Andrew Bennett concludes his comprehensive review of last season, ending with the eventful month of May 2008.

Craig Bussens became the second second-year scholar after Willmott to be offered a professional contract, while in the first first-leg playoff semi-final, Torquay won 2-1 at Exeter.

Friday 2nd May: Burton Albion 2-2 U's (Playoff Semi 1) [att: 5,757, away 1,550]

The away end was comfortably sold out to the noisiest travelling support in the league as we got to see the Pirelli Stadium in daylight for the first time ever. The atmosphere was electric, but the pitch was dreadful, a puddle-strewn mud-heap as unimpressive as the Burton fans' tea towel-sized flag which was passed over several embarrassed heads before being quietly stuffed into someone's back pocket.

4-4-2 was JQ's formation of choice with Brown at left-back, Reed preferred to Pitt, and Beesley and Vieira up front, stationed on the shoulders of the Burton back line to take advantage of their fast-breaking pace. The strategy almost paid off within a couple of minutes, Vieira's flick sending his strike partner clear on goal, but Poole blocked at the near post. Vieira was felled by Clare on 11 but was denied a good penalty shout, while Potter had to be alert to tip Clare's free-kick over on 22. He made another excellent reflex save to stop Hatswell from poking home an own goal on 40. The first half was extremely tight, but United had slightly shaded it.

Pitt replaced the injured Reed for part two and Burton moved up a gear, John Brayford having a header disallowed for a push three minutes in. The U's defence held firm until the hosts were awarded a soft penalty on 65 when Corbett fell over Pitt's leg. Clare duly converted. The scorer was lucky to stay on the pitch three minutes later when he lashed out at Morrison, receiving yellow only, but he had already gained a free-kick; Keith Gilroy crossed deep, Darren Stride headed comfortably home and suddenly Burton were two up.

Changes were needed to save United's season. McEvilly and Farrell entered the fray in place of Beesley and Gleeson and the U's held on grimly as Clare and Brayford both had efforts blocked off the line from a Stride corner. They responded with a Vieira shot which was goalbound until inadvertently deflected wide by Stride on 77. Pitt's ensuing corner fell to Farrell at the far post, his shot was stopped by Paul Hurst's hands and the under-pressure lino awarded the penalty. McEvilly blasted coolly home: game on!

Now United laid siege to the Burton goal, roared on by their deafening support, and on 83 there was a certain symmetry when Pitt this time fell over after a Corbett challenge to present McEvilly with a free-kick 25 yards out. Big Mac lashed it brilliantly home to cue utter bedlam on the terrace, curling it over the wall and into the top corner with such power that it just brushed the desperately diving Poole's fingertips aside.

The drama still was not finished: in added time Simpson lifted a free-kick into the United box, Harrad challenged Potter, and Clare rammed home, but the U's keeper was deemed to have been fouled. Burton's wretched 'Tom Hark' burst prematurely forth from the PA, to be quickly taken up by the gleeful amber hordes with their own triumphant lyrics. The final whistle saw the United fans greet the draw like a win, and that's exactly how it felt. McEvilly confessed afterwards, "Last time I did a free-kick like that I was 16 or 17... I know they're moaning about the referee but I thought he was on their side. The penalty he gave against us was an atrocious decision and I think that's why he gave ours for the handball to even it up." Man of the Match: Lee McEvilly

There was something of a surprise in the other semi-final's second leg on Bank Holiday Monday when Torquay blew a 1-0 lead on the day to lose 4-1 at home to Exeter (5-3 on aggregate).

Danny Potter was voted Blue Square Player of the Month, and paid tribute to the fans: "They've been great all season; they're very vocal and passionate, and I know it's a cliché but they have been like an extra man at times." JQ revealed the reasons for the outstanding success of his player recruitment strategy: "I did my homework on the players I brought in. There are two types of experience - players who play a lot of games and don't win anything, and players who play a lot of games and are used to winning and playing in big games where there's lots of pressure. We've got a lot of the second type of player who should be able to deal with the pressure of the playoffs."

