Mansfield manager Billy McEwan was pleased to see his side equalise in the second half after Danny Brown had fired United ahead before half-time, and like counterpart Gary Brabin he felt the draw was a fair result overall.
The former York boss commented, "I'm not happy with one point at home, but if you'd said to me at half-time when we were losing 1-0 that we would get anything out of the game I might have said different.
"It's credit to the players who were magnificent in the second half. I thought they got after a very good Cambridge outfit from the start of the second period and got a super goal, and with a little bit of luck and good fortune could've gone on to win the game.
"That's the toughest game we have had here at Field Mill," he added. "They are a good side and we knew it was going to be tough, they are well organised and have had some good results this season."
However McEwan admitted he was 'disappointed' with United's goal and felt the ball should never have reached Danny Brown in the first place: "They never should have had it - he shouldn't have been allowed to strike the ball.
"We didn't deal with the ball into the box properly and then we didn't get to the knockdown, but it shouldn't have come to that. Paddy Gamble should have come for the ball so the clearing header needn't have been made. To be fair though, it was a great strike and a great goal from the Cambridge point of view, but I'm not happy by the way it was conceded."
Revealing that he made some tactical changes at half-time, McEwan felt that his men responded well and deserved their early equaliser: "We got the game back at the start of the second half, which made a change because we have been conceding at that time.
"We sorted some things out tactically at half-time and from that point of view I was delighted we came out of the traps very quickly and got after them. It was a super delivery for the free kick and a great finish. We had players who were away on international duty this week in Bosnia who were very tired but we didn't want to change things out there."
The result left Mansfield and United in fourth and sixth places respectively, level on 18 points, and McEwan concluded, "Cambridge will be up there at the end of the season so I'm pleased that a team we got together just before the season started were able to match them out there. I'm still disappointed the 100% home record has gone but the result today shows how we are progressing.
"The atmosphere today was absolutely fantastic with over 3,000 in; it's great for the players when everyone is making so much noise. There were times when the hairs were sticking up on the back of my neck, and credit also goes to the Cambridge following because they contributed to the atmosphere as well.
"We thank them for bringing that level of support because that means more income for us, but we will do the same when we go to Cambridge because we will take a great following there."
The U's are next in action at Oxford United tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7.45pm. The match will be televised live on Setanta TV.
[Match report] [Fixture list] [League table]
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