As ding-dong derby days go, the idea of Cambridge United makes us shrug our shoulders as if we’ve suddenly come over all French. Mais oui, there have been a few choice battles between us cool kids and dem nerds now and then; some tasty shizzle went down back in our shared Conference days, for example. Yet, we are lumped together for no better reason than we can run ’em home in the Passat in under half an hour. Gee feckin’ whizz!
Anyway, it is what it is and what it is needs few more excuses. The Us indoors is a home victory on paper. Don’t believe us? Well, we’ve never been particularly persuasive. Your lookout. This is the first of two home matches on the spin; two winnable games on our own, lush pitch. A bad end to August was avoided with that hefty win on Tuesday; a bad start to September and that bloody Green Day song starts to impose its godawful self.
You have been warned, alerted and indeed spooked. ONWARDS.
Stevenage v Cambridge United: The Lowdown
The Referee
Paul Marsden is the man in the middle this weekend; ours being his fifth match appointment since promotion to the Football League panel this summer. If our long and tired experience is anything to go by, this inevitably means he’s been pissing off Conference fans over the past couple of seasons with questionable displays. But, look, we ain’t gonna judge him before he has a chance to prove himself. And we have no doubt he will…
…one way or another.
The Opposition
P22 W9 D4 L9 F32 A27; last result: Stevenage 0-2 Cambridge United, 14/04/2018
Boro’ suffered the unflattering ignominy of a double defeat to the Us last season; our 2-0 defeat indoors four-and-a-half months ago sealing that bum note. But, hey, even Forest Green took six points off us last term, so it ain’t that notable a thing. What should spook you to the point of screeching “But what about the children” is a run of just win in our last seven against this lot. And that was back in February 2016. If you tolerate this…
The Form
To us, our 5-0 win against a Championship club’s yoof side in a much-maligned Checkatrade Trophy is as much use as the 50m front crawl swimming badge you got handed when you were a bambino; stick-it-on-the-fridge, totes amazeballs at the time, but only so useful out in the real world beyond the municipal baths. We still lost our last league outing, but let’s hope midweek’s result has swung that momentum right back in our favour.
To compare the market dot com, “understated” is our kind way of describing The Us start to the 2018-9 League Two season. They have one win from their first five, but that came at home to Notts County – and the Magpies haven’t so much as won a point since day one. Cambridge are, at this early stage of affairs, the worst of four to have earned four points; letting in an average of two goals per game. As a reward, they come to us sitting 21st.
So, a home win is almost to be expected. And you heard it here 10th, if not ninth.
• BoroGuide’s Cambridge United club profile – ba de yaaa, dancing into September
Well before today I would have said that the result would have been 5 nil to the ‘Nage.
Glad I didn’t comment then. Never expected the Us(eless) to get their first away win of the season.
Happy daze !!!!