United were outplayed and outfought and suffered a heavy defeat at Histon today. Headers from Chris Willmott and Eddie Hutchinson gave them two away goals, but the power and confidence of a very strong Histon side showed up United's fragility at the Glassworld Stadium

It was United who had the first effort of the match as Jamie Guy tried an audacious lob from near the right wing in just the second minute but found home keeper Danny Naisbitt up to the task, but two minutes later The U's were behind. A magnificent save from Billy Turley denied Nathaniel Knight-Percival as he headed at goal unmarked from six yards from a right wing cross, but the ball squirmed away and Knight-Percival showed no mercy to lash the ball  home and put his side 1-0 up.

If you're up against a team that has won its last six games and can go top with a win the last thing you need is to concede an early goal, and United were under siege as their hosts bombarded them. Midson got in behind the defence on ten minutes but rolled his shot wide and the men in yellow were looking fragile. After that nervous start they started to get the ball down and play, and only a cynical block by Patrick Ada denied James Constable a clear run at goal on fifteen minutes, but within a minute they were 2-0 down as Danny Wright  stormed clear on the left and rolled an inviting low ball across the six yard box for Midson to apply the finishing touch  for a simple tenth goal of the season.

Histon, with every player bar the right back over six foot tall, were bigger and stronger, there's nothing you can do about that, but they were also quicker to every ball and winning every fifty fifty and United needed a lift. It came from the smallest man on the pitch. Sam Deering unlocked the Histon defence and skillfully got them forward, earning his side a corner. Deering took the set-piece and Chris Willmott gave Histon a taste of their own medicine by getting to the corner first and heading in at the near post to give his side a lifeline.

They might have equalised had Jamie Guy made better contact with a volley or Hutchinson's glancing header not been cleared off the line, but then the defensive fragility came back as another long throw caused chaos and when the second ball came in Knight-Percival was the only person moving, thumping the ball into the roof of the net to make it 3-1.

A magnificent tackle from the battling Matt Day denied Wright a certain goal but half time will have seen paint blistering in the away dressing room after an insipid first 45 minutes.

It did have an effect as United started well in the second half and two corners almost led to goals. Foster's header was hacked clear from the first, Hutchinson's header was cleared off the line from the second, and they were finally matching the home side for effort and commitment.

Ben Hinchliffe, on at half time after Turley injured his neck in the first half, made one excellent save from a Wright shot after a corner but it was his opposite number having more problems as a string of good corners from United at least gave a glimmer of hope until another poor goal killed the game off in the 73rd minute. Hinchliffe hurtled out and tackled the rampaging Wright out on Histon's right wing with a decent challenge but the ball span towards United's goal. Willmott beat Wright to the loose ball but smacked his clearance straight against the shins of Wright, with the ball rebounding into the empty net.

Three minutes later and it was Hist-ory. Another corner, another poor clearance, and Mathew Mitchell-King was on his own on the edge of the area to drill the ball home and make it 5-1.

Hutchinson restored a semblance of  pride with a fine headed goal from a Trainer cross to make it 5-2, but rarely has a United goal been celebrated so mutely.

Make no mistake, Histon are the best organised and best drilled side in the division. The men from a small village in Cambridgeshire have a cup tie against Leeds next week  and have the momentum and confidence to complete a remarkable rise all the way into the Football League. For United that seems a very long way away indeed.

Att: 1,242

Away: 292

Report by Chris Williams

Stats by PA Sports

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