| Match Report : City 2-1 Cambridge City - March 21st 2009 |
| Well, thats four wins on the bounce now. Believe it or not we're title contenders. |
| The sixteen game unbeaten run, from way back in December thanks to the 0-1 reverse at home to Brackley Town has seen the team win eight games and draw the same number. The most remarkable statistic from that run however is that during that run only once have we scored more that twice in a game, that being the 3-1 win over Supermarine on New Years Day. Proof indeed that the team have made themselves much harder to beat than they were earlier in the season. |
| Maybe the reason for this is that Boris and Adie are showing more much respect to the opposition and starting with what has become a favoured 4-4-1-1 formation, after all it worked against Farnborough and it worked against Corby but did it really work today? |
| So did our opponents have anyone that we'd crossed paths with before or were they really a team of Conference South players playing in the league below? Ramon Calliste had been scoring goals for them before catching the eye of Farnborough and moving to Cherrywood Road so Lilywhites boss Gary Roberts moved to snap up striker Michael Frew from cash strapped Kings Lynn. |
| And on todays showing it looks as though they've got the best of the bargain. |
| For Lynn Frew had been used mainly as a right winger but played up front for Cambridge and looked frighteningly good. With our game at Milton Road in ten days time he'll be one to watch there, unless that is he has been prised away by Histon who are said to be watching him with envious eyes. Sadly for Cambridge it seems that they don't have the backing to put their better players on contract and a move north of the A14 isn't as pie in the sky as they'd like. |
| Adie Cambridge has been around for years and featured for Histon when we played them twice in the 2004/05 season but lurking in the wings they had a proper pantomime villian. |
| Step forward Mr Mark Smith. |
| Now aged forty-one and captain of the team he'll never be forgotten for the role he played, also as the skipper, for Stevenage Borough when we reached the third round of the FA Trophy in February 1998. Smith went head to head with City legend Adie Mings and feined injury to get him sent off. The cheating bastard. |
| The kick off was delayed for ten minutes because Cambridge had gone to Meadow Park. The official reason was "traffic delays" but we know your secret boys! |
| It didn't seem to affect them mind as with the wind behind them and kicking towards a strong sun from the south-west they went off like a firework and looked like they could do some real damage. Frew though was the only one to inflict any kind of pain and that was on himself when he bravely battled to keep a ball in play that Marc Richards wanted to run out. Where he succeeded with the ball he failed with his body as he slammed into the advertising less advertising hoardings. |
| The initial impetus paid off for the away side when between them ex-Cambridge City player Neil Mustoe and Richards between them managed to leave a hopeful punt upfield from Dave Theobald to Frew who cooly lifted a shot past Kev Sawyer for an all too easy opener. |
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| In photography circles this is known as "chimping"! |
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| Cambridge were in danger of dominating the game now and Sawyer had to be alert to snatch a Robbie Nightingale free kick out of the air before huge centre-forward Steve Gentle was able to nod it home. |
| Former Bedford Town forward Gentle has been in fine form recently and it was his two goal salvo that stuck the knife into Halesowen Town during Monday's 3-0 win at Milton Road. |
| A close range effort from Jack Harris was shuffed out by a Cambridge defender as he went to shoot giving the ball a clear deflection wide of the right hand post but the referee awarded a goal kick. The sight of Harris on the ground was also testement to the error as he'd been hurt in the challenge meaning that City physio Ade Tandy had another jog over to Harris. Tandy's request to Boris to play the often injured youngster on the right hand side seems to half fallen on deaf ears. |
| Cambridge continued to use the wind to help their long passes beyond the last City defender but big Kev was alert and was able to keep the pacy Frew at bay when they were able to pierce City's rearguard. One long ball saw Frew control with his left and shoot forcing Sawyer to push the ball wide as he charged off his line. |
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| Peek-a-Boo! |
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| Keeping in mind Smith's antics against City for Stevenage he tried the same trick again with Mike Symons. The City striker had no idea why the Cambridge man had stopped and held his face after they'd both gone up for a high ball and neither had we. He'd managed to pull the wool over the referee's eyes mind and got a free kick but as in 1998 there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. Tosser. |
| City's first attempt in anger was a glancing header from Harris which looked alot closer from one side than it did from the other. Matt Sysum found Alex Sykes with a short throw and a neat turn and left footed cross was aimed comfortably wide by Vern. |
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| Michael Frew gets Ricco'ed by Ricco |
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| A Stephen Smith long throw caused confusion in the City penalty area and was almost turned in by the dangerous Frew but again Sawyer was alive to the danger and turned his shot around the post for a corner. |
| City's best chance of the half came after Matt Rose had won a bouncing ball in midfield before feeding Luke Ballinger on the right. The City winger and England Futsal star drove his way inside and fed Sykes with a near perfectly weighted pass in the left hand third of the penalty box but Syko seemed to have left his shooting boots at home as his effort looked more like a cross back across the face of goal. |
| After Ballinger had released the ball he was chopped down by Cambridge's Michael Frew lookalike Ben Nunn, who became the first player into the referee's notebook. |
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| Syko has his boots on the wrong feet |
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| The man in black's next involvement was to bring the disappointing first half to a close. |
| Whether Boris is a true tacticals genius or whether he heard the groans and the moans after such a disappointing first half display remains to be seen but all five of his substitutes were out from the half time teamtalk earlier than normal and only nine of the first half team returned for the second. Adie Tandy appeared on the touchline and juggled his number boards to indicate that Will Morford and new boy Grubb would replace Sysum and Harris. |
