Us 1-1 Dartford: Going the distance Andrew Bennetts match report from todays clash at The Abbey... Small. Far away. Small. Far away. One’s appreciation of this season is rapidly becoming one of perspective. We’re second in the league (smiley face)! We used to be seven points clear at the top (frowny face)! We’re well placed for the play-offs (winky face)! Our current form is diabolical (shocked face)! We’re going to Wembley (double smiley face)! We’ll probably be rubbish there as usual (sad face)! There is no denying that anyone connected with Cambridge United would have been delighted, if not incredulous, if you had told them in August that in mid-March the team would have been lying second in the table with an FA Trophy Final to come. But their recent league form – won 1, drawn 4, lost 4 – is about as convincing as David Moyes’ Champions League qualification aspirations. As John Cleese said in Clockwise: “Its not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. Its the hope I cant stand.” The Abbey faithful were given plenty of hope by Tuesday’s rousing performance against Luton, even if the win their team deserved was snatched away from them at (literally) the last minute, so expectations were high for the visit of Dartford, who have spent much of the season in the Squirrel Conference relegation zone. They have been something of a bogey side for the U’s since their promotion to the division the season before last, however, and historically United’s record against them is even worse. But hey, bogeys are there to be beaten, right…? The Darts were unable to field loanee Rory McAuley for obvious reasons, but included two former Histon men in their side in Mat Mitchel-King and Jim Stevenson, plus former Stevenage keeper Alan Julian and Luton loanee striker Alex Wall. The most notable name in the programme, though, was that of assistant referee Dumitru-Ravel Cheosiaua, who must surely be the first official to boast all five vowels in his surname. United line-up: Norris; Roberts, Bonner, Coulson, Taylor; Hughes, Berry, Champion, Donaldson; Bird, Elliott On the bench: Miller, Gillies, Austin, Arnold, Sam-Yorke Richard Money saw no reason to change the team from Tuesday and his only change was to introduce Ian Miller to the subs’ bench in place of Richard Tait. It was an unseasonably balmy and sunny afternoon and both sets of fans were in fine, drum-assisted voice, giving the match a distinctly end-of-season atmosphere. Great! Nearly time for the World Cup! The U’s made a good start after losing the toss and having to attack the NRE, gaining a corner inside the first 40 seconds and applying some sustained pressure in the opening minutes, Luke Berry nodding Ryan Donaldson’s flag-kick over the top. Dartford looked neat and dangerous on the break, though, and Elliot Bradbrook had a hopeful long-ranger clutched by Will Norris on 5. Julian quickly (OK, slowly) began the timewasting, taking an absolute eternity over every goal-kick, but ref Barratt showed no sign that he was aware what was going on. United’s early pressure foundered on a lack of quality ball in the final third, a problem which was to plague them throughout the match. Donaldson looked like the hosts’ best hope with a few promising runs, albeit little end product, but all too often his colleagues plumped for hopeful long balls over the top towards front men Tom Elliott and Ryan Bird, and although they strove manfully, neither is a natural target man in the vein of Adam Cunnington. Dartford’s forays forward were infrequent but involved passing of better quality than their opponents and they looked potentially the more dangerous of the two sides. Liam Hughes, having one of his less effective matches, almost caught Julian unawares in 19 when his high looping header looked like dropping under the bar, the keeper tipping it over, while Wall had a bobbling 20-yard free-kick stopped by Norris four minutes later, the young home keeper handling as safely as ever. Another series of corners to the hosts followed, but to little effect, usually underhit, overhit or simply not finding an amber shirt in the box. This team seems fundamentally unimaginative when it comes to set pieces. Dartford continued to threaten intermittently, Stevenson shooting wide on 36, and three minutes Kenny Clark drew a save from Norris after a couple of corners for the visitors which were infinitely better delivered than those of the hosts, curled into the six yard box with whip and pace. The referee’s game was summed up a few minutes before half-time. Elliott headed a cross wide and Barratt was the only person in the ground who thought it was a corner. As realisation of his error dawned, the prediction on the terraces was that he would find some reason to atone with a free-kick to Dartford, and sure enough, as soon as the corner came over and Elliott forced a save from Julian with a powerful header, he penalised the United no.9 for the flimsiest of ‘fouls.’ It happens time and time again. Tyrone Sterling and Max Cornhill also tried their luck for the visitors, both missing the target, and Julian remained entirely untroubled by United’s crude attempts at attacking, crosses and passes going astray under no pressure from their opponents whose two banks of four resisted with some comfort. It was something of a relief when the interval whistle signalled the end of a disjointed, uninspired and sometimes just plain sloppy performance from a disappointing United side, entirely lacking the fire and tempo of their display against Luton. Must do better, read the half-time report. Delano Sam-Yorke replaced Bird for part two, introduced to bring a bit more oomph to the attack although it also needed a much better quality supply line. Cornhill had the first shot of the half, wide of the mark, and Berry headed over on 53 just before a second change saw Mitch Austin replace Kevin Roberts; Hughes moved to right back and Donaldson to the right wing to accommodate the Aussie on the left. Still Julian remained untroubled with United unable to muster so much as a shot. Stevenson fired over for the visitors, and with less than an hour gone the U’s used up their last substitute, introducing Josh Gillies wide right for Tom Champion with Donaldson moving inside. Dartford were still the ones with all the goal attempts, Cornhill nodding wide and Wall shooting wildly off target on the hour. United finally came reasonably close on 64 when a corner fell to Josh Coulson in the box and he swivelled to fire past the far upright from close range as he fell backwards. Would that the chance had fallen to a striker. Three minutes later, though, the U’s were ahead. Austin was the provider, with a pinpoint cross from the left wing which dropped perfectly for Elliott to stoop and head home from close in, leaving Julian helpless. 