U's 1-0 Reading: Sky High

What a difference a week and a bit makes, eh? From a performance to forget in the capital last Saturday to one that will live long in the memories back at the Abbey last night. @vinylperez was there to watch it.

It's always weird seeing televised games at the Abbey. As much as we love it, it's hardly the most glamourous ground in the country, and seeing the hastily erected camera platforms in the corners or at the back of the South Stand always makes me think that we're not the kind of club that should be on TV. Unfashionable, little old Cambridge - one of the many legions of clubs screwed over by Sky TV and the Premier League, we've no place being on the TV.

But lately we've actually been quite good - or quite entertaining at least. The Lockdown Legends, that win at Newcastle, the Bonner fairytale and of course the Great Escape. Couple that with being consistently being one of the best run clubs in the country and you can see why Sky might start to show us some interest.

Since we last played Reading back in 2002 they've spent a fair few years eating at the top table of football, spending three seasons in the Premier League, during the same period United languished in the Conference, a League ignored by Sky at the time. However, the years have not been kind to the Royals, and some pretty dreadful off-pitch behaviour by the owners sees them relegated back to League One, struggling to pay their players on time.

With the exception of Sam Smith (injured) and Harvey Knibbs most of the Reading side were pretty unfamiliar to the U's, being a mix of youngsters and journeymen. One name that did stand out was that of Charlie Savage, living, breathing proof that being a cunt is hereditary.

United were quick out the blocks, with Sullay Kaikai putting in a great cross for Ahadme to head goalwards, his header spilled by the Royals keeper, but then cleared off the line to prevent a dream start for the U's. Despite a few Reading chances, it was United who looked the better side, with Kaikai and Brophy looking dangerous going forward, and the two Bennett's and Morrison soaking up everything at the back. You'll notice I haven't mentioned Danny Andrew after singling him out last week - we'll get to him in a minute.

George Thomas and Digby controlled the midfield, both sitting a little deeper than usual but both superbly effective, and up top Ahadme was doing a decent job at holding the ball up.

In the second half Reading came out guns blazing, or as close to it as they could muster. Knibbs had calmed down a little, seemingly having given up on his quest to get a red card on his return to CB5. They then made a number of changes, which seemed to take the sting out of their game a bit. We were content to let their defensive unit have possession without ever really being pressed, something we utilised well against Bristol Rovers too, but put the pressure on them in the middle instead. Reading struggled with our corners in particular, never really being able to deal with them, even after they'd bought on their five subs. United then made changes of their own, perhaps a little later than many would have liked, but what an impact they did make - Okenabirhie, Kachunga and new Crystal Palace loanee John-Kymani Gordon all entering the fray to attack Reading with fresh legs.

Gordon looks quite the prospect, running here there and everywhere, bringing the ball forward where possible and I'm excited to see some more of him, but the real plaudits are reserved for Fejiri Okenabirhie though - a ball out to Brophy on the wing, and then holding his position to receive the cross and thump it home in front of a packed NRE. Having sung their hearts out all game long (how good does it sound hearing "Cheer Up Barry Fry" on the telly by the way?) they found enough extra to create a roar that could be heard in the City Centre.

There was still some late drama to come though, Knibbs - of course it was Knibbs - hitting a shot off the underside of the bar and onto the line - he ran off to kind of half celebrate/half not celebrate as the ref looked to initially have given the goal, but quickly changed his mind. I'm still not sure if the goal was disallowed because it didn't cross the line (it didn't look to have) or whether there was a foul in the build up or after Mannion had collected the ball, but it doesn't matter - injury time was played out and Coconuts was fired up.

So, Danny Andrew then. He'd come in for some pretty harsh criticism from me after Orient, and on half time there wasn't much I'd seen that changed my viewpoint. However, second half, one shocker of a free kick aside, he was a different player. Okay, he still got caught out of position a couple of times, and defensively he's probably not quite at Dunk's level, but he offers something pretty good going forward and started to show that after the break. He gets the benefit of the doubt for now, let's hope he's settled a bit now.

Who else are we singling out? After no-one putting in a more than 4/10 performance against Orient it's hard to name anyone putting in less than 9/10 last night. Will Mannion coming back into goal after a period injured was excellent and looked like he'd never been out the team, making a number of great saves. Liam Bennett - rightly Sky's MoM and showed just what an exciting young prospect he is. I really fear we're going to struggle to keep him here past January. Ryan Bennett and Morro: say no more - one of the best defensive partnerships we've ever had, experience in bags. In the middle, Digby and Thomas quietly got on with doing what they do best, whilst Kaikai ran all day long. Brophy did everything right, and Lankester had some good chances too. Ahadme unlucky not to get on the scoresheet.

But it was the subs that won that game - Bonner now has some real quality on the bench to choose from to try and change the outcome of the match, and that was something he didn't really have last year. When everyone is fit - and let's not forget we've still got Janneh, May and Cousins to return - we actually look like we might have some strength in depth. Of course, it's still early days in the League, but we've put a marker down with our results so far. If we're still in a similar position in a couple of months time, then maybe we can start to get excited...

Man of the Match: Mannion kept us in it, whilst Fejiri won it - but it's got to be a coin toss between Liam Bennett and Brophy. Bennett had Knibbs in his pocket all game, and Brophy was involved in pretty much everything. The NRE, in fact all three sides of the ground really, deserves an award too - an absolutely fantastic atmosphere from start to finish, with the Abbey literally bouncing for ninety minutes. But we can only give it to one, so let's give it to Brophy as Liam B got the telly bottle of fizz.

Soundtrack of the Match: Blur - Coffee & TV

Unsung Hero: You probably can't pick your best player as an unsung hero, but it was pretty funny seeing 5'6" Liam Bennett outjump 6'2" Harvey Knibbs to win a header.