This was a hard fought win. After squandering a number of first half chances, we had to dig deep and grind out another three points after the interval.

Having played the home team in the FA Vase last season, we knew this would be a difficult afternoon. They play a 4-3-3 with the front three staying high so, with Blaine Hudson ruled out through injury, we would have to be compact and resilient. Their system does give us the chance to create 2v1's in wide areas though and the home side also looked vulnerable to diagonal passes beyond their opposite full backs. Darryl Coakley and Liam Hughes in particular showed great quality in striking these deliveries, with JP the principle recipient. Unfortunately, his excellent first touch in plucking these passes out of the sky were not followed by finishes of equal composure. Twice he had the whites of the keeper's eyes in his sight but blazed high and wide on one occasion and passed when he should have shot on the other. Ryan Ingrey hit the bar with an excellent far post header from a deep James Brighton cross and there were several other excellent positions created by good build up play but the selection or execution of the final pass/cross/shot let us down. With more quality in the final third, the points would have been sewn up by the interval. Our best chance again fell to JP in the dying embers of the half, but he shot just past the post when 1v1 with the keeper from Ryan Ingrey's inadvertent through ball.

The worst news of the opening 45 minutes was that Rory McAuley felt his quad after half an hour, so on his comeback game from his knee operation, we withdrew him immediately. With news of injuries to Adam Miller and Paul Carden emanating from the R Costings Abbey Stadium, we can at least report that Luke Berry did complete 90 minutes in his usual all action style. We hope that Rory's set back is not too serious.

The second half, after we had made a bright start, petered out into a scrappy affair with neither team looking likely to break the deadlock. We stressed the importance of maintaining our concentration defensively so it was pleasing that even through this spell we retained a strength and discipline about our play. Since our aberration on the opening day of the season, we have kept three consecutive clean sheets and this one was fully earned. We worked harder to stop the ball being delivered into the box, dealt with it well when it did, defended set plays properly and kept a good shape to combat the direct style of our hosts. Our goal came out of the blue with a quarter of an hour remaining. James Brighton surprised everyone (maybe including himself!) with a far post header that bounced agonisingly across the goal before nestling in the far bottom corner. Our attitude after taking the lead was excellent and we were only denied a second by two questionable decisions, both involving Luke Berry. Firstly, he looked to have been brought down for a stonewall penalty that was not given and then our well rehearsed corner routine looked to have secured the points. Ryan Ingrey flicked on and Bez stooped to apply the finishing touch from close range. The keeper scooped the ball out from behind him with an outstretched arm with his feet on the goal line. To my naked eye it looked a certain goal but more importantly not to the man with the flag. In fairness he was closer but the players were also certain it was in. We played out the closing stages with the minimum of fuss and Ryan Ingrey was only inches away from marking another industrious performance with a goal. His turn and cross from the edge of the box could only have been a coat of paint wide. Ryan has been a big plus so far this season and has given the team another dimension with his hold up play. By playing with good width and stretching the game, at the moment we are making up for Maz's goals by slightly adapting our way of playing. Regardless of whether this brings long term success in terms of accumulating points, it is a great part of our evolution as a developmental team and will aid the individual improvement of our players.

We are back at the R Costings Stadium for two matches on Wednesday and Saturday. It would be great to think that we could emulate our last bumper midweek crowd against Newmarket with a good turn-out for another local derby, this time with Histon Reserves our visitors. We would love your support.

Team: Davies, Thorpe, Coakley, Bevan, Hughes, McAuley (Hannant 35), Eades (Bennett 75), Berry, Ingrey, Patrick, Brighton
 


[CRC Fixtures & Results]

Cambridge United: YOUR CITY - YOUR CLUB

Make Your Click Count For The U's - talk about it on the Message Board!

You are respectfully reminded that any article, as with all content on this website, unless otherwise stated, is subject to copyright © and the Official Cambridge United Website must be acknowledged as the original source including all quotes.

CO220810 web@cambridge-united.co.uk