Navy XI 0 - 1 CUAFC

CUAFC rounded off their pre-season with a hard-fought 1-0 win against the Navy at the Victory Stadium, Portsmouth.

A Mark Baxter penalty secured a thoroughly deserved win in the 80th minute for the Blues, who were able to grind out the win whilst giving debuts to several
new faces.

The Blues started brightly and, having settled quickly, began to impose
themselves on the game with a handful of neat passing moves. With fresher
Haitham Sherif holding the ball up superbly against a physical backline, the
Navy found themselves under early pressure with forward Ryan McCrickerd and
wingers Rick Totten and Rory Griffiths spinning off the frontman. A lack of
finesse in the final third prevented the early dominance from translating into
goals, but Cambridge remained comfortable with a solid foundation being
provided by the two James', Revell and Captain Day, who was playing his first
game since Aprils Varsity after an ankle operation.

Having closed out the first half the better side, the Blues emerged buoyant
from the dressing room only to be pegged back by a Navy bombardment. Cambridge weathered the 15-minute storm in which a Dimitar Berbatov-esque overhead kick was scramble to safety having rebounded off the crossbar. Day subsequently made way for debutant Harry Dempsey, a Corpus fresher, who - backed by the solid Lars Boyde in goal - successfully marshalled a Blues defence which as rarely troubled for the remainder of the game.

Such a platform gave the midfield of Paul Hartley and Ross Broadway a chance to reassert their authority and launch an attacking onslaught. CUAFC were keeping the ball superbly against an athletic Navy side, and used wing backs George Hill and Chris Peacock to full effect in pegging the opposition back - a spell which climaxed with another debutant, Mark O'Halloran, seeing his effort trickle onto the left-hand post.

The defining moment came when a surging run from O'Halloran was picked out by a pinpoint Baxter pass; a move which saw the former brought down in the box for a clear penalty. Baxter duly converted sending the keeper the wrong way, and the Blues closed out the remaining ten minutes on the front foot. Only an unfortunate miss from the dominant Sherif, and a rasping left-footed drive from Broadway which somehow stayed out, prevented Cambridge from sealing the win.

The result sees the Blues enter the BUCS campaign against Bedford (Luton)
University next week on the back of an impressive performance against a fit and
strong Navy XI, with a handful of key players still to return to the Cambridge
squad. Captain James Day reflected enthusiastically on his sides display,
saying "I am really proud of the boys battling spirit today against a physical
side, and I can't wait to get stuck into the league fixtures". With the Navy
sunk, it looks to be all hands on deck for a promising Blues side as they set
sail with their attempt at promotion.

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