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| Cambridge United 3 Woking 0: 27th January 2007 Scorers Anyone thinking that bringing in half a new team would have ridden the Cards usual inconsistency was proved spectacularly wrong after this shocking performance. Having gained two deserved wins against Altrincham and Oxford anyone would have thought that this fixture against 22nd in the league would yield yet more points, but the Cards meekly succumbed to defeat with little passion or drive. Cambridge didn't even break sweat and weren't even that good, or at least didn't get to show they were that good, they didn't look like relegation material though fighting for every ball and looking comfortable in possession. Having been unhelpfully halted by traffic and having to navigate round the maze that is the outskirts of Cambridge's Stadium to get in the right end, the game was a good ten minutes in before we arrived. Luckily, the reliable BBC Live Text service will allow me to depict exactly what happened for you. There were lots of throw-ins, then Brady crossed but someone got fouled, then Wayne Purser had a shot that went wide. Then there were some more throw-ins, Mark Peters headed over the bar from a corner and Neil Smith drilled a header wide from an Adam Green free kick. To be honest, this sounds like the most exciting period of that match… On our arrival, the Cards were looking quite bright, keeping the ball and probing the defence well. Marum, starting in place of Taylor, got in behind a couple of times to good effect, but this was all very short-lived because on 15 minutes, four after our arrival, Cambridge took the lead from a rather bizarrely given free kick. It was bizarre because firstly Karl Murray's clumsy challenge on Robbie Simpson looked rather innocuous and secondly because if the referee really did adjudge it to be a foul then it should have been a penalty because it was clearly in the area. The free kick was curled in neatly by Brady and the Woking defence failed to deal with it and nobody managed to get anywhere near heading it away and it fell kindly for Simpson in the area who made no mistake in smashing a powerful effort into the roof of the net, leaving Bittner with no chance. Cambridge continued their little onslaught, peppering the Cards defence with crosses but some last ditch tackles managed to keep them at bay. On 23 minutes, a long clearance bounced awkwardly for the home defence and Marum did well to latch onto it but his ambitious attempt at a lob sailed way over the bar. The Cards gradually found their way back into the game, mainly by going down the right hand side where Marum and Lambu looked bright, though the latter struggled to beat his man and frequently had to go back to new signing Rob Gier whose crossing was woeful. He had a rather unimpressive debut to say the least. Goma flicked a lovely ball over the top for Marum but his cross was just stabbed away for a corner, which was wasted by Green. Having started to look like they may spark into life on a couple of very brief occasions, the Cards conceded a killer second on 35 minutes. Green dwelt too long on the ball on the right hand side and was duly slide tackle the ball falling nicely for Simpson to strike it from 20 yards out. His shot was heavily deflected and curled perfectly round Bittner's outstretched hand and then bounced kindly and crept inside the near post to make it 2-0. Great, just what we needed… Surprisingly, I actually thought Woking might still have half a chance if they could pull a goal back soon and GC could given them a kick up the backside at half time to get them going again. Just before the whistle blew the Cards had their best chance of the half. Following Gier's overhit cross, Green stopped it going out, rode an enthusiastic challenge and whipped in a devilish ball that McAllister got onto. Opting not to take it first time he had to neatly flick it over the head of a defender and hit an awkward volley from just inside the area which flashed just over. Ollie Berquez came on for Neil Smith at half time and any thoughts of a comeback were firmly washed from the mind as Woking looked just as lacklustre as they did in the first 45 minutes. Jason Pearce diverted a header from a corner just wide on 53 minutes, other than that I can't think of another chance the Card made. Cambridge rarely threatened either until on 74 minutes Danny Brown decided that he would see what would happen if he ran at the heart of the Cards defence. I think he was rather thrilled with his answer as they parted like the sea under the instruction of Moses and allowed him to run into the area without so much as a tackle and have a shot, which he gleefully put into the back of the net. It was a shambles. Lots of people, understandably, got up and left by this point. Taylor came on for unusually jaded McAllister with ten minutes left and my Dad pronounced he would get a hat trick. He did actually. In fact, I think he got seven touches of the ball before the final whistle, I was assuming that that was what was meant by hat-trick by this point. Other things seemed more interesting like the trains going by, the songs on my ipod and the Beano, that a kid was reading on the same row as us. On one page was a section on the Beano Club costing £10 to join and he turned to his Dad at this point, probably to announce that they should have joined rather than turn up for the match. The only other time I felt that uninterested was at Hayes a long, long time ago when my friend Pete and I decided that playing some game with a stone was more interesting. Unfortunately, neither Pete nor a stone was in the vicinity and finally the final whistle blew and the Woking end all got up very quickly, turned and walked away without a single clap, qll in unison. All that was left that is. That really sums it up. If only I had had a copy of the Beano. Maybe I should start bringing one, just in case… Woking (4-4-2):
Bittner; Gier, Murray, Pearce, Bunce (Sole 64); Lambu, Barrett, Smith (Berquez 45), Sole; Marum, McAllister (Taylor 80).
Man of the Match: Jamie Taylor - all seven touches... Moment of the Match: Seeing the Beano Club page, in the err Beano...oh, and when the train went past... Attendance: 2,206 |
