Ten minutes of madness on the hour mark cost United dearly on Tuesday as their hosts Aylesbury Vale
slammed in three goals in quick fire succession to send United on their long journey home with
nothing to show for a workmanlike performance.
An evenly matched first half saw the United defence, with new signing Ben Stocker from Biggleswade
Town, instrumental in steadying the ship against the proven goal scoring legend of Danny Jones. And
it wasn’t until the 18th minute that Vale's Jones got the first strike at goal blasting over a left
strike from the edge of the United penalty area.
At the other end United were having just as difficult a time breaking down the Vale's back line
although Robbie O’Dell and Luke Lincoln’s efforts at finding a passage through was bearing the
occasional fruit but the support from the midfield was lacking. However, in the 26th minute a
high ball from Andre Maltay found midfield man, Martin Russell, but the ball caught under his
feet as he attempted to fire goal bound.
A further United attack saw the ball fall to a Vale defender and his long kick upfield caught
United on the break. The visitor’s defender Luke Jones attempted to stall the Vale front men
but his Vale namesake managed to get in a low strike that although palmed away by United keeper
Adam Lawrence managed to ricochet against the upright and out to Stuart Corbould who fired in to
an empty net.
On many occasions this season that would have sounded the death knell for United but they rallied
quickly and within two minutes were back on level terms. And it was a spectacular twenty five volley
that had the United contingent cheering.
A scramble deep in the Vale half saw debutant Adam Turner turn and fire a thunderbolt in to the top
of the host’s net for 1-1.
As the half came to a close a cross from O’Dell was fingertipped away from the head of Lincoln
and Michael Scarisbrick found O’Dell in space in the Vale area but the ball skipped away from him
on the uneven surface as he tried to chip the Vale keeper.
The opening of the second half saw O’Dell head wide when unchallenged from Lincoln’s cross and at the
other end Steve Sansom was creating chances down the right flank for his frontmen. But it all went
terribly wrong for United in the 60th minute.
A melee of legs just inside the United area finished with Jones falling to the ground and the match
referee signalling for a penalty. It was difficult to judge who the United perpetrator was but the
victim made no mistake from the spot.
A minute later and the Vale were 3-1 up. With the United back line at sixes and sevens Corbould managed
to get a toe to a loose ball to fire past Lawrence and four minutes later a five man move saw Vale
rip the heart out of the United midfield as Luke Melisi side footed home from close range.
If that wasn’t hard enough to stomach United found themselves a man down when an innocuous tackle from
Nick Stillwell was to be violent conduct and with the man in the middle clearly having been watching too
much Premiership football he saw red. However, before he could show the card he had to call on his assistant
to provide him with the required object having left his own at home. Who said match official live and breathe
red cards??! The action even astounded the Vale supporters who were all agreed that at best it was a yellow.
Now down to ten United had a hill the size of Everest to climb. Fortunately they had the inspiration of
man of the match Martin Russell to follow and for the remaining twenty minutes ten man United took the game
to their Buckinghamshire opposition. And it was another attack from Russell that allowed United to cut the
deficit.
Collecting a high ball from Stocker, Russell attempted to volley over the Vale ‘keeper but before he
could do so his legs were taken from underneath him. Much to the surprise of the United supporters the
man in black awarded a penalty – one of few decisions that went United’s way and O’Dell confidently
dispatched United’s second of the night into the net.
O’Dell had a chance cleared from the line in the 88th minute and substitute Michael Supple and Jason
Darvall also went close. But the damage had already been done in the mad ten minutes and they now face
a difficult three months trying to crawl away from the cavernous bottom four.
This Saturday United travel to Broxbourne Boro while the Reserve side paly a top of the table clash when
they entertain Broxbourne Reserves at Second Meadow. Both kick off at 3pm.
United: Lawrence A, Maltay (Stillwell), Stocker, Jones, Scarisbrick, Darvall, Lawrence P, Turner (Supple), Russell, O’Dell, Lincoln (Murray)
|