U's 1-1 Port Vale: A Valiant Effort

After a few too many Wigan Kebabs last weekend, the U’s returned home with a game against a.. erm… high-flying Port Vale side who, after losing 7-0 on the opening day to Barnsley, have turned things around sitting 3rd upon their visit to the Abbey. Marc Manning (@mmanning98) was there to report on this one.

Last season’s fixtures against Port Vale came at two incredibly different times of the season. The home fixture in which the U’s fell to a limp 1-0 defeat was the start of a real decline in form, whereas the reverse fixture at Vale Park was the catalyst to the change in fortunes. A 2-0 win saw the U’s leave Burslem with a spring in their step leading into a hectic April.

Mark Bonner made a surprisingly solitary change for the visit of the Valiants considering the impact of the subs in Lancashire, with Jack Lankester dropping out of the XI in place of Elias Kachunga. The U’s started the opening moments strongly, even if Kachunga spent more time on the floor than being the creative spark the game was calling out for. 

Neither team had any real clear-cut chances to take the lead, huffing and puffing until eventually the U’s defence fell down to a brilliantly-taken Ben Garrity finish midway through the half. United were undone by some clever play from the Vale midfield, perhaps too easily for a team renowned for being so compact in defence. 

Substitutions have been the catalyst for changes in fortune for the U’s this season, with the standout being the triple substitution against Reading. Needing to find the breakthrough, the trusted trio of Lankester, John-Kymani Gordon and Fejiri Okenabhirie were called upon in the second half to change the game… and they delivered. 

Not long after the marauding Danny Andrew hit the woodwork with a drilled effort across the face of goal, the U’s levelled things up in front of a sold-out Newmarket Road End. A superb run and cross into the box from Gordon found the unmarked Okenabhirie, who had all the time in the world to head home for his sixth goal of the season. 

A sensational passage of play from the U’s who have looked more dangerous going forward in the last eight games than they did all of last season, a telling sign of what Kevin Betsy has added to the coaching staff.

The long-awaited introduction of Adam May in the last quarter of the game lifted the U’s. His presence in the midfield was something that United missed last season and in just fifteen minutes, you could see what he’s going to add to this promising side for this season. May’s combative run through the midfield in the 88th minute saw him play through Lankester who was in turn tripped by the trailing leg of the Vale defender.

Penalty. Fejiri in front of the NRE. Saved.

Something you possibly would have bet on if you saw the Vale keeper Connor Ripley’s penalty saving record, but Okenabhirie is a man in form and a goal there ultimately would have handed a slightly deserving Cambridge side all three points. 

So where do the U’s go from here? A trip to Pride Park next Saturday sees the U’s face an ageing Derby side who could be there for the taking after a similar start of the season. Will Bonner make changes to the side especially with a home midweek game to follow? I’m sure many U’s fans would agree in wanting to see Okenabhirie and Gordon make their first starts of the season in Derbyshire. 

Man of the Match: Danny Andrew. His best performance so far for the U’s, looked a lot more confident going forward after the subsitutions.

Soundtrack of the Match: Rolling Stones - You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Unsung Hero: Whoever decided to put BrewBoard pints at £4.50 for the day. Long may it continue.