Tom Youngs writes ...
From the Dressing Room

First things first. THANK YOU.

On behalf of the whole dressing room, I would just like to say how amazing it was to see so many Cambridge fans in such grand surroundings, and how much we appreciated the support throughout the match. As our coach pulled into Cardiff, complete with police escort, it was the sight of the streets filled with supporters that made all the lads suddenly feel that they were part of something special, an actual cup final. I hope that (second-half of the game notwithstanding) everybody thoroughly enjoyed the occasion, as it truly was an unforgettable experience.

With regards to the game, everyone was bitterly disappointed with the way we fell apart second-half. I really enjoyed the first-half on such a big pitch, with so much space to play, and as a team we grew in stature as the half wore on. They created three or four openings in the first 20 minutes, but we came back and created as many in the last 20 minutes. At half-time the game was very evenly poised and I, like all of the supporters I'm sure, felt that we had rocked them and could go on to win the match.

Unfortunately, it did not pan out this way, as, from when they scored their second goal after 54 minutes, they dominated proceedings completely. Our passing let us down, and eventually we retreated to such an extent that we just could not get out. They are a very good side going forward, but defensively are vulnerable (hence their relatively low league position), and we showed that in the first-half. However, we never got enough of a grip on the game to continue to trouble them in the second period.

I have seen many theories posted on the message-board as to why this happened, but the main reason is that we just did not use the ball well enough in the second-half. Having now seen the video, in the first 45 minutes, barring early jitters, everybody seemed reasonably comfortable in possession, and we moved the ball around well at times. After the break, though, we consistently gave the ball away too quickly after regaining possession. If they have more of the ball, they can push us back as a unit, and they are more likely to create chances to score, as they frequently did. Thankfully Lionel kept many of them out with some fantastic saves.

In interviews after the game, I was asked if the substitution of Ian Marshall had a bearing on things, as we seemed to have the measure of him. I do not think so, because he was obviously selected ahead of the lad who came on, so we could well have given him just as many problems had we played as well while he was on the pitch. The only complaint I had about the fairness of the result, at the time, was that the left-back had stayed on the pitch. Having seen the incident on TV, I think to send him off for the tackle that led to the penalty would have been very harsh, but he did still bring me down in the second-half when away down the right. On a yellow card from the penalty incident, I thought he was lucky to avoid a second. At 2-1, that could have influenced the result. However, we were beaten by the better side on the day.

Nonetheless, history was still made for Cambridge United Football Club. I was proud to be a part of that, and I hope that all the fans were too, irrespective of the result, which obviously blighted the day somewhat. We must now rebuild for next season, using the remaining games to build confidence and belief in a very young team. Everybody can see that there is a lot of potential in the squad, and we must start to fulfil it, beginning on Saturday at Oldham.

Tom Youngs

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