Tuesday 6th May: U's 2-1 Burton Albion (Playoff Semi 2) [att: 7,276, away 726]

The crowds gathered early on a warm, sunny evening to create an atmosphere reminiscent in its anticipatory excitement of the glory days of the early 1990s, the NRE chanting long before the players even came out to warm up. JQ rang the changes, going to 3-5-2 with Peters in for Morrison, Pitt for Reed, Brown in midfield and McEvilly partnering Vieira instead of Beesley, with LFW restored to the bench as United's secret weapon. Gilroy and Hurst were surprisingly dropped by Burton. The game got off to the most dramatic start possible with the fastest goal ever seen at the Abbey: Albrighton's free-kick from the centre circle, Hatswell's header down, McEvilly saw his snap shot turned onto the post, and there was Wolleaston to tap home, all inside 31 seconds. The noise of the fans' celebrations could be heard across the city.

But it would not be as simple as that. United were undone by their bugbear, the set piece, on 14 when McGrath's corner was flicked on by Harrad at the near post and Clare rammed home for the equaliser. For all United's experience, their back three began to resemble three Corporal Joneses - don't panic! - as they blundered around, getting in Potter's way and ignoring his calls when he tried to collect high balls, so much so that he was eventually moved to bellow "F***king listen!!" at Peters. The U's looked disjointed and dysfunctional, midfield and wing-backs staying way too deep, and Harrad was almost presented with a goal on 29 by Albrighton's mistake, Potter saving the day with a smart snap save, repeating the trick later in the half. Uncle Jimmy's interval talk had never been more important.

United were out early for part two and, transformed by their manager's words of wisdom, proceeded to lay siege to the Burton goal. Vieira had a tremendous bullet header tipped over on 47, and Peters' header from the ensuing corner smacked off the bar. Gleeson forced another great save from the veteran Poole on 55 with a diving header at the far post, and Boylan replaced Vieira on the hour. Three minutes later it was 2-1 with an outrageous fluke of a goal when Wolleaston's attempted cross skewed perfectly over the keeper's head and in at the far post. Reed replaced the ineffective Brown as Albion tried to fight back, but the U's defence had calmed down now and stood firm.

McEvilly saw a looping header tipped over the top on 73, then he was replaced by LFW; now eight of the side which started the season for United was on the pitch. Getting stronger once more, it was United who looked likeliest to score again against the plucky part-timers, Pitt having a cracking shot clawed wide on 85, and as added time started LFW turned and ran clear on goal only to have his shot brilliantly tipped behind again by the ageless Poole. Burton essayed one last break but it was stopped by a bulldozing Albrighton tackle, then the final whistle signalled United's return to Wembley after eighteen years.

Cue a massive pitch invasion, a red flare fizzing in the Habbin and scenes of untrammelled mass joy from a loyal set of supporters who had suffered more than most in the last five desperate years. JQ was hugged by fans, Potter ran around the pitch roaring his delight, and the U's fans even found time to sympathetically applaud Burton's spirited support. It was United's fourteenth 2-1 win on a magical, unforgettable night in a season which had seen the U's equal their all-time best league points total, 86. JQ said "I'm delighted for everybody, but especially the fans" while miserable Nigel 'Eeyore' Clough could only sulk disconsolately "We won't ever put these games out of our minds... this might have been our one and only opportunity." Man of the Match: Paul Carden

Later in the week Stephen Smith was released, having been a "model pro" for United and produced several marvellous moments in the black and amber; he joined City permanently with everyone's best wishes.

Wembley tickets were sold via an agency as United simply did not have the resources to cope with such volumes, and the decision was justified when 5,000 were sold inside the first two hours after they went on sale on the 9th. By the end of the day that had risen to 9,270.

Messrs Morrison, Gleeson and Hatswell made the final England C squad for the Home Internationals followed by World Cup warm-up games (for the hosts!) in Grenada and Barbados. Nice work if you can get it. At the weekend Ebbsfleet defeated Torquay to win the FA Trophy and make the Gulls' miserable week complete, while Barrow and Eastbourne Borough triumphed in the BS North and South playoffs to join champions Kettering Town and Lewes in the BSP next season. Altrincham looked like staging another miraculous escape from relegation when it was revealed that Halifax Town were probably to be liquidated, any reformed club having to reform at least two levels lower.

Three-day ticket sales hit 14,200 as Wembley did a U-turn on Yellow Pages tickertape, now saying it would not be permitted on grounds of health'n'safety and would take, like, ages to clear up. Like the amber army were going to take any notice. Big flags were also forbidden, but two drums were allowed.

