Scottish Unity League Cup competition 2009.
Universal crash out.
Universal 1 Hillhead 5
18th January, 2009
Universal have started the new year by falling out of the SUL Cup competition with a disappointing result against Hillhead. Even if Hillhead were on the day the better team and deserved to win, the scoreline reflected very poor form by full-strength Universal.
The strategy for this match was the same as it was for the last game against Hillhead. Moran’s diamond midfield 442 with: Ibby in goal; Adam, Sunil, Abou and Brian from right to left in the back; Garfield in holding midfield with Jean-Yves and David in the wings, Curtis was moved forward into attack midfield; Oday partnered McGall up front.
2nd minute, Ibby picked up a pass back. Bill immediately awarded the indirect free kick. The first attempt was taken direct at the goal but went over without much for Ibby to worry about, but Bill ordered the free kick to be taken again because he felt the wall was too close. The second attempt, however, was closed down so quickly by Sunil it never made it into the penalty area and ended up being cleared into Hillhead’s own half.
Good cross by McGall in the 5th minute found David near the penalty spot but his back was to goal and didn’t have time to turn on the ball before a defender was onto him. Adam’s 6th minute cross to the far post was good enough to beat the keeper’s position but Oday was not quick enough to the end of the ball to put it in. Then some good tight passing play through attacking midfield in the 8th minute culminated with a diagonal cross by Jean-Yves. It was met at the far post by David but his header was too weak to worry the keeper who held.
Hillhead were showing their danger with a 7th minute break through Universal’s defence which left the last man racing against Ibby. But it was read perfectly by Ibby who neatly tackled the striker outside the 18yard box. In the 10th minute Bill awarded Hillhead a free kick 22yards out - it was taken direct and low just past the wall but Ibby was on the end of it and held. Hillhead broke again in the 16th minute while Universal’s defence was out of shape, but Ibby, again, anticipated Hillhead’s move and was quick enough to punch out the shot when it came.
So for the first 20 minutes Universal commanded most of the possession but could not score. And now they were beginning to drift out of shape, the quick passing play which usually yields shooting chances for Universal was not coming together. So Hillhead took advantage with repeated attempts to break through, all of which were caught off side. But in the 21st minute they found time and space 30yards out to try a chip towards the top middle of Ibby’s goal - he was on the end of it but is slipped through his hands and Hillhead took the lead.
Gaps in midfield, Garfield saving tackle, Hillheads’s goalkeeper was winning all of the crosses into the 18yard box. But Universal fought hard to equalise in the closing minutes with two chances. A free kick awarded 40yards out was chipped high by Oday, it was on target but successfully tipped over by the keeper. And an incisive cross into the 18yard box found Jean-Yves in a great position, however his back was turned on the goal and the defenders managed to prevent his overhead kick from making good contact.
Now, whatever Moran had said to the team for the second half, it did not sink in. Hillhead came out of the traps very quickly and scored three goals in under 5 minutes. The first was a good drive and a finish from range which did well to beat Ibby 0-2. The next two goals, however, were embarrassing: the third goal came after a striker broke through a flat Universal defence who just stood claiming off side which Bill did not agree with; and the fourth goal came after defenders were claiming the ball had crossed the touch line during a Hillhead drive - it was crossed into a dangerous area of Universal’s 18yard box and Adam did well to cover it. Adam had space and time to head the ball down for Ibby to pick up but Ibby missed and it went into the net.
Shortly after bringing Kwabi on for Sunil in the 10th minute, and couple of chances did come Universal’s way. An incisive run into Hillhead’s 18yard box by Abou looked like doing the damage - he passed across the penalty area for David to finish but he could not make the right contact and the ball just would not go in. Oday spun a chance and threaded a shooting chance for McGall to put in but his finish was off target.
Frustration was starting to show when an argument broke out between Curtis and Brian, and vital minutes ticked by while the altercation had to be resolved. Oday had put the ball out to touch in Hillhead’s half when the fracas broke out, Hillhead sportingly treated the break in play like an injury and gave the possession back to Ibby.
With 20 minutes to go Kevin came on for Curtis. Universal intensified their efforts - this is not the first time Universal have been 4 goals down. But Hillhead’s 4 goal lead allowed them to keep their numbers behind the attack. The closest Universal came to scoring was from an Abou header which was off target.
With less than 10 minutes to go, Universal’s short passing moves began to cause Hillhead problems. Jean-Yves was fed a shooting chance and blasted it so hard it went through the keeper’s hands to narrow the lead to 4-1. But this was short lived as a minute later, a Hillhead break let one man through on a one-to-one versus Ibby, Ibby committed himself to tackle him near the edge of the 18yard box but misjudged his run and was easily beaten. 5-1 was the final result.
Only the winner of each group will go through so Universal have effectively ended - there should be no need to play Interthistle who had already lost 2-0 against Hillhead. And I would hope that Hillhead take their success all the way to winning the League Cup.
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