Cambridge United recorded one of the best results in their history with a goalless draw at home to Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday night.

The lowest ranked team left in the competition, Cambridge United showed superb resilience to hold at bay the most famous football club in the world. The 11-time FA Cup winners were clearly unsettled by Cambridge’s physicality and the boisterous atmosphere in the Abbey Stadium. By contrast, Cambridge showed no signs of stage fright in front of an 8,000 capacity crowd and the television cameras for BBC One’s Match of the Day Live.

The 76 places between the two sides in the English football hierarchy did not show in the first half, despite Manchester United’s players earning at least as much for this match as their Cambridge counterparts do in an entire season.

In fact, Cambridge posed a credible threat to the Manchester goal, and Ryan Donaldson in particular was too hot to handle for the Red Devils’ multi-million pound defence down the right-hand side. The U’s looked a constant threat from set-pieces, and their best chance came from a corner, with a goal line scramble ending in Josh Coulson heading the ball just over the bar.

After a pedestrian first-half performance, Manchester United showed more incisive intent in the second half, especially after the introduction of Ander Herrera and Robin van Persie after an hour. Colombian international Radamel Falcao missed a glorious chance when sent through on goal, and Van Persie too wasted a good opportunity, firing his effort over the bar from ten yards out.

Ultimately, however, the Lancashire giants were unable to convert their 75% of possession into enough meaningful chances. None of their six shots on target were good enough to beat the imperious Chris Dunn in the Cambridge goal. His performance epitomised that of the entire Cambridge squad: organised, combative and nothing less than outstanding.

An almighty roar met the final whistle, and delirious celebrations ensued on the Abbey terraces. The result meant that Cambridge maintain their unbeaten home record against Manchester United, following a 1-1 draw in their only previous meeting at the Abbey in 1991.

The Cambridge players and fans can now look forward to a fourth-round replay at the 75,000 capacity Old Trafford, the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, on Tuesday 3rd or Wednesday 4th February. The replay, a possibility described by Chief Executive Jez George before the game as ‘utopia’, will mean a cash windfall of approximately £1.5m for the newly-promoted League Two club, on top of the reported £500,000 the first game brought in.