U's Manager on Coventry Win
Cambridge United Manager Richard Money feels a number of his side’s key components are taking shape, following last night’s 1-0 win over Coventry City at the Abbey Stadium.
A professional display from the men in Amber and Black saw them topple their League One opponents, with Leon Legge’s first half header the decisive moment in the match.
Assessing the win against the Sky Blues, Money was pleased with the structure, organisation and overall standard of football produced by his side in the U’s penultimate pre-season friendly.
The United boss said: “We worked very hard Monday on the system and we set out with a game plan to at least have our fair share of possession, which I felt we did extremely well in the first half. We played with a lot of quality and a lot of patience.
“We gave as good as we got first half and probably just edged it.
“Barry Corr’s finish is two yards onside following a great ball from Conor [Newton] and we scored a good goal from the corner, the first of many I hope for Leon Legge.
He added: “The second half was different, a good team in Coventry pushed on and tested us. But apart from one opportunity we gave up when they perhaps should have scored, our organisation stayed firm.
“It wasn’t our intention to sit as deep as we did in the second half, it was more a case of them pushing us back because they are a strong team.
“The key is that we want to play quickly with quick passing and I think second half we probably just dwelt on the ball a little bit too long. The more numbers they had high made it look like a little bit of risk but I’m sure we’ll keep getting better with the ball.
“In the main the organisation against Norwich, Ipswich and now Coventry has been good, which is something to build on.”
Amongst a number of notable performances for the home side, U’s striker Jordan Slew produced another lung-bursting display to continue his impressive pre-season form and Money praised the attitude of the 21-year old.
“I think Jordan Slew sums the squad up at the moment because he has come back a totally different person.
“His mentality on the pitch is first class, he is working extremely hard and the crowd have taken to him, which is a real positive not only for him but the group as a whole as well.
“That epitomizes our attitude at the minute.”
Meanwhile discussing the players in the squad set to make a return to action in the near future, Money added: “We have core group that have played a lot of minutes against good opposition at a top level under their belts. Now we have to get the others back up to speed; those players that have picked up little niggles along the way.
“We should have Gearoid Morrissey and Harrison Dunk back on Thursday, and Donaldson should also be back this week. When you add those three into the group, it looks healthy.
With just one pre-season fixture remaining, Money believes the progress to date is on track and that the character of the group is beginning to come to the fore.
“When we organised the pre-season programme, we purposely made sure that we had some tough games to get us ready for 8th August. We have certainly had those against Norwich, Ipswich, Coventry as well as the game at Bromley in between those fixtures which was a different type of test.
He continued: “I think the last two games in particular are good indications of where we are at currently.
“At Bromley we were on top but went one down and managed to secure a draw at the death and last night we won one nil having to really dig in when we were on the rocks for a long period.
“They have been good character building exercises for us and we can only get better for it.”