This article was originally published as part of UTAS’ weekly column in the Cambridge Independent. You can find it online here and in print in your nearest Cambridgeshire newsagent every Wednesday, or Coconut Tier members can read the piece below.
By Julian Roberts
There won’t have been a more popular goalscorer than Saturday’s matchwinner. You could see it in the dugout, with the players and staff mobbing the diminutive Northern Irishman in the full-time celebrations. And you could feel it on the terraces, the unbridled joy of a last-minute winner magnified by the scorer being such a likable and hardworking player that you can tell it meant the world to.
Shayne Lavery had quite the afternoon. He registered an assist and then a matchwinning goal in amongst a nearly flawless 45-minute performance that helped swing the game in United’s favour. Only seven minutes after coming on, he showed a fantastic turn of pace out wide and hit the byline before drilling an instinctive pull back that found an awaiting Ben Knight to tuck home. And then, after tirelessly running channels and proving a constant menace to Barnsley’s inexperienced backline, he turned the rebound from a Louis Appéré shot home in the 92nd minute from point blank range to take all three points. Neil Harris called it the best 45 minutes he’s seen by any player in the whole league this season.
These returns are the least his performances this season have deserved. And it’s not the first time Lavery has changed games from the bench. He’s been a half-time substitute three times this season, each time with the U’s being 1-0 down. They’ve gone on to take 7 points from those fixtures. If you add in Oxford away, where he entered the pitch in the 55th minute and was at the heart of the move that Knight equalised from just two minutes later, then it’s clear how influential his impact has been. On Saturday, he put the icing on the cake.
