After a few Sunday games last year due to our ground sharing arrangements, this week saw a rare Sunday outing for United this season as Paul Hughes’ side travelled to Creasey Park to face AFC Dunstable.

United made two changes to the starting side that had beaten Cambridge on Tuesday as Duncan Culley replaced sickness victim Rohdell Gordon while Danny Hutchins returned from injury in place of Ismael Ehui who dropped to the bench.

With a strong wind blowing in favour of the hosts first half, it took a while for either side to work an opening, the first coming the way of the hosts on 14 minutes. ‘Keeper Jamie Head punted the ball up the field with the ball dropping to Nathan Frater who hit a fierce volley that Jack Smith did well to push away. The resultant corner kick was played to the far post where Terry Griffiths, not that one J , arrived to head wide of the target.

United’s first effort on target came in the 27th minute when Toby Little curled a free-kick around the wall from 20 yards, Head holding the effort comfortably.

Minutes later though United were reduced to ten men as a rather card happy referee brandished a second yellow card to Danny Hutchins who was duly forced to leave the field. The resultant free-kick was played in by Newman Carney and met at the far post by BJ Christie, Keano Robinson doing well to block his effort wide of the United goal.

Four minutes from the break the on-field numbers were evened up, United skipper Spyros Mentis was pulled up for a foul near the halfway line with home defender Lee Close appearing to stamp on the United midfielder in passing, an action spotted by an alert assistant referee and the culprit was duly shown a straight red card by referee Mr Williams. The free-kick did however lead to the deadlock being broken, Carney’s free-kick being volleyed home at the far post by Griffiths.

United were only behind a couple of minutes however as Duncan Culley collected the ball on the edge and just inside the Dunstable box only to be chopped down by Bill Morgan, the ball ran loose to Manny Duku who looked certain to score only to be pulled back by the referee who awarded a penalty. Thankfully Culley held his composure and struck the ball home despite Head guessing correctly and we went in level at the break, both in numbers and goals.

United made a tactical change at half-time with the returning Luke Joyce-Dwarika replacing Duku on the left wing.

Again the half took a while to start to tick, it was just before the hour mark when another Carney free-kick caused problems at the back for United, Morgan being denied by the quick thinking Mentis who got his head to the ball first as the home defender arrived at the near post.

Within five minutes though the hosts were two goals to the good as firstly a long Head free-kick dropped to Jermaine Hall who took a touch and thumped an excellent dipping volley over Smith from outside the left corner of the box, the ball flying into the far corner. Then four minutes later a neat exchange of passes by the home side saw them advance up the right side, the ball eventually falling to Frater outside the box, his miss-hit shot that was going wide was inexplicably left by the United defence and Christie ran in to tap home from close range at the far post as United awaited an offside flag that never materialised.

This United side however did not let their heads drop as so many have in recent years, a swift cross field move started by Little on the left saw the ball played to Joyce-Dwarika on the right, his centre being met by Andrew Ofosu whose header went just over Head’s goal.

Within seconds United were again in possession with Little collecting the ball on the halfway line before advancing like a man possessed, the United left sided player racing through at least four attempted challenges before getting into the box and sliding the ball past Head to reduce the arrears to a single strike.

A few minutes later Little set up Ofosu only for the striker to be denied by Head who pushed his shot away and then sixty seconds later a long Robinson throw-in found Culley, the United man holding the ball up well before rolling it square to the on-coming Little who smashed the ball past Head into the far top corner of the Dunstable goal to restore parity at 3-3.

Fifteen minutes remained when Little went close to netting a hat-trick after he collected from a cross-field Scott Donnelly pass, his 20 yard drive just clearing the home goal.

With the ten men of each side slowly tiring it was no surprise that no further close calls came as time ticked off and both sides had to settle for a point apiece in a thrilling encounter in Bedfordshire.

Report by Kevin Watts.

Photos by Ray Peploe.

United Man of the Match: Toby Little.