Alex McCarthy was unfortunate to make his debut in goal on a day when the usually miserly Cambridge United defence had an 'off day' and contributed to the visitors' three-goal haul.

Here on work experience from Reading to deputise for the suspended Danny Potter, the 18-year-old found the action more fast-paced than he is used to but he felt United deserved at least a draw from the game.#

"I only got here on Thursday so there wasn't a great deal of time to build up a relationship with the lads in front of me, but Danny Potter has helped and although to lose 3-0 is deeply disappointing I have some positives to take from the match," said McCarthy.

"It's much quicker and far more physical than the Under-18s level I've been playing at; it's more of a battle out there and as a keeper you have to be constantly on your toes and talking to the lads in front of you," he added.

"Overall I thought we deserved at least a point, seeing just how many chances we created over the 90 minutes, but sometimes things just don't roll for you whereas the opposition get the breaks - and they definitely did get them today.

"Still, I expect the lads here to bounce back in the next game. From what I've seen here this side still has what it takes to go up through the play-offs - it's just getting that break to turn things around and we didn't get it today.

"An early goal in the next game and things should be back on track," he predicted.

Interview by David Gray

That next game for the U's comes at Droyslden on Saturday at 3pm [away travel info].

[Match report] [Fixture list] [League table]

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