POST-MATCH REACTION FROM RICHARD MONEY
Richard Money admits his frustration at the decision to send Harrison Dunk off during the second half, when the U’s had looked to be getting on top of opponents Luton Town at the Abbey Stadium this afternoon.
United were eventually resigned to a 3-1 League Two defeat, with Dunk’s departure flipping the momentum of the game in favour of the visitors in contentious fashion, when referee Graham Salisbury showed the U’s midfielder a second yellow card for a harsh looking hand ball.
Speaking to Cambridge-United.co.uk post-match, Money confirmed that the incident was a turning point in the game, he said: “I certainly felt up until the second yellow card we were the better team.
“I think the match was a great example of how a game changes because of something that you cannot control.
“If the referee had given[Stephen] O’Donnell a second yellow for his tackle on Harrison Dunk before half time, then you could perhaps understand the decision he has given against Harrison a little bit more. He obviously looked at O’Donnell’s tackle and thought to himself that the player is already booked and will give him one more chance.
“But in a situation where Harrison could do absolutely nothing about what happened, the second yellow came straight out.”
The U’s had looked threatening for long periods during the opening hour of the encounter, with Mickey Demetriou and the aforementioned Harrison Dunk looking particularly bright down the left side for United.
Money felt his side would learn lessons moving forward and that they could also draw confidence from a number of positives before the pivotal point in the contest occurred.
“There are some lessons to be learned because I did feel we let them off the hook slightly in the first half .
“I think we probably allowed them back into the game just as the sending off occurred, so we just need to make sure we gain the ascendency when we are in the ascendency.
“Partnerships are still in early development in some cases and they need to develop, as do units.
“Barry Corr hasn’t trained for two and a half weeks and he still turns up today to play, which shows a great mentality but we also know that we have a number of players in a similar position to that. We need to get fitness levels up to where they can be for 90 minutes and then I’m sure we’ll be okay.”