Lapses prove to be costly for County

Report from Mark Vickery

Venue: Abbey Stadium

Cambridge United 2 (Mullin 38, 61)

Newport County 1 (Twine 67)

Attendance:

Form:

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Cambridge United WWWLWdLW

PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS
County will to adapt without centre back Brandon Cooper and Kyle Howkins injured. Cambridge had a good win mid-week and key County match their endeavour and pick their battles

CONDITIONS
Cool, torrential rain midway through the match made the pitch perilous in parts and difficult to read with ball not flowing.

SUMMING UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE STATEMENT
Started well, but got punished for passing errors despite late rally

TURNING POINT
Gift wrapped second Cambridge goal.

THE MATCH
County were forced into a few changes with Brandon Cooper on Wales U21 international duty, Scott Bennett deputised in central defence with Kyle Howkins injured. County were also missing Ryan Taylor through injury and he was replaced by Padraig Amond. County created a couple of decent moves in transition early on shifting play well through the thirds and threatened on 3 minutes when Sheehan took control right side before passing across the face to find Abrahams. He had an opportunity to shoot but picked out the late run of Haynes left side of the area and his first time cross caused problems but Cambridge managed to hook the ball away to safety. On 6 minutes, County won a corner right side which Dolan whipped in with venom and the ball was allowed to drop dangerously with Hannant making a mess of his clearance but he was fortunate it rolled straight to the keeper Mitov. Cambridge were keen to play out long to turn County back on their heals using the pace of Dunk left side and Hannant on the right. County were composed in possession with Dolan coming forward to pick holes and make up the extra man in midfield. Cambridge persisted with their direct play and showed their capability on 10 minutes when Iredale threaded a quick pass to the left side of the area. Mullin got to the ball first and made space to hit a quick shot on the turn which flashed wide of the left post. Cambridge were keen to use their left flank with Hoolahan showing an eye for a quick pass and a neat direct pass on 15 minutes coaxed Townsend off his line but he cleared well ahead of Mullin. County remained a threat in behind when Cambridge worked the left and a good move on 16 minutes instigated by Dolan saw him break up a Cambridge move and advance into space. He threaded a good pass the right side of the area for Shepherd and his dinked cross was glanced just wide of the left post by Amond from 8 yards. Cambridge persisted with using their left flank with Mitov kicking out to the flanks but County marshalled the threat well. On 20 minutes, Cambridge worked another long pass to test County with Hannant slipping a measured pass in behind for Mullin who got goalside of Demetriou and drove to the byline but his shot from a narrow angle was diverted. On 22 minutes, a controversial moment saw Labadie clash in a challenge with Hannant but his kick out caught Labadie in the chest but it was not picked up by the referee who failed to even get out a card. Moments later County had a great chance to go ahead when Twine tricked his way into the right side of the area to link up with Sheehan. He turned well but had his shot blocked by Iredale and the rebound from 10 yards was fired over the bar by Labadie. With County pressing, Cambridge countered from deep on 25 minutes again down the left side and Bennett mistimed his challenge on Dunk to earn the first booking. Cambridge gained confidence from their sporadic opportunist breaks with Mullin continuing to cause problems with the ball at his feet. On 33 minutes, County were given another warning when they lost possession deep inside the Cambridge half with Abrahams prised off the ball by Digby. A quick pass inside found Hoolahan who took the advantage of space in the middle. He threaded a pass into Mullin who peeled off to the left side of the area and was denied by a good save by Townsend. The conditions deteriorated with heavy rain and County became hesitant passing on the drenched surface. Cambridge continued to probe away and a slick move in transition after a misplaced pass by County invited Hoolahan to break left side of the area and exploit space. His low cross into the six yard box was fired home by Mullin who ghosted into the area after a well timed run from deep. As half time approached, the worsening conditions made passing extremely difficult with the ball sticking but Cambridge undeterred chasing down balls in behind. Cambridge looked the more likely side with a couple of opportunist crosses from wide positions but County managed to get the ball safe.

