Tuesday 4th September 2007 - U's 1-0 Grays Athletic: Grays blues as U's refuse to lose

Wayne Rooney. Jonny Wilkinson. Frank Lampard. Freddie Flintoff. Daniel Chillingworth. The list of sporting legends who are unavailable through injury seems to grow by the day. Whatever happened to the spirit of yesterday's heroes, who would look down at their broken leg, shrug, tuck it into their sock then hop after the opponent who did it to mete swift justice with a good old-fashioned clattering from behind? I'm sure I saw Wolfie Smith do that once back in the early Eighties. And if you tell that to kids today, the cheeky scamps think you're making it up!

At the weekend Lee Boylan was added to that illustrious list, leaving United with a mere two fit strikers for the visit of Grays Athletic on Tuesday. At least it gave Scott Rendell the chance for his first league start for the club, thoroughly deserved after scoring two in two from the bench. The only other change deemed necessary from Friday night's draw at Weymouth was the continuation of JQ's centre-back rotation system, Michael Morrison restored at the expense of Mark Peters. Mercurial youngster Robbie Willmott made his first appearance on the bench as United threw caution to the wind and named five outfield subs.

Grays looked to have made some astute signings during the close season and came to the Abbey fifth in the table with an unbeaten away record. Ex-U Dennis Oli started up front with former Woking hitman Craig McAllister, as Danny Kedwell was surprisingly left on the bench despite having already notched one hat-trick this season. Centre-back Jamie Stuart was another vaguely familiar figure, having trialled pre-season for United at left-back without success six years ago.

It was the battle of the huddles at the start as both sides played ring-a-roses while ref Stewart glanced at his watch and played idly with his equipment. You know, his whistle, his notebook...

A decent crowd of just under 2,800 gathered, including 150 from deepest darkest Essex, on a pleasantly balmy late summer evening and the NRE was in fine voice from the start. The match started at a brisk pace with both teams pinging the ball around with purpose, Grays' initial 4-4-2 mutating to 4-3-3 with Aaron O'Connor pushing forward on the left in a bid to counteract the United wing-back system.

Leo Fortune-West gained the U's a corner on 3 and the flag-kick was another one created on the training ground, Stephen Reed's outswinger finding Mark Albrighton bombing in late to the edge of the area to volley five yards wide. Big Mark's a fine player, but Paul Scholes he ain't. Good try, though, and nice to have an answer to the perennial supporter's question, "What do they do all day in training?"

The visitors looked dangerous pushing forward in a quick close-passing style and an O'Connor cross on 5 found McAllister's head, but Danny Potter was equal to his goalbound effort as he dived low to his left to save. United looked to defend from the front, chasing and harrying at every turn, and Grays were not slow to funnel back in numbers but break forward equally speedily as and when the chance arose.

After a mediocre start to the season by his own high standards, Courtney Pitt looked 'in the zone' and started gliding past opponents at will after appearing to be unable to beat a traffic cone at Weymouth. His curling cross into the box on 11 eventually found Reed, whose decent header was well blocked by keeper Ross Flitney.

The man in green foiled Reed again on 19, palming his low fizzer around the post as both sides continued to push and probe each other like short-sighted sumo wrestlers. United were marginally on top, Danny Potter having little to do, but they had to be wary of the occasional breakaway from their Cambridge Blue-shirted opponents. The hosts' charge was led by Darren Quinton, outstanding as he pushed forward from midfield, sprayed passes around and even tackled back when required.

As the NRE kept up an inspiring chant of 'Jimmy Quinn's Amber Army' the best move of the match came on 29, Quinton playing an exquisite angled one-two with Rob Wolleaston to send him scampering to the byline and fizzing a tempting ball across the six-yard box which Rendell and LFW were just too slow to get a toe onto.

The visitors kept United on their toes, however, as Oli nodded wide of the near post on 33 and Stuart was similarly inaccurate from a header from a free-kick on 36. Two minutes Quinton slalomed his way to an opening but fired wide from just outside the box. McAllister shot wide at the other end on 40, then LFW saw a blaster blocked by left-back Adam Gross.

The latter picked up the game's first booking just before half-time for a dreadful high challenge on Quinton, embarrassed by the United man's pace and skill as he attempted to break upfield. There was some brief unpleasantness as the interval whistle sounded as LFW clashed with his marker Jon Ashton amid some unconvincing claims of an elbow from the Grays man. An elbow? Our Leo? Honestly. You'll be telling me Marcus Richardson has changed clubs yet again next...

So ended a reasonably entertaining 45 minutes between two sides which had both attempted to play decent football, with variable results, and the hosts marginally in the ascendant. It would just need a flash of brilliance to break the deadlock.

United started the second half attacking the Corona and were in a high gear quicker than Lewis Hamilton. Within a minute of the restart Dan Gleeson had run from deep to skim a cross-shot wide of the far post, and on 48 the U's were ahead.

Pitt broke from halfway, cut inside as if to shoot just outside the box, then laid it off to Reed. His masterpiece of a curling cross from deep landed squarely on Rendell's noggin, and he bulleted his header high past Flitney into the top left corner. A cracking three in three: 1-0!

Sensing blood, United went for the kill. A short backpass by Stuart on 51 saw Rendell challenge the outrushing Flitney out on the right wing; the ball spun clear towards Gleeson, but it bounced fortunately for Ashton to slice desperately out for a corner. The ensuing flag-kick was cleared to Wolleaston arriving from deep, but he could not keep his shot down.

