| With Histon having their sights set higher than this league and having trounced some of it's occupants by five goals or more Chris Burns' depleted City side entered the Lion's Den. |
| Luckily the lion was out and when the cat's away the Tigers will play. |
| It wasn't going to be easy though as we had two claws missing. Jimmy Cox was injured against Grantham last week and Lyndon Tompkins was serving a one match ban, although if anything comes of the trouble after the Bath game then that could severely restrict the number of appearances that the big defender makes between now and the end of the season. |
| So with many folks thinking that Chris Thompson would be sacrificed from midfield we were suprised to see him remain in the middle with Griff, Marvin and Burnsy slotting in at the back. Adie Harris filled Lee Smith's boots on the right and the Tigers number two played up front to replace Cox. |
| City Captain Neil Mustoe made a return to Cambridge, a City where he'd made a name for himself during a four year spell at the Abbey Stadium with United. Those in the crowd of U's persuasion looking for something special from their former son would've been disappointed as Muzzie put in a muted display and was overshadowed by the performance of Thommo next to him. |
| Histon had gotten a reputation of being very good and very direct, and very good at being very direct. Their keeper, former Sheffield Wednesday and Oldham shotstopper Lance Key was reknowned for being able to drop a goalkick on the opponents penalty spot and before they knew what had happened the ball was in the back of the net. Not today though as the club footed goon barely failed to reach the halfway line! |
| Other than cousins Adie and Ian 'Eric Cantona' Cambridge the rest of the side were anonymous to us Gloucester folk. So it didn't help that the red wig wearing dude with the microphone wittered on about a bunch of kids rather than giving the teams out to those who wanted to hear them. |
| Why red wig I hear you ask? Well, the circus wasn't in town, it was all part of Histon's Red Nose Day event and the normal attendace was swelled with kids. Hundreds of them, very few interested in the football and all they wanted to do was bloody run around and get under peoples feet. They were even running on the pitch at the 'Bridge' during the second half. Nice one Histon! |
| The Bridge, so called because it's next to a bridge (they don't miss a trick these guys do they) reminded us what it was like to be back in the Western Division. No doubt Phil Warren and his crew would've noticed the similarities between this place and the likes of Yate and Swindon Supermarine due to the large trees bordering one side, but the swings weren't close enough to the ground to compare it with Rothwell. |
Reminiscing from last season you have to remember that Histon, like City finished second in their division and the story of this campaign for them might read how many Tigers fans would've liked to have seen our season progress. They found their feet quickly in the new division and surprised many by keeping hold of a playoff place through the winter, a record breaking run in the FA Cup was halted by Yeovil Town but it didn't seem to affect their league form as teams were beaten with ease. Chippenham (5-0) and Chesham (7-2) were wallopped on their own pitches as the Stutes set themselves up for an assault on the top spot. Until the Tigers came to town that is.
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| City started out cautiously giving respect to their opponents but Burns' trio at the back held firm and the first half chance came City's way. Good work by Adie Harris down the left fed Daryl Addis and a cross into the middle found Lee Smith who shot over the bar. |
| City continued to launch surpise attacks. Not surprises for Histon, surprises for the City fans as Thommo burst through the middle and laid the ball off to Addis whose shot was blocked by Key in the goal (I really wanted to say 'door' there!) However, the goalkeeper's clearance found a way upfield and as the City faithful began to fear a backlash in strode Super Marv to clear things up and calm things down. |
| More pressure from the Tigers led to a corner. Full back Erkan Okay seemed to have a little bit of confusion about the laws of the game and particularly those relating to retreating ten yards at a corner. Or maybe it's all part of John Beck's (ex-United manager and now Steve Fallon's assistant at Histon) masterplan for niggling and grinding down opponents at every opportunity. |
| Whatever happened City could've scored when the set piece found it's way to Chris Burns who volleyed, well, the less said about the volley the better but I think there was a car crash on the bridge over the railway as a lorry swerved to avoid a stray football. |
| We were waiting for Histon to score, and it almost happened in a flash when a free kick was rifled in to the far post through the proverbial sea of legs and returned with gusto towards the goal. Depending on who you listen to either Matt Bath saved the shot or Neil Griffiths got a block in but it didn't really matter cos the ball stayed out! |
| Adie Harris tried his luck next when he sent in an angled drive from his corner of the penalty area but Key had it covered and it arrowed out for a goal kick. Adie was certainly causing more problems to the Gangsta attired Matt Joseph on that side and was surprising some of the home fans too, a couple of whom stopped and asked all the usual questions about the City legends age. |
| The blocked shot midway through the half was the only time that the ball had headed towards City's goal and posed any kind of threat and Burns' men were now starting to fancy an upset. OK, they came close again when Adie Cambridge dummied on the edge of the box but his shot was more likely to hit one of those annoying kids than the back of the net. |
| But all of City probing and good work could've been for nothing following a Neil Griffiths foul, for which the referee 'had a word' much to the disdain of Burnsy and Neil Mustoe. With the immediate danger cleared clever hold up play on the edge of the box by Cambridge (well, it might've been someone else but by saying that name I have a two in nine chance of being right) and Jamie Barker just squeezed a shot over Bath's bar. |
| At half time any neutral in the crowd, and looking at todays gate against their average attendance there were more than a few, would've had a tough job telling who was the promotion chasers out of the two teams. A mixture of Addis' poor timing and Lance Key's constant shouts of "Linesman" limited the number of chances that City had but everyone in yellow and black (or white) would've been happy with the first half's work. |
Histon boss Fallon couldn't have been too happy with the first half showing and to be fair the home side did look a little brighter at the outset of the second period. Matt Bath had to be on his toes to get down sharply to hold one shot but it was really a tame effort.
