Cambridge United: The Season Finale

Hello everyone and welcome back to this final update of my first season with Cambridge United that saw us win the league in my last post and now we will attempt to do the double by winning the FA Trophy at Wembley. Before that though we still has some league games to play… 

With the title wrapped up in March and promotion to the Football League secured, I was a little disappointed that only just over 3,000 fans showed up to celebrate the teams’ success which they did with another stunning on the field performance by hammering Kettering 4-1, taking our goal tally to over 100 for the season.

After the game I received an email from the board about the players wages which in fact have been way over budget all season but up until now there’s been no word from the Cambridge hierarchy.

Away to Gateshead we showed a very lazy attitude and were lucky to scrape a draw thanks to a late header by Scott Wootton. Paul Pogba and Laurie Dalle Valle finished their loan spells at the end of the game and returned to their respective clubs. Following a 1-0 victory away to Hayes & Yeading Elliott Chamberlain also left The Abbey stadium but I was quite taken aback by his comment to the press which would explain his weak contribution in his final game for us.

Our third away game in a row saw ST Danny Wright put in a sensational performance against Altrincham bagging himself a well-deserved hat-trick whilst his partner Dorian N’Goma continued his drop in form missing several chances from inside the box which a month ago he would have smashed into the back of the net.

In our final home game of the season we sprinted out to a 3-0 lead with Ryan Mason running the Crawley defence ragged until he picked up a knock and had to go off. Conor Henderson scored what was probably our best goal of the season with a spectacular volley from just outside the box after Mason had supplied the cross form the right flank. We almost threw the game away as Crawley staged a fight back but we held on for a 3-2 win.

The final game of the BSP season saw us travel to Mansfield and I was hoping to end the league season on a high but we could only muster a draw after taking an early lead through midfielder Calum NcNish. Midfield partner Shane Williams sadly picked up a knock and will miss the FA Trophy final.

Results Summary

Final Table

We ended up with a massive 115 points and  19 clear of the nearest contender Luton Town which is truly remarkable and far beyond what I would have expected at the start of the season.

It was time for the final game of the season and a trip to Wembley to face Wimbledon in The FA Trophy Final. The opening 25 minutes was dominated by a midfield battle but just before the half hour mark Wimbledon took the lead with a defence splitting pass that caught everyone off guard and it was 1-0. The score remained the same until half time as we were unable to respond with any real effectiveness. In the dressing room I told the players I wanted to see more from them and as for striker Danny Wright I told him to go out and prove a point. He did just that.

Thirty seconds into the second half N’Goma picked up the ball and charge towards the Wimbledon goal slipping the ball through to Wright and it was 1-1. Our travelling fans went crazy and started to chant “Come on you U’s”. Seven minutes later youngster Luke Berry who was standing in for the injured Shane Williams played a lovely little lob over the Wimbledon defence and the ball was met by Wright who powered it into to the top of the net. However, this season though has been about one man….Dorian N’Goma and what better way for a BSP legend in the making to finish the season with a goal at the Venue of Legends. A long ball out of defence by Scott Wootten was controlled beautifully by N’Goma who took two steps and struck it past the sprawling Wimbledon keeper to make it 3-1 and complete the victory. What better way to finish off an amazing season for the man from The Congo.

So there we have it. Cambridge have completed  a League and Cup double against all odds and have accomplished this with attractive attacking football. Next steps will be to prepare for life in League 2 though at this point in time I’m more than happy to keep this squad together and see what they can achieve at the next level.

Thanks for reading and for all your comments throughout the season.