| Vern wasn't the first choice to go off mind. Luke Ballinger was due to be sacrificed for Grubb but Harris had indicated during the interval that he'd hurt his knee so he became the player to be withdrawn. This meant that Ballinger switched flanks to accomodate Grubb. |
| The reason for Boris to be pleased? It came thanks to Grubb's darting run which ended with his attempted cross being toe-ended out of play for a corner. Syko sent in a peach of a dead ball which Marc Richards met with a sweet glancing header that travelled uninterrupted over the goalline where a defender who was trying to clear only managed to flick the ball up into the roof of the net. |
| If Cambridge manager Gary Roberts had sent his team out with specific instructions to hold onto the lead then he would've had steam coming out of his ears but the City eyes were locked on the centre-back lapping up his applause so we'll never know if their gaffer was doing an impression of a kettle on their bench. |
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| This is the feeling we wait all week for! |
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| City now had the bit between their teeth and after Ballinger had forced a corner from the opposite side Mike Symons rose highest to meet Syko's outswinger and force a full stretch save from Barratt. |
| Forest Green loanee Symons again came close with his head when Grubb whipped in an inviting left footed cross after Neil Mustoe's free kick had been half cleared. |
| If City struggled to make an impression in the first half then their opponents were finding it just how difficult it could be playing into the Cotswold's Mistral as chances were few and far between. However, it's not always in your favour as it can take a ball away from the attacker as Morford found out when he raced onto Tom Webb's headed through ball only to see the keeper race off his line to claim the ball before he could even attempt a shot. |
| Cambridge introduced substitute Scott Nielsen for Craig Radcliffe just after the hour and his pace became apparent as he skinned Ballinger down the right wing before sending in a low cross that Lee Marshall turned behind. From the corner Ballinger showed his defensive worth as he reacted quickly to clear Theobald's header off the line with a diving header of his own. |
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| Unused sub Jack Pitcher has an early shower |
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| That was Luke's last action as he was withdrawn for Lee Smith who had that little bit more savvy when it came to defender against the pace possessed by the likes of Nielsen. |
| A long throw from Cambridge's own Smith penetrated the heart of the City defence but Nielsen's effort which he dragged well wide of the target probably showed why a player with his pace was playing at this level of the pyramid. |
| As Symons won another corner for the Tigers, from my vantage point under the gaze of Jesus as he likes to be known, or Gordon as his wife Sally calls him I suggested that now would be a nice time for a repeat of Ricco's earlier goal as Syko strode across to take the corner. In came the ball, it flew agonisingly over the heads of the men in front before Will Morford powered in at the far post and headed it without mercy beyond Barratt's desperate dive. |
| Straight away the victorious goalscorer headed away from the goal in celebration before remembering the adulation that Symo received at Corby last week and changed direction to bury himself among the fans behind the goal. |
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| Will Morford celebrates with the fans after heading the winner |
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| Nielsen was becoming a thorn in City's side and came very close to earning a penalty when his run was crudely halted by Marshall. It earned the City man a booking whilst the Cambridge player got 5.9, 5.9 & 6.0 for his dive. Kev Sawyer tidied up the free kick and his long wind assisted clearance seemed to be heading nowhere but it took one bounce and was heading right for me, quickly followed by Symo and his opponent. I thank both for not freight training me! |
| Another Steve Smith throw caused panic in the City penalty area as a shot flew wide and Sawyer had to be alert as he dived at the feet of Frew who'd made a smart run to get onto a frew ball (!) |
| Symo himself had a great chance to cap a fine display with a goal for himself after he'd been put through and with Barratt advancing off of his line he seemed to dwell on the ball before showing enough to the Cambridge keeper to dive on a gratefull clutch with both hands. That showed how frustraing the big City striker can be! |
| Lee Smith made one of his trademark right wing runs from the left but put too much on his last touch and the keeper was able to gather. However, Lee was a bit naughty and still went for the ball despite two hands being on it thus sending the goalkeeper to the ground. Defender Dave Theobald didn't appreciate the move and knocked Smudger over too. |
| This, sadly for Cambridge wasn't a wise move as it caught the referee's attention and with the crowd shouting "Red, red, red..." he was greeted with a yellow card. A brief conflab with the linesman followed and an indirect free kick was awarded to the Tigers inside the area, not a penalty. Inevitably it came to nothing. |
| With the little hand fast approaching five o'clock on my watch and everyone around saying that *this* would be the last goal kick, free kick or throw it was a nice surprise when the referee actually blew up as the ball was being held firmly in the grasp of Kev Sawyer. |
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| The inquest! |
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| Ultimately it was quite a comfortable win with Cambridge showing shades of the side that we used to be having taken a lead, not being able to hold onto it before eventually going home without a pot to piss in. |
| Elsewhere more than two thousand fans packed into Cherrywood Road to see Farnborough bounce back from a 1-3 defecit at home to Corby Town with two late goals including an injury time equaliser. It was a dream result for us meaning that if we win our midweek game at home to Rugby Town not only will we be certain of avoiding relegation, we'll also go second. |
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City : Kev Sawyer, Alex Sykes, Lee Marshall, Neil Mustoe, Marc Richards, Matt Rose, Luke Ballinger (Lee Smith 69), Tom Webb, Matt Sysum (Will Morford 45), Mike Symons, Jack Harris (Dean Grubb 45).
Subs Not Used : Tom Hamblin, Jack Pitcher
Booked : Lee Marshall (80)
Goals : Marc Richards (47), Will Morford (77) |
Cambridge City : Zac Barratt, Ben Nunn, Lee Chaffey, Mark Smith, Dave Theobald, Steve Smith, Robbie Nightingale, Neil Midgely, Steve Gentle, Michael Frew, Craig Radcliffe (Scott Nielsen 67)
Subs Not Used : Ashley Fuller, Jamie Eames, James Krause, Adie Cambridge
Booked : Ben Nunn (40), Dave Theobald (85)
Goal : Michael Frew (9) |
| Attendance : 275 |
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