By the 14th only six hundred tickets were left of the 21,327 allocated, comfortably ahead of Exeter's sales, and although the club sought to underwrite the issue of another 2,000, Wembley said no. The mighty "Amber Army Anthem," surely the greatest football song since "World In Motion," was made available for download from CFU's website, while those nice people at Marks & Spencer fitted the players for their traditional Wembley suits, LFW's angular frame said to be something of a 'challenge' to accommodate.

The players made a visit to the stadium on the Thursday, and by the end of the week only 200 tickets were left. United had already won the toss to wear their home kit, but sponsors Haart graciously allowed away shirt sponsors Kershaw to have their names on the final strip due to their long association with the club.

According to Danny Brown's unique matchday preview, United's line-up for the final was as follows: Worzel Gummidge, Peter Pan, Rhino-saurus, Shirley, Gonzo, Bushman, Horizontal Wolly, DB himself, Arnold from Diff'rent Strokes, Bilbo Baggins and Stig of the Dump. Subs: Red Rum, the Man from TK Maxx, Bore-o, Magno and Woody Woodpecker. Go on, you can work it out...

Sunday 18th May: U's 0-1 Exeter City (Playoff Final) [att: 42,511, just over half from Cambridge]

So it was that the sparkling new-look Wembley Stadium saw the largest gathering of U's supporters ever in one place, the overall crowd figure just 462 short of the all-time record attendance for a United game at Highbury in 1991. The pubs and stations rang with amber song, supporters old, renewed and new came together for Abbey Friends Reunited, and there was the exceedingly rare sight of ticket touts and unofficial merchandise at a U's game. The atmosphere was truly amazing, flags, balloons and banners everywhere, and upon the players' fireworks-heralded entrance, a positive avalanche of yellow tickertape filled the air for the most rousing of welcomes. Phones and cameras were raised for a YouTube frenzy. God Save The Queen, the habitual huddle, and with a mighty roar we were off.

After much chopping and changing in the last few weeks, JQ had plumped for the 3-5-2 which had worked so well for United in the first half of the season. In a cautious start, however, it was last year's beaten finalists Exeter who settled the better with their calm, accurate short passing game, and on 23 the U's fell victim to yet another set-piece sucker punch. Dean Moxey curled a corner in at head height from the right, it flew past the near post, and there was Rob Edwards arriving unmarked to ram his header home from close range.

United were a long way from their best, several players well below par (perhaps overawed by the occasion) with Carden carrying the midfield almost single-handed, and the best they could muster in part one was a Gleeson toepoke just over on 37. They enjoyed better possession after the break but their build-up play was ponderous, lacking penetration and inspiration. Exeter were content to sit back and hit the U's on the break, Richard Logan firing just wide on 63, and JQ rang the changes not long after, introducing Reed and Vieira for Brown and Boylan. Vieira showed his pace almost immediately, turning and running from halfway then crossing to Reed whose power shot looked goalbound until a deflection from Steve Tully slowed it down sufficient for the keeper to collect.

The Golden Chance to equalise came on 74. Reed crossed, Exeter keeper Jones fumbled badly and it fell for Mark Peters in a crowded box; he only had time for a quick prod goalward, but it was going in until cleared off the line by Matt Taylor. On such incidents are seasons decided. LFW replaced Gleeson as United went direct and Vieira flashed a good chance wide of the post, then near the end Potter blocked superbly from a break by Moxey as a United streaker tried to enter the fray. Then it was all over; Exeter had shaded it despite not playing especially well, United just not doing enough on the day, particularly in the final third. Man of the Match: Paul Carden

It was a gut-wrenching end to a fantastic season which had come so close to total glory. But amidst the tears of disappointment were tears of pride, too, at the way this club has hauled itself up by its bootstraps from the dark days of not so long ago, and an unforgettable rollercoaster ride of a season from a gutsy and likeable team of down-to-earth, talented players, with a marvellous Cup run, classic goals and free-kicks, and most importantly of all, a growing base of fanatical, loyal, passionate and dedicated supporters who so nearly bounced Cambridge United back to where it belongs. Don't stop believing now.

Final word goes to Exeter's manager, Paul Tisdale: "Have trust in the players and keep your magnificent support and hopefully it will be your turn next year!"

Andrew Bennett

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