Cambridge United rode their luck in the first half at Tamworth with the aid of goalkeeper Danny Potter and the woodwork, and could have snatched the win in stoppage time when debutant Brian Saah and Wayne Hatswell both went close.

"Defensively I'm very pleased with the whole side but our passing on the ball could be better," said Martin Ling after the 0-0 draw in sunny Staffordshire. "They passed better than us on a hot day and we could have sneaked it, but I think that would have been possibly more than we deserved on the day."

Ling signed Brian Saah, who played under him at former club Leyton Orient, on Thursday and handed him his debut today, and the defender acquitted himself well in defence while having a header cleared off the line in stoppage time.

"I think he only scored one for me (at Leyton Orient) and he could have scored here but it was a good debut," said Ling. "Him and Hatswell looked solid and the whole back five were a solid defensive unit.

"I know there were a lot of clean sheets in this unit last season and it's good for them and the whole team to do it again today - I always say we score together and we defend together."

Moving from the positives to the negatives of the performance, the U's boss noted, "If there's a criticism of the team it's that our ball retention has got to be better and we can pass it better than we did today. On a hot day like this you have to be totally honest and Tamworth didn't overwork our goalkeeper but their ball retention was definitely better.

"I know people will say Tamworth came up from the Conference North last season and it's a place Cambridge should come and win, but I don't believe that. They haven't lost this season and they look a good unit. The euphoria of coming up from the league below last year has carried through and credit to them; they were decent today but we did stick with it."

Agreeing that the team looked tired, Ling said, "I'm quite an open manager and I've just told them in the dressing room that Tamworth's ball retention was better so that does make you look tired, but we do look tired as a team. I've just asked them is it because of the amount of games, is it because of a pre-season that was disrupted, is it something that we have to do differently in the warm-up or in their preparations?

"I'm new to this football club and we did look like we had tired players out there so I have to find the answers to that. There's an answer somewhere and it might just be that if we pass the ball better we don't look so tired, but there's work to be done and it's an early part of the project. But the defensive unit kept us in the game today, which was pleasing."

Ling now has the benefit of his first week at the club without a mid-week game, giving him more time to work with the players in training, but he warned, "They need to rest up because we play Saturday and Monday, but we'll be working again on the training ground and we'll be working on ball retention because that's what I'm all about as a manager."

He concluded, "There's no massive criticism here today. They've worked hard for the point, but we did look tired and we didn't pass it well enough so that's what we'll be looking at."

United are next in action at home to Gateshead on Saturday, kick-off 3pm, then away to Rushden & Diamonds on Monday 31st at 3pm.

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