Abbey Stadium

Cambridge United 0-3 Crawley Town

22^nd August 2015

On the face of it this encounter looked, even this early in the season, a reasonable bet for a home win.  Cambridge United sitting fifth and undefeated in the league, hosting a Crawley side without a win in any of their four competitive matches played thus far. 

But in the event the visitors handed out an object lesson in finishing to their hosts – Crawley scoring with each and every one of their three attempts on target.

Home fans would probably point to the absence through injury of their club’s top scorer Barry Corr, but if Cambridge United are to seriously harbour any promotion ambitions, they really have to be seen to be rather more than a one-man team.  And in any event, it was not up front but rather at the back, where they were found wanting this afternoon I felt – the line of giants in their defence singularly unable to cope with the pace of visiting forwards Roarie Deacon and Lewis Young.  The latter gave home full back George Taft a torrid time, especially during the first half, going past him time and again with embarrassing ease.

But it was DEACON who did the real damage.  After being allowed time just before the half-hour to line up a shot from outside the box which clipped the crossbar on the way over, he was inexplicably presented a second opportunity ten minutes later.  This effort did find its way into the Cambridge net, although requiring a significant deflection to wrong-foot home ‘keeper Chris Dunn.  Just after the break, DEACON then took advantage of more defensive slackness to double the lead.

Cambridge switched to what looked to my untutored eyes a rather adventurous 3-3-4 following this setback, but it really altered little.  Their most promising opportunity arrived with a set piece just outside the Crawley penalty-box.  Luke Berry’s first attempt was halted by over-eager encroachment by visiting defender Liam Donnelly, who received a second yellow as a reward for his enthusiasm.  Berry then extravagantly skied the resultant re-take.

In the closing minutes Gwion EDWARDS tapped in a third for Crawley to set the seal on a very bad day at the office for the home side.

Cambridge v Crawley - August 2015

Crawley's Matt Harrold just fails to connect properly with Simon Walton's corner-kick.

A free-kick from Crawley's Christian Scales flies over everyone's head on its way into the crowd.

Liam Hughes (18), Matt Harrold, Leon Legge (6)

The travelling Crawley support - Happy Bunnies having just seen their side go one up.

Cambridge v Crawley - August 2015

Freddie Woodman waits to collect another innocuous Cambridge attempt on goal.

Freddie Woodman - Crawley Town, on loan from Newcastle United

Cambridge's Danny Carr has a wild swipe at goal.....

.....and is suitably mortified as it flies out for a throw-in

Luke Berry's free-kick is blocked by an encroaching Liam Donnelly

I, and a number of the Cambridge players, initially thought the ref had given a penalty for handball.

After Donnelly's dismissal, Berry's second attempt was a huge anti-climax

Main Stand - Abbey Stadium, Cambridge

Panorama of Abbey Stadium, Cambridge

After having taken pics for this blog at almost 200 sporting events, I was in receipt of my first ticking-off as I moved towards the exit this afternoon.  My camera, just a bog-standard bridge job, was apparently deemed by the stewards be a “professional one”, and I was informed I was consequently infringing copyright in some way.  Had the steward(ess) seen some of the dreadful shots I end up deleting after each trip, she would have hesitated I think to use the word professional.  But she was so polite and almost apologetic, that I did not mind too much.

Main entrance to Abbey Stadium on Newmarket Road.

I do so like grounds where floodlight pylons guide the casual visitor.

As it sez: Cambridge United Supporters Club.

Access to the Main Stand is via this narrow lane.

Rear of the main stand.

This visit to the Abbey Stadium had been shoe-horned into a long weekend break in Cambridge with Wife, and I felt I could not visit the city without paying homage in some way or other to one of the bands from my formative youth: Pink Floyd.  We had had The Anchor pub pointed out to us on a punting trip; where David Gilmour and Syd Barratt had listened to and apparently been influenced by various jazz bands.......but it was just a pub.  I could probably, with the aid of the internet, have sourced and visited the address of the house where Syd latterly lived with his mum, but that would have felt inordinately ghoulish.

So instead we made the short trip to the south-west of the city to Grantchester, to enjoy a wander along the River Cam.  The site was, of course, the inspiration for Roger Waters’ song Grantchester Meadows on the Ummagumma album.  But I rather doubt if he ever visited when the rain was pissing down as heavily as it chose to do when we dropped in.  The song, I am sure, would have turned out rather differently had that ever been the case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfZPNQPNw-U

Grantchester Meadows in the rain.

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Cambridge 2-0 Fulham U21s

Knowles (24)
Mullin (84)

8th September 2020

Following on from the 2,000 plus bods who had been permitted to attend Brighton's friendly with Chelsea last month, this match was the first competitive one in the UK into which spectators had been allowed, since the arrival of Mr. COVID.  Tickets were made available to 1,000 United fans, with eventually 861 locals taking up the option.  Plus one slightly-deranged football-starved Scotsman – who, to be fair, was sort of in the area anyway.

We were all temperature checked beforehand, and guided by a multitude of stewards along red arrows painted on the ground, to our places - each social bubble having at least two free seats either side of them.

And once the match was over, we were all invited/ordered to stay in position until we were requested to file out block by block.  My choice of seat in the top corner of one of the end stands, meant I was the very last fan to be escorted out.  Which was rather fun.

Social Distancing worked well in the seated areas, I felt – but it did rather look at times as if those individuals standing on the terracing were huddling just a touch closer together than was actually safe.

Although perhaps they were all part of particularly large bubbles.

...and competitive football in front of fans returns. 

Not totally sure all rules were always being observed here.

Cambridge United v Fulham U21s - September 2020

The home side's warm-down involved weightlifting!

As to the match itself, well Cambridge were good value for their 2-0 win, and really should have at least doubled that scoreline.   I do appreciate home Number 9 Andrew Dallas would have been a touch ring-rusty, but some of his misses were just embarrassing.

For the the Fulham pups, I liked midfielder Sylvester Jasper – but too many of his colleagues appeared unable to retain possession for any length of time for the youthful visitors to ever pose much of a threat.

Update – Cambridge United had been set to expand the pilot to 2,500 fans for their opening league match on the following Saturday (September 12th) – but I note this has just been cancelled on Govt advice.

Oh dear. One Step Forward, then Two Steps Back.