1-0. At last, a decent cross! Now could United close it out this time, like they used to do in the good old days of earlier in the season? Almost immediately ref Barratt began urging U’s players to hurry things along, having ignored the visitors’ timewasting for the previous hour plus. Dartford made a double substitution on 77, introducing Ben Swallow and Mikel Suarez for Cornhill and Danny Harris, and Lee Burns drew a save from Norris before the Darts’ last change saw Nathan Collier come on for Clark. The vinegar minutes ticked by with United still all build-up and no finish, Hughes trundling a feeble 20-yard free-kick wide, but two minutes from time Elliott could have sealed the points when he met a low Gillies corner with a first-time shot which was batted away by Julian on his goal line, a fine reaction save. But Groundhog Day came to the Abbey in the last minute of the 90. A promising United attack ended when Berry somehow avoided all three of his team-mates in the box with a cross, Dartford broke down the middle, Coulson headed it back straight to a light blue shirt, and when Wall received the ball on the edge of the box, he produced a tremendous half-volley which soared unstoppably past Norris into the far top corner. 1-1. Wall’s celebrations in front of the Habbin were inflammatory and unnecessary, but his over-exuberance was not punished by the weak referee as it should have been. Just like on Tuesday, four minutes’ added time was announced while the away team was celebrating its equaliser. United flailed away in an attempt to salvage a win but predictably failed, and yet another two home points had been dropped. In fairness to Dartford, they deserved a draw for their more fluent passing, organised resistance and having mustered many more goal attempts than their hosts. But this United team cannot pick and choose when to raise its game; it needs to attain the level of performance of the Luton match every time, because anything less is, as today proved, just not good enough. If they play like this at Wembley they could well be in for a very nasty shock indeed. And no amount of perspective would make that look like an acceptable result. Statto Corner United’s record against Dartford is poor. In four Conference games, they have not won once, recording three draws and a defeat. It was little better in the Southern League in the 1950s and 60s, when the U’s won just three times in 10 meetings, while the Darts won all of the other seven. The last time United beat Dartford was at the Abbey during the 1964-65 season. Dave Barrett, Peter Hobbs and Gerry Graham were on the mark on a 3-0 victory. Their only other wins were 2-0 away (1963-64) and 4-0 at home (1962-63). The attendance of 3,529 for that 3-0 win still remains the largest ever for a meeting between the two clubs. The 3,000 mark was exceeded three times at the Abbey during the Southern League days, but has not yet been reached in the clubs’ meetings in the Conference. United have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five league matches, easily their worst run of the season. Mat Mitchel-King first played against the U’s for Mildenhall Town in a pre-season friendly of July 2004, United winning 2-0. His run of games for Histon began in 2006-07 when the U’s won 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw at Bridge Road to win the Cambs Professional Cup, then came a cropper in THAT 5-0 FA Trophy defeat later the same season. During 2007-08 he played in both league games, a 1-0 win for the U’s at the Abbey and the same result for the Stutes in the return, Mitchel-King scoring the only goal. The following season he turned out in a 1-1 league draw at Bridge Road and in United’s 3-2 FA Trophy win at the same venue, in which both he and defensive partner Matt Langston were sent off. He reappeared for Dartford’s 3-3 draw with the U’s earlier this term. Player Ratings Norris 7. Safe hands again, surviving a few hairy moments, and had no chance with the goal. Roberts 6. Quiet game until withdrawn early in the second half. Bonner 7. Solid effort. Coulson 7. Tower of strength. Taylor 6. Restrained display. Hughes 6. Not at his most effective today. Berry 6. Plenty of effort but little to show for it. Champion 6. Competent until substituted. Donaldson 6. Had his moments, faded in the second half. Bird 6. Never gave up but could do little with mediocre service. Elliott 7. On the goal trail again. Sam-Yorke 6. Made little impression. Austin 6. Excellent assist for the goal, perhaps worth a start for a change. Imagine, a left-footed player on the left! Gillies 5. Negligible impact. Match Summary United failed to reproduce their form of Tuesday night but did reproduce the result, throwing away two points in the last minute again. In truth a point was all they deserved after a thoroughly mediocre performance against a lowly-placed Dartford side which played superior football and made better chances. Man of the Match Josh Coulson. One of few players to even approach his usual form. Ref Watch Barratt 4. Mr B comes from the Eric Morecambe school of refereeing: he makes all the right decisions, but not necessarily in the right order. It also beggared belief that the Dartford team began time-wasting almost from the start, especially Julian, but the only players he told to hurry up were United ones. Soundtrack of the Day How To Dress Well “Words I Don’t Remember”
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 23:15:41 +0000
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