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| Quite why he didn't do it at half time is beyond me but just a few minutes into the second half Robbie Nightingale made way for new signing Leon Gutzmore. We've met before have City and Gutzmore as the Tigers fans will remember him scoring in the three goal home drubbing by Aylesbury in January but on the eve of the return match a month ago the striker left to join up with relegation candidates Hemel Hempstead. Less than a month later Leon's onto his third club of the season. |
| Histon Title Challengers? Not the way they were playing they weren't and City now had the bit between their teeth. Of course, there was always the chance that we could leak a silly goal, after all thats what we've done all season, but this bunch were there for the taking and thats exactly what we did. |
| Ian Cambridge wrestled Griff to the ground and the ref awarded a free kick to us but the City man can count himself lucky that the Histon striker didn't continue to lay into him what with his track record. Adie Harris pinged in the free kick and as everybody rose for the header the ball fell nicely for Lee Smith, who spooned the ball over the bar when it looked easier to score. |
| Maybe I was unlucky but the spot that I chose to view the game from had been infested with kids running around. Typical of me to attract the bunch of hemmaroids who were hanging around in bunches and getting up my ass. |
| Midfielder David Bridges became the first player of the afternoon to earn a caution, although my attention was taken off the incident by the little bast, erm, darlings buzzing around my legs so I won't comment on how the Histon man picked up his yellow card. |
| Whether Fallon was feeling the heat and instructing his charges to push up or whether they got lazy is unsure but holes started to appear in the Stutes defence and City were ready to exploit them. A pacy move involving Lee Smith and Tom Webb saw the former find the side netting with what turned out to be a pretty lacklustre cross shot, but the warning signs were there. |
| More indiscipline followed as Erkan Okay (Turkish for 'useless donkey') dragged down Webb as he broke away again and was booked. The free kick came to nothing but moments later a Chris Burns lob over the top found Smith in space and after cutting inside onto his right foot Lee drilled in a low shot that Key had to turn wide of his near post. |
| Our next chance could've been a candidate for goal of the season and also proved undoubtedly why midfield is the right place for Chris Thompson to be. A City corner was cleared, as most were by the well organised defence and as Ian Cambridge ran away with the ball he didn't reckon on Burnsy who steathly pinched it off him and laid it off for Thommo who lashed a scintillating dipping drive from twenty-five yards just over the bar. |
| Histon stepped it up now but could still find no way through Burns' sold rearguard. At the other end City were still creating and Tom Webb, the seldom goalscorer, had two bites at the cherry in a minute. Addo put him in for one and althouth the angle was getting narrower as he closed in on goal he should've shot but opted for the low cross instead. It was put out by a defender and from the corner Webb came close again as he just lashed a volley just over the bar. |
Ian Cambridge was replaced by Nat Knight-Percival with twenty minutes to go and it was funny how all of the spectators took a few paces back from the fence as he walked along the touchline en route to the changing rooms. The double barrelled substitute could've been an instant hero but he couldn't get a touch on Gutzmore's bullet low cross that he pinged across the face of goal.
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| City finally picked up their first booking of the game with a little over ten minutes to go and it was a bit of a giveaway really as Neil Mustoe petulantly disputed a throw in decision that went against him. |
| More danger signs for the home side followed when Thommo set Lee Smith away on the left hand side. The Tigers man paused as the defender galloped back and moved inside before curling a shot inches wide. It wouldn't have gone in though and Key's years of experience told as he let it fly by the post. |
| We were at the point where we were looking at our watches, still fearing the sloppy goal but beginning to think that even though a point would be good, we deserved more. After all, Histon really weren't upto much. So thanks to a combination of Addis and Smith, we got our just reward. |
| Having suffered the earlier miss Lee made no mistake this time when good work from Daryl on the right saw him hold up the ball, to shouts of hands from the home team, turn and send in a low cross that evaded Wilko and the defender in the middle but not Smithy who poked it in with his right foot at the far post. It was no more than the Tigers had deserved and the jubilation showed as the players and fans mingled in euphoric celebration. |
| Suddenly it was time to play keep ball and run the clock down, but Histon were rattled and needed to get it back up the other end. As Lee Smith held the ball up on the touchline Matt Haniver slid in and sent him flying, and before the City man had landed the yellow card was aloft. |
| From the free kick Addis took the ball to the corner and two Histon men went to retrieve it, a task which they achieved but one of them, Hanniver, went to ground before leaping up screaming in a high pitch voice and make stamping motions to suggest that the City man had raked him with his studs. Making a beeline for the Forester the referee stood in the Histon man's way as Addis laughed in the defenders face. Quality! |
| Time was almost up so Keith Knight wasted a few more seconds by swapping Adie Harris and Jamie Reid then after Tom Webb had taken advantage of a defensive lapse with an acute shot moving in from the corner the ref blew up for an awesome victory. |
| The City fans, hoarse but happy headed for home whilst the majority of the Histon crowd pestered their parents asking to go to "Maccy D's". |
| The victory, just our second away all season (the other was at Dunstable) mean't that there are now eleven points between us and the dropzone. Our recent run of three wins and a draw in five games is play-off form! |
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| Tiger Roar Man of the Match - Chris Thompson |
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Chris Thompson
Star Man |
What with Lyndon Tompkins serving a one match ban for accumulated yellow cards everyone thought that Chris Thompson would relinquish his midfield berth to fill the gap in the heart of defence. But no, Burnsy surprised us and Thommo ruled the midfield, snapping at Histon heels and being a pain in their asses as he strode forward.
It makes one wonder how this season might've fared had Thommo played in midfield throughout instead of being wasted at the back as he has been.
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