Cambridge United: January 2011

Hello friends and I’m delighted to bring you this latest episode on the newly merged Football Manager Story site and a very warm welcome to Darren and his team of  excellent writers.

We started 2011 with a home game on New Year’s Day against Eastbourne Borough at The Abbey Stadium. A dominant first half performance failed to produce any goals with the only bright spot being Fofana hitting the woodwork just before the interval. A well worked free kick early in the second half broke the deadlock with a rare goal by MR David McDermott and Dorian N’Goma who came on late in the game sealed the victory with a sweeping shot into the corner of the net that left the Eastbourne keeper completely stranded.

Two days later we were travelling down the M4 to play Bath City who had spoiled our opening day of the season snatching a late equalizer. N’ Goma was back in the starting line up along with a few reserve players due to fatigue. The opening goal came from the spot as N’Goma coolly beat the keeper after  fellow striker Danny Wright was pushed to the ground following a cross by Spencer from the left flank. A killer pass by DM Craig Tawton found N’Goma who got his second of the game 10 minutes from half time. We put in a workman like performance in the second period that didn’t add to the scoreboard but nonetheless resulted in a very satisfying win.

Following the win Physio Greg Reid brought me the devastating news that Craig Tawton who was injured during the game will be out the rest of the season with a torn hamstring. This indeed is a real set back.  I made an immediate move for a loan signing to fill Tawton’s absence and was able to secure Emmanuel Frimpong from Arsenal for the next 3 months.

It was time for our FA Cup third round clash with Derby County at Pride Park and our travelling fans were dreaming of a big upset as our form had been so good of late. Derby though had other ideas taking the lead inside 10 minutes and once they had that goal they never looked back eventually running out a very comfortable 3-0 winners to end any dreams we had of FA Cup glory.

The following game was away to Wimbledon by which time Danny Hoesen and Will Hatfield’s loan term had come to an end. Lauri Dalla Valle had joined our striking unit from Fulham and Man United’s Paul Pogba also arrived at The Abbey Stadium to strengthen the midfield though I was still looking for a MR to replace Hatfield. On to the game then in which Wimbledon took the lead after 15 minutes though we responded with Shane Williams hitting the woodwork with an effort from distance. Although we were competitive we seemed somewhat sluggish and were unable to create anything real effective up front. We had to rely on the pace and power of N’Goma to snatch an equalizer late in the game as he hit his 20th goal of the season and rescued a point for us.

We next travelled north to a frosty Blundell Park to take on Grimsby in the FA Trophy 2^nd round. Ismael Fofana gave us the lead with a very nice diving header after 29 minutes but that proved to be the only excitement we could create in front on the Grimsby net. The home side struggled themselves thanks to rock solid performance from Scott Wootten and skipper Brian Saah in the centre of defence. The task was made easier for us when Grimsby were reduced to ten men in the second half though that first half goal was enough to get us through to the next round.

We were back at The Abbey Stadium where the home fans gave a warm welcome to MR Stuart O’Keefe who joined us from Crystal Palace on a three month loan. O’Keefe was instrumental in the opening goal as his pass to N’Goma saw the African striker bulldozer through the Tamworth defence and his square ball resulted in an easy tap in for Fofana who was playing now as the ML for the injured Karl Moore. N’Goma doubled the lead in similar style to the first goal but this time needed no help and struck the ball cleanly past a sprawling Tamworth keeper. The opposition didn’t really provide any threat at all and early in the second half N’Goma killed the game off with his second goal beating two players as he ran across the face of the 18 yard area and hit the ball into the right hand corner of the net to the delight of the Cambridge faithful in the stands. Following the game another injury blow was announced as both Moore and Fofana will be out for at least six weeks.

Yes, it’s only a game but it was somewhat an emotional return to The Racecourse Ground to face Wrexham in our next BSP game. The red and white stands brought back some good memories and so it was with mixed feelings as I watched N’Goma destroy the Wrexham back four with a goal in each half both of which he scored in similar style, beating the offside trap before unleashing a rocket of a shot into the roof of the net. Shane Williams picked up a goal himself blasting the ball into the net after a game of head tennis ended with it landing nicely at his feet to add to a comprehensive victory.

Results Summary

League Table

We ‘ve maintained and extended the lead at the top to 11 points which is well needed simply because next month we have difficult games coming up against Luton and Fleetwood both of whom are challenging for promotion.

Fixtures

My final signing of the month was Conor Henderson also from Arsenal on a three month loan though unfortunately he got injured in training and will be out for two weeks.

Rounding out this update is a look at my top five goal scorers and no surprise that Dorian N’Goma is streets ahead of his fellow team mates

Thanks for reading everyone and enjoy the weekend!