A minute later United created more blind panic in the Grays area, LFW leading the charge, and when the loose ball fell for Reed near the penalty spot, he appeared to have the legs taken from under him as he shaped to shoot. No penalty, said Mr Stewart, about as convincingly as Steve McClaren telling us he is looking forward to going to the Euro 2008 Finals next year. He must have booked a seat in the main stand with the Switzerland supporters.

Despite their territorial superiority, United still had to be on their mettle against the odd incisive Grays break. Just before the hour Oli won a knockdown in the U's area and there was McAllister, fifteen yards out without a United man near him, but his over-deliberate shot skimmed wide of an apoplectic Potter's near post with the goal at his mercy.

The visitors made the first change on 65, Jamie Day replacing Donnie Barnard, but there were more substitution board shenanigans and the thing didn't make another appearance until injury time. You can't get the staff.

Gleeson broke clear of the Grays back line not long after, but Flitney dashed from his box and just won the race to boot into touch. There was some unnecessary tussling between the players as the United wing-back tried to take a quick throw-in which resulted in Flitney picking up his team's second booking of the night.

A minute later some neat interpassing from United sent Wolleaston galloping into the box, but Flitney just managed to grab the ball first. Then Pitt produced a superb piece of footwork to beat his man, get to the byline and drift a ball across the six-yard box which was millimetres too high for LFW to get on target, his header flying narrowly over the bar.

Grays changed their forwards on 71, Oli and McAllister withdrawn in favour of Kedwell and Gavin Grant, as they continued to press for an equaliser on the break. One such move soon after resulted in Albrighton upending O'Connor for which he received United's first yellow card, but Gross' free-kick deflected off the wall for a corner. Karl Murray's flagkick found Stuart at the far post, but his header landed on the roof of the net.

Then a slip by Gavin Hoyte allowed O'Connor to break clear down the right channel, but Albrighton was quick to move across and hassle him into screwing a feeble shot wide. Albrighton was soon busy up the other end as he again found space from a U's corner, but his free header from Reed's kick was straight at the clutching gloves of Flitney.

Mark Peters replaced Hoyte on 79 after another solid, tough-tackling display. LFW was next into the book for some silly pushing and shoving with Ashton off the ball, much of it behind the referee's back, which might explain why the Grays man did not also see yellow.

The man in black was not exactly covering himself in glory, and soon after he denied Pitt a free-kick for what was either a clear foul or a dive, in which case he should have booked the United wingman. Grays continued to probe, Ashton finding space in the U's box but trundling his shot wide of the far post, and on 84 JQ made what appeared to be a rather negative substitution by replacing LFW with Mark Convery, making his first appearance since going off injured at York on the opening day of the season.

Convery stationed himself ahead of the United midfield and chased anything that moved in order to hold Grays up. The visitors pushed their opponents back in search of parity, but Potter was equal to everything they could throw at him, saving a Day blaster on 87. Rendell almost broke clear up the other end, then Gross hammered over on 89.

Four minutes' added time was indicated by the now-working electronic board, and there was chaos in the home six-yard box when the ball seemed to roll across it in slow motion, defying all U's attempts to clear it and Grays attempts to poke it in. Eventually it was cleared for a Murray corner, which Potter fisted decisively clear.

It was the visitors' last hurrah. The last serious action was a booking for Stuart after he flattened Rendell, and then a fine, competitive contest was over and United had a just-about deserved victory to maintain their unbeaten start to the season. Grit and fighting spirit has gained the U's several points already this term. Here's hoping the boys can fight off any more injuries before they run out of players altogether!

Player Ratings
Potter 7. Not exactly rushed off his feet but did what he had to do well.
Morrison 7. Slow start, improved as the game went on.
Albrighton 8. More consistent than a Swiss metronome.
Hoyte 8. Colossal presence again.
Gleeson 8. Much improved on recent outings and constantly involved.
Wolleaston 7. Played his part for the team without doing anything spectacular.
Quinton 9. Simply outstanding.
Reed 8. Another who blossomed in the second half with some top-notch passing and crossing.
Pitt 8. His most effective game of the season by a mile; at his best, pure excitement.
Rendell 8. Solid rather than outstanding, but you can't argue with goals.
Fortune-West 7. Deceptively vital part of the United game plan.

Peters 7. Never less than dependable.
Convery 7. Good to see him back, and he never seemed to stop harrying and chasing in his brief time on the pitch.

Match Summary
The unbeaten run continued with some comfort as United powered to a deserved win over spirited Grays, with just a few collywobbles near the end. And isn't it great to have proper strikers who bang in the goals on a regular basis?

Man of the Match
Darren Quinton. He's been threatening to do it all season, and tonight Quints truly blossomed as a dominant, influential box-to-box action man with great movement, quality passing, excellent vision and, when required, stout tackling. Worth the wait.

Ref Watch
Stewart 5. So stiff and precise I half expected him to produce a tape measure at every free-kick, he meant well but punished too many negligible challenges, and denied the U's a very good penalty shout.

Non League Player's Name of the Week
Needham Market's tongue-twisting Nathan Szyszlyk.

Soundtrack of the Day
The Go! Team "Doing It Right"

Andrew Bennett

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