U’s Boss on Peterborough Draw
Cambridge United Manger Richard Money felt his side played intelligently against Peterborough United in the U’s final pre-season fixture ahead of the 2015/16 Football League season at the ABAX Stadium on Saturday.
United for long periods of the match were much the better side, playing well with the ball to maintain possession and frustrate their Sky Bet League One opponents, in a competitive affair which ended in a goalless draw. With the focus now turning on this weekend’s season opener against Newport County at the Abbey Stadium, Money reflected positively on Saturday’s encounter.
“It turned out to be the absolutely perfect final pre-season game,” said the Cambridge United boss.
“We wanted a fixture that would get us as ready for next Saturday against Newport and a game that was as close to the real thing as possible, that is exactly what we got.
“With regards to the system we are still exploring that at the moment. We played against a narrow 4-4-2 at Bromley, a 4-2-3-1 against Coventry and we knew that Peterborough were going to be virtually 4-2-4, so we said let’s see what the problems are and see if you can solve them and I felt they did a pretty good job.
He added: “At half-time if we felt we didn’t quite have a grip of the game then let’s go back to 4-4-2, so we did and then with Simpson coming off we moved to 4-3-3. There was some good intelligence, game management and understanding involved. We have tested them all pre-season both physically and tactically which I felt they have come through pretty well.
“I was very pleased with I saw and we also know that we have really good group of players to come into that.”
The U’s Manager opted to give summer signings Barry Corr and Elliot Omozusi rests ahead of this weekend’s Football League opener and feels that alongside the addition of several players completing their time in the treatment room, his squad are in a healthy position.
“We have had a pre-season that has seen deal with two different groups, one that has had a lot of minutes who are battle-hardened and ready to play as we saw on Saturday, and others such as Keane and Morrissey who we are still trying to work to fitness.
“We didn’t risk playing Donaldson, Corr or Omozusi and the major thing was to have as many people as we can fit for the weekend. Given the fact that both Luke Berry and Robbie Simpson had to come off the pitch, that turned out to be a pretty good decision.
“All we look to do now is have a nice, quiet week where we can do some good work in fine tuning a few things and look to get as many fit as we can for next weekend.”
Tickets for the season opener are available online, in-store or by calling 01223 566 500. Supporters can save £2 off the price of their match when purchasing in advance of match day.