U's fail to take chances
Oxford never recovered from a poor first-half performance as they lost 2-0
to relegation rivals Cambridge in appalling conditions.
The pitch at The Abbey Stadium was reduced to a mud-bath thanks to
torrential rain before kick-off. Only good work by the Cambridge stewards
ensured that the match went ahead.
In the end, though, Oxford may have wished that those stewards hadn't
bothered as they fell behind after just eight minutes. Poor marking allowed
Trevor Benjamin to latch onto a Nathan Blamey free-kick, to net his 18th
goal of the season.
Oxford did create a few half-chances in the first half, Jamie Cook going
close with a free-kick and Steve Anthrobus shooting wide on two occasions.
Cambridge almost doubled their lead through a bizarre own-goal. A cross was
floated into the Oxford box, and Paul Powell attempted to head it clear.
Unfortunately his header deflected off fellow defender Phil Whelan, and was
seemingly drifting into the net before Richard Knight pulled off a flying
save to keep the ball out.
That, though, was about as close as Cambridge got to a second goal as it was
Oxford who finished the first half much the stronger team.
But that was until disaster struck. In stoppage time Whelan attempted a pass
back to Knight, which was underhit and this was accentuated by the heavy
pitch. John Hansen picked up the ball and lifted over the advancing Knight
to double the lead.
The second half was dominated by Oxford as they attempted to fight the way
back into the game. On 52 minutes Powell put in a fine ball, which Whelan
nodded down to Cook. Unfortunately new Cambridge 'keeper Lionel Perez got to
the ball first and smothered it gratefully.
Just seconds later Cook flashed a shot wide, following good work from Matt
Murphy. Oxford's top-scorer then had a rasping drive saved well by Perez,
who enjoyed a good debut in the Cambridge goal.
Oxford, in a desperate attempt to get something out of the game, sent on
Nigel Jemson and Steve Davis is order to add some more weight to the attack,
and in the last minute of play, Anthrobus created the best chance of the
game for Jemson.
The veteran striker was played clean through, but unfortunately his shot was
saved by the excellent Perez, and the ball was cleared.
Ironically the Boat Race saw Oxford score a victory over Cambridge on the
River Thames on the same day when their respective football teams clashed.
So while Oxford may have won the Race, they may have lost the war to stay in
the Second Division, as Cambridge now go ahead of their visitors in the
table.

CAMBRIDGE EVENING NEWS

Darler's troops are the team of the day
THE TV news announcer could hardly have got it more wrong: "Cambridge have
beaten Oxford, on dry land at least."

The Abbey Stadium has never staged a soggier spectacle. Whereas the
accidental arrangement of the fixture on the same day as the Boat Race was
an interesting co-incidence, fate conspiring to create identical conditions
for the events was going a fathom too far.

A ferocious hailstorm an hour before the kick-off turned the pitch into a
boating lake, which with only five minutes to go to the start referee Mike
Jones feared would be unplayable.

The best organised and most efficient team to perform during the afternoon,
Stadium manager Ian Darler's sweeper system, worked wonders to get the match
on.

But the weather still managed to play a decisive part in the important, if
impotent relegation struggle.

United were hanging on to their eighth minute lead when Oxford centre-half
Phil "cloth ears" Whelan made a present of the goal which virtually decided
the game as early as the 44th minute.

Oxford boss Denis Smith disclosed through gritted teeth: "The one thing we
emphasised before the game was that because of the conditions, nobody should
try a back pass from any real distance."

Ten yards outside his box Whelan aimed a pass towards his goalkeeper Richard
Knight, demonstrating a sphere will not roll very far over liquid.

John Hansen was on to it, recalling the days when his Viking ancestors
splashed ashore on the east coast, to plunder a goal.

That was it then really, everybody could have gone home at that point and
missed only two notable incidents, a cynical 69th minute foul on Hansen
which should have earned Oxford skipper Les Robinson a red card, and a top
class, full length 75th minute save by loanee keeper Lionel Perez to stop
Matt Murphy's 20-yard blaster.

United defended, not very convincingly at times, for just about all the
match against toothless opponents who could conjure little out of vast
chunks of possession.

Between the eighth and 44th minute goals, Oxford won the corner count 8-1,
but failed to force Perez to do anything special to earn the reputed £9,000
a week he is collecting from Newcastle and United.

And remarkably during the second 45 minutes, Roy McFarland's men, despite
playing in their favourite direction, and possibly with the tide, did not
unleash a single shot, either on or off target.

Even the most pedantic statto would not have reached for one of the row of
coloured pens in his top pocket to record the one time the ball cleared the
crossbar, and the top of the stand, from Trevor Benjmamin 30 yards out, as a
goal attempt.

Yet in view of the crucial importance of the match, and the fact that there
were six players sheltering from the cold in the Press box who would have
been playing if fit -- Marshall, Russell, Mustoe, Duncan, Wilson and Kyd --
it was an understandably edgy and constricted display which nevertheless
prompted relieved fans to sing "Oh Cambridge we love you."

McFarland and David Preece were flinging their arms about like demented
tic-tac men throughought the second half in a bid to push their players
upfield, but to no avail.

If you have ever wondered why there is no 6-2-2 formation in football it is
because four centre-halves tend to spoil a lot of broth.

Central midfielders Ian Ashbee and Paul Wanless, ultra-competitive men,
spent far too much time in their own box because they wanted to be where the
action was.

Unfortunately it was self-fulfilling. The action was there to a large extent
because they were, instead of retaining their positions further forward
where they might have been able to relieve the pressure.

Strangely, though, there was little tension in the air, because Oxford
lacking anyone like the man who did the midweek damage, Luton power player
Gary Docherty, were little short of hopeless.

Tricky winger Jamie Cook toiled admirably to get the ball in the box time
after time, but none of his team got near it.

Smith -- just like Brentford boss-turned-scout Ron Noades in the
grandstand -- must have been thinking: "if only we had Benjamin."

Or even the only player likely to remember this match longer than the next
day or two, teenager Nathan Lamey.

Recalled from a loan spell with non-League Hitchin, the 18-year-old striker
did well on his League debut until the level of competition and depth of the
pitch turned his knees to jelly early in the second half.

A small, but well-built, energetic, bustling player, he looked cool under
pressure and confident on the ball. His future looks promising, particularly
as they say he rarely misses from the penalty spot.

This page is maintained by James Beard.