U's 0-1 Cheltenham Town: Not At The Races

An afternoon to forget at the Abbey as the Robins take all three points and United start looking over their shoulder again

Right, shall we try that again?

Following a wet and wild eight-minute display at the Abbey, you’d be forgiven for thinking United would arrive fired up, ready to build on our first away win since last August against Shrewsbury the previous weekend. Having been offered a temporary reprieve against a high flying Bolton side in midweek, Ian Darler and his ground staff had worked their magic once again on the previously submerged Abbey pitch. With the fans still wringing out the last droplets from their waterproofs, there was a hum of optimism around the Abbey as we took on a familiar foe. Cheltenham have a knack for humbling United in a series of crunch ties either at the top end of League 2 or more recently at the foot of League 1, with the Robins netting their first goal of the season in a 1-0 win for them in the reverse meeting in mid-October.

Since United’s promotion to League One, the fans have enjoyed some famous wins against the likes of Ipswich, Portsmouth and Peterborough. However, it has been the crunch ties, the relegation six pointers, that United can be accused of going missing in, particularly last season. These sorts of games are exactly the reason Neil Harris has been brought to the club. United’s main currency has to be taking points at home against fellow strugglers and to not allow teams low on confidence into games at the Abbey.

However, on Saturday afternoon, the U’s reverted to type, allowing Cheltenham to occupy the United half for much of the opening exchanges, with chances being afforded to the Robin’s striker George Lloyd, including a goal disallowed for offside - which looked very tight at best, and was most probably onside. With both Neil Harris and the Main Stand pleading with United to get out and push up, the U’s seemed rooted to the edge of their own penalty area for large spells of the first half. Despite the unsatisfying attempts to move forward in possession, United looked to threaten with balls over the top, with Sullay Kaikai’s perfectly waited dink finding Lyle Taylor. It was the biggest chance of the half by quite some margin, with Taylor opting for power of finesse, as he saw his shot saved well by Luke Southwood. Jack Lankester too, went close, following a mazy run from Kaikai that bounced into the United attacker’s path, but he also placed it straight down the goalkeeper’s throat.

Despite those two chances, it was clear Harris needed to get into United at half-time. Yet there was no evidence of any alteration in approach from the boss with the gap between midfield and attack feeling more like a chasm. This was evidenced on the hour, as Jordan Cousins received a ball out from the back, he swivelled to look forward only to be met with a sea of nothing. As he looked to once again turn back and find a fullback, the ball was pinched off his toe and fed into the obliging Matty Taylor to put the Robins one up with their first shot on target of the game.

The goal seemingly couldn’t have come at a more inopportune moment, with the U’s readying a triple substitution as the sound of Taylor’s effort rattled the post and in. Harris’ response to the goal manifested in the form of a fourth sub, with Zeno Ibsen Rossi being added to the fray alongside Thomas, Brophy and home debutant Macaulay Bonne. With the changes, the U’s switched to three at the back with Kaikai and Brophy now offering the width with Liam Bennett and Jack Lankester the notable withdrawals. Although a quieter game for Bennett, who seemed permanently pinned back to aid a struggling Ryan Bennett, who also got the hook on the hour, it was Jack Lankester’s withdrawal that seemed the most perplexing having been a rare bright spark in the United attack.

With Lyle Taylor endeavouring to get the ball to stick and bring others into the final third, Lankester looked the most likely to be the beneficiary of Taylor’s dogged determination. Neil Harris remarked after the game against Shrewsbury that he’d instructed Lankester to become an attacker that didn’t just come to feet but rather get beyond the likes of Taylor and Kachunga to add more goals and assists. Lankester had clearly taken this onboard and seemed the most likely to test Cheltenham’s backline once Taylor had the ball down in the final third. In his withdrawal, Harris seemed to blunt the only functional part of United’s attacking threat, opting instead to leave a largely anonymous Kachunga on and a fading Kaikai to fill in at wing back as Taylor seemed to become increasingly isolated.

United’s threat seemed to diminish the more the game went on with Cheltenham dropping deeper and allowing a rather reluctant looking Ibsen Rossi to distribute the ball out to Kaikai on the right. United seemed to be running out of ideas. Enter Macauley Bonne. Poor, poor Macaulay Bonne.

With ten minutes to go, he was offered not one, but two guilt-edged chances from crosses on that right side into the box. The first, you felt for him, as he swung his right foot at the ball, his left got in the way of things, a classic for a striker low on minutes and confidence. The second however, was so unconventional you wondered if he was in fact a striker at all, as he seemed to almost jump over the ball, missing it entirely. With fans heads in hands throughout the ground, you felt the last bit of hope for at least a point drain away quicker than Ian Darler’s efforts to raise Atlantis at the Abbey a few days earlier.

With the fixture list looking increasingly testing over the next few weeks, this will go down as a huge opportunity missed for United. Cheltenham seemed a side lacking in a great deal of threat since the departure of the always impressive Alfie May and the only chances they carved out were the ones United gifted them.

As for the U’s going forward, it’s still not quite clear how United aim to hurt teams short of the ball being knocked up to the strikers from Danny Andrew and hoping it falls kindly thereafter. A big problem here being the double pivot of Digby and Cousins, and lacking a player with a bit more guile and creativity to get on the ball and push us forward. There were chances for United and Neil Harris was keen to point this out to the fans who still don’t quite know what it is he is about but let’s get one thing clear: it was a tough watch for long periods, and when it doesn’t pay off, it compounds the misery in the Abbey further. United needed a result to consolidate a decent run against opposition you’d expect points off and instead, the fans are now left looking over their shoulders as the gap to the bottom narrows and the fixtures toughen. You’ve be forgiven for starting to worry after that one, once again.

Soundtrack of the Match: I Wish It Would Rain – The Temptations