The start of the second was delayed for 5 minutes with the excessive surface from the deluge needing to be brushed off the pitch. When play resumed, Cambridge continued to look the more assured side with Hoolahan breaking up play well and initiating some decent passes forward. County made efforts to get going again but the cohesion was lacking playing sometimes in the wrong areas which invited danger. County made a change on 55 minutes to freshen their approach with Kevin Ellison making his first appearance of the season in place of Padraig Amond. County upped the tempo of their game with Ellison putting himself about and winning some free kick in decent positions for County. On 57 minutes, County won a corner right side and Dolan delivered a short pass to the right side of the area for Shepherd. His powerful low shot from 20 yards was deflected wide of the left post but the corner by Twine left side was well defended by Cambridge. County kept pressing away forcing a couple of corners but were punished again on 61 minutes when a poor short pass from Labadie was intercepted by Hannant. His ball inside found Hoolahan who was again invited to advance before playing a precise pass to find Mullin left side of the area and he scored from an acute angle with a shot into the roof of the net. County made another change soon after with Bennett replaced by Janneh with County changing to a 4–3–3 formation with Janneh left side and Abrahams right flank supporting Ellison through the middle. County kept grinding away edging possession and Sheehan was cynically caught late by May on 66 minutes to get a booking. County were back in the game moments later with Twine going on a penetrative run through the middle before hitting a dipping shot from 25 yards which went into the top left corner. County were boosted by the goal with Haynes becoming more influential left side and advancing into some good positions. Cambridge remained a threat on the break with Mullin taking up some good positions and another direct ball caused problems for County. On 71 minutes, Mullin seized upon a pass from deep and brushed his way past a challenge from Dolan but his shot from an acute angle was rash. County kept pressing and were close to an equaliser on 74 minutes through the industry of Haynes left side. He drove to the byline and dinked back an excellent cross into the area which Janneh anticipated well but could only glance wide of the right post from 10 yards. Cambridge made their first change moments later to pep up their approach with Boateng replacing May. County kept forcing the issue with Demetriou and Dolan probing moves well from deep. On 76 minutes, Demetriou was brave advancing forward with the ball but he was interrupted when caught from behind crudely by Mullin who was booked. Cambridge had chance on the break on 78 minutes when they broke free on the right side with Knoyle clipping back a decent cross and Boateng had his snapshot well blocked by Demetriou. County made their final change on 80 minutes with Willmott replacing Shepherd at right back. County raised the bar in the final ten minutes but Cambridge worked hard to interrupt their flow with several late tackles and slowing down of the game. Cambridge made a double substitution on 82 minutes Hoolahan and Mullin replaced by Ironside and Knibbs. County made some direct runs to make headway on the difficult surface with Janneh and Abrahams forceful but Cambridge maintained their focus to stifle the threat well. On 88 minutes, Abrahams was bowled over in a decent position near the “d” by Taylor but the referee to turned a blind eye again to a blatant foul. County played out the 5 minutes of injury time struggling to create clearcut chances with Cambridge holding the ball in the corner at every opportunity. In the fourth minute of injury, Dolan had a glimmer of chance scooping a difficult volley well over from 12 yards after Cambridge nervously dealt with a Demetriou throw. Cambridge were determined and held on to jump above County in the fledging table to clinch a victory they deserved on the day.

Townsend (7) — used the ball well from deep and did well in the conditions when put under pressure. Made a couple of smart saves to keep County in the game but went down a bit early on the second goal.

Shepherd (5) — was put under pressure from direct balls and switched off on times not winning his headers. Had less influence in the final third today but when he did get up the pitch he did well.

Haynes (7) — wasted too many crosses first half but broke up play well and passed neatly. Did his best to make things happen final third and was put in some decent crosses late stages which deserved more.

Demetriou (7) — dealt well with Hannant and got a number of good interventions and blocks in. did his best to take responsibility and build from the back. Long throws late on gave problems.

Bennett (5) — after booking he was always treading a tightrope. Did well in the air but had problems dealing with the angle runs of Mullin and sacrificed early in the second half

Dolan (6) — started well and probed well with ball at his feet. did well in a back five but less comfortable in a back four and was left vulnerable to pace allowing Mullin to get goalside too often.

Sheehan (7) — got on the ball best he could be got bowled over or taken up with several challenges receiving little protection from the referee. Kept at arms-length and restricted on shots.

Labadie (6) — played deep for large spells and saw less influence today inside the area and was picking up breadcrumbs inside the area. Got bogged down in the compact midfield

Twine (6) — plenty of industry and effective when he got a head of steam up but got brushed off several challenges cheaply. Scored excellent goal from an individual run to find space in compacted midfield

Abrahams (6) — huffed and puffed but didn’t get into enough areas to threaten and restricted on shots. Needs to work on his retention as there was often a vulnerability exposed when he lost ball cheaply

Amond (6) — worked hard and did his best to buy time and link play but never really got into positions where he was facing forward. Missed a half chance from header but found spaces hard to come by.

SWOT ANALYSIS OPPONENTS
Strengths — centre backs strong in the air, they were organised defensively and played well in transition using the ball effectively to counter with some measured passes.

Weaknesses — played a bit like the away side, quite defensive set up and reliant on opportunist breaks. Both full backs were ordinary but not really tested until they went two up.

Opportunities — never really waivered from 5–4–1 formation, they persisted with working the left flank which was enough to exploit the weaknesses County had today.
Threats — Mullin movement to find space left side and shots in and around the box. Hoolahan range of passing and exploit space. Hannant and Hunk did well from wide positions to press mistakes.

OFFICIALS
C Brook (6) — missed several cynical fouls right in front of him and found his leniency was contractive picking up other offences not allowing game to flow.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Paul Mullin — was sharp throughout and knew how to exploit weaknesses with some clever runs and did well as a lone striker to maintain possession.

IF YOU WERE MICHAEL FLYNN WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Cambridge were disciplined and set up to sit in and stifle the County threat with their five man midfield suffocating the neat approach play and they were effective in transition looking to exploit mistakes on the break. To their credit they did effectively with two well taken goals but they were presented by County who choose to play in the wrong areas with short passes. County have been pleasing on the eye this season and will win more games than they lose keeping to their belief to play, but after the conditions worsened their decision making today was poor and perhaps that was the difference between the two teams on the day. It does pose a problem as the pitches degrade going into the winter months and County will definitely need to have other options to break down sides. County needed to go more direct but there wasn’t enough physicality to keep the ball final third and if they are going to add to their squad before the window shuts it looks like a dynamic player to retain final third would help their options and flexibility. County have no mid-week game this week for the first time this season and can benefit to come back refreshed at home to Tranmere Rovers next Saturday. Tranmere have not been firing on all cylinders but do have options to play three up top to push higher up on the County defensive three with Jay Spearing key creating in behind. This system has left them exposed at the back on times with veteran centre backs Ellis and Clarke proficient in the air but vulnerable when turned by pace.