Ground: Abbey Stadium (capacity 7,937)
Location: Cambridge, England
Ticket price: £25 - can be purchased online prior to the day
One of my goals for this season is to try and visit all the grounds of the teams that currently play in League One. There’s a lot of interesting destinations on offer; historic clubs such as Charlton and Derby, cities such as Cambridge and Oxford, widely considered as two of the glimmering jewels of the English crown, even places such as Portsmouth and Exeter, as well as Carlisle which I’ve already been to, get the pulses racing. And speaking of crown jewels, it turned out that both Cambridge and Oxford were due to duel on the Abbey Stadium courtyard on the opening day of the season. Perfect.
Both teams had pretty dicey affairs last season for all the wrong reasons. Oxford United, who had regularly flirted around the playoffs under their long-serving boss Karl Robinson, found themselves unexpectedly languishing near the bottom, costing the former Charlton and MK Dons man his job. They’re now managed by Liam Manning, the coach who led MK Dons to a playoff semi final the season prior. An unfortunate, perhaps unlucky spell saw him lose his job there before steering Oxford to safety, having joined the Yellows in March.
Cambridge on the other hand were always tipped to finish in the lower half of the table. With long-serving (I suppose if you’re at a club for 3 years, you’re part of the furniture these days) manager Mark Bonner in charge, it was always touch and go as to whether they would stay up. At one point, they looked resigned to relegation. However, a strong run of form towards the end of the season saw them clamber up the ladder at almost breakneck pace, facing MK Dons in the last game of the season. To jump ahead slightly, one punter at the game described the tie as “chaotic”. Balls were kicked, posts were rattled, goals were scored, tears were shed from both sets of fans. Enough to give a zombie a heart attack. This punter reckoned the Dons should have smashed them, given the quality of their chances.
Both sides have made some interesting signings in the summer. Two that stood out for me were Ruben Rodrigues, a player who terrorised the National League with his blistering pace, trickery and finishing, joining on a free transfer. Oxford fought off a lot of suitors for the striker and he certainly is a statement signing. He’s one of the reasons why I’m tipping Oxford for a potential playoff push this season. The player for Cambridge I’m picking out is Elias Kachunga. Yes, that Kachunga, the Congolese striker who once played in the Premier League for Huddersfield. He’d scored a paltry 2 goals in 70 games for Bolton, but his experience playing at this level and above should serve Cambridge well if they are to starve off relegation this season. It’ll be a tough ask of course, but anything can happen in this league.
If I was to describe the city of Cambridge, it would be “quaint”. Rows and rows of old stone buildings, veils of history and intrigue pecked away at the brickwork over centuries. People from near and afar gazing at the marvellous architecture, dining in the multicultural eateries and skipping hurriedly across the stony pathways in the bustling town centre, Cambridge is a rough 1 hour’s train ride from London, so it makes sense why it attracts so many tourists.
Abbey Stadium, the home of Cambridge United is a steady half hour walk from the town centre and 40 minutes from the train station. It’s a fairly standard walk which includes walking past the River Cam, which was nice, as well as venturing past a massive Tesco and a monstrous Aldi. The club shop also offered collectible cards of former U’s legends alongside the match programme. Luke Berry was the player of choice for this week; a local lad who had played for the club for 7 years across two spells and may be sharing the same pitch as Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah this season in Luton Town colours. Each home fixture presented the chance to collect another Cambridge legend.
The mood in the family stand seemed to be one of pessimism and I shared their view. As I’ve stated, Oxford United have made some very exciting signings in the off-season and many League One followers had Cambridge United as relegation fodder.
The game kicked off and it was the home side who started the brighter. The one touch, fast tempo football on display was a joy to watch and whenever Oxford retained the ball, the midfield press was so resistant that the away side failed to break through. Their gameplan appeared to be to attack Liam Bennett’s wing by using the pace of Marcus Browne as a direct threat, but I felt that the 21 year old did his job superbly and bar one moment early on, frustrated who appeared to be the main dangerman for the Yellows. For the U’s, the combinations between Lancaster and Janneh were a sight to behold and the pair linked up well for the game’s opening goal. It was James Brophy, playing on the left side, who won the ball in the middle of the park. He played the ball into Janneh’s path, with Jordan Thorniley slow to close the Gambian down. Beadle managed to get a palm to divert his stinging cross away, but only in the path of Lankester for the game’s first goal.
Saikou Janneh was certainly in the mood and won the ball in defence before finding Lankester again, who found a nice pocket of space to operate in. Janneh played the ball to the former Ipswich man, who responded with a cheeky flicked pass back into the direction of the Gambian winger. Janneh then darted down the line before playing an inch perfect cross into the path of Ahadme, with the on-loan striker heading it in from close range. A lot of the Cambridge fans were pleased; not only because of the quality of the goal, but also the quality of the player. They felt that he wasn’t given a fair chance last season and to see him playing key roles in both goals served as redemption in their minds. Janneh was soon involved again, playing another delicious cross that unfortunately couldn’t be converted for a Cambridge third.
In the second half, Mark Bonner appeared to play a little more conservative, though I don’t think that was down to choice but rather his hand was forced due his players levels of fatigue. This helped Oxford take control of play, but they seldom did anything with their chances and when they did, it was the interventions of both Bennett’s and Michael Morrison at the back, who all had very strong games for the home side.
Oxford’s best chance of the second half came with 14 minutes to spare. A lofted ball from deep met the head of Stan Mills, but the substitute couldn’t get the power or direction needed on the header to score, with Stevens standing tall to block the shot.
Sullay Kaikai (who’s favourite games console is the Dreamcast according to the programme notes) and Elias Kachunga (who was greeted with his own custom chant to the tune of Tequila) made their debuts for the club but came on too little too late to make any major impact. The game ended 2-0 and Cambridge deserved the win.
I was very impressed with right back Liam Bennett, who stuck to his task well by defending Marcus Browne and not really giving his opponent a sniff. Not only this, but he played some fantastic through balls in the transition and made some vital interceptions for his team. Bennett featured in the League One Team of the Week and based on this display, I’m not surprised at all. At 21 years old, he could have a bright future in the game.
In terms of local food, I bought some Venezuelan grub from the local market. Chicken, black beans, feta cheese and some other ingredients all wrapped in a lightly cooked arepas. Tasty, but at £7.95, ludicrously expensive.
And that sums Cambridge up really. A nice getaway for a weekend and a place that will leave your wallet light. And as for the Abbey Stadium, I would definitely go again.
Cambridge United 2-0 Oxford United 05/08/23
Comments