corner to him, but he hit the bar instead of working the keeper and another Tony, corner to the far post, but nobody was lying wide and it went for a goal-kick, what a waste.

Jenks, should have done better when Fraser, picked him out with a pass, but he shot straight at the keeper who punched the shot over the bar, with the whole right-side of the goal gaping, but Jenks, is not a striker, he's just filling in for (Gary Twigg), it seems. Why else would Spike, leave two strikers sitting on the bench, when we're crying out for strikers.

The half ended with Cush, trying to field a ball that came back to him when his free-kick was cleared and from just inside the scum half, he tried to pick out Buckets and only succeeded in putting us under pressure, giving away a needless corner. Luckily we survived to halftime without further incident and the match seemed to be evenly poised.

2nd half

Seven minutes into this half the scum took the lead, when Steeky was caught in possession and a Parkhill shot seemed to be going wide, only for Owen Kane, to stick out his boot and deflect it into the path of McCauley, who sidestepped Owen's challenge and rifled the ball into the net off Paddy Mac's outstretched foot, a catalogue of errors in United's defence.

But what's new I hear you ask, I looked to our bench with this goal came and Fergie, was nowhere to be seen, I though he should be out trying to inspire our boys to not let their heads drop, but he thought otherwise. Johnny Fraser, who had to go off to the changing rooms for what I can only assume was a toilet break, gave us some hope.

Fraser set up Tony, but he headed over with the goal at his mercy and then Fraser got to the byline and set up Cush, but United's former talisman, decided to try to get the ball on his favoured left-foot, before bleanging the ball wide of the goal. Fergie, then made his first sub taking off Gavin and bringing on Thommo.

This move as far as I can tell did nothing to enhance our chances and we lost Gavin's ball winning talents and we were to pay for this greatly when the scum put the game beyond us with another goal. It seemed to be keepers ball when Parkhill, was given the freedom of the park and hit a hopeful ball towards the United goal.

But Buckets, hesitated and McLaughlin, beat him to the ball to score and give the scum a two goal cushion. Three mins later the scum were rightly reduced to ten men, when Morrow, needlessly went in over the top on Owen Kane and the ref had no choice but to send the scum man off, I though foolishly we could get back in the game.

Another three mins had elapsed, when scum leftback Edgar, tugged Fraser's jersey and picked up a yellow card, his second and McLaughlin, protested so vehemently about this, he got booked also. But despite United having a numbers advantage over the scum they couldn't make their superiority count.

Owen Kane, was replaced with Darhen after 70 mins, Tippers replaced the frustrated Cush, after 80 mins. Despite 5 mins of added time, the closest United came to scoring was when Darhen's shot was pushed for a corner by scum keeper Johns and a Paddy Mac header came back off the post. United were devoid of ideas and played into the scum's strengths, by playing high balls instead of trying to unlock their defence.

I honestly didn't see Tippers, in the 15 mins he was on the field and by the end of the match the United fans were pleading with the referee to blow his whistle as they only wanted to get home. United came off to a chorus of boos and for once the ref got a bit of applause, he had no bearing on the result, but he did his job to the letter.

We had to endure the scum supports taunts, deserved I should add, when they outstayed their welcome and it took us forty mins to get out of the car park as we had to stay behind to let them get to their caravans (cars and vans I should have said, I apologise unreservedly to any travelling people reading this report)!