Wednesday 20th February

Wilberforce Road

Cambridge University AFC              3

Loughborough Univeristy 2nds     2

The Blues went into Wednesday's home fixture - on the back of an impressive but draining victory over Leeds Carnegie just two days earlier – secure in the knowledge that a win would leave them just three points away from being crowned leaugue champions. However, Loughborough were in no mood to make things easy for their Cambridge rivals as they sought revenge for their 4-0 demolition at the hands of the Blues earlier in the season.

The impacts of Monday's high tempo encounter were apparent early on as the Blues seemed lethargic and leggy. Returning centre-half James Day, still getting back up to speed in the early stages, was guilty of a rare error to gift the Loughborough striker a clean run at Fergus Kent's goal, and he coolly slotted home. Despite rallying, Cambridge were still shaking off the cobwebs from Monday's cup match, and found themselves two down after just fifteen minutes after a long ball bisected the Blues defence and was clinically dispatched by the confident Loughborough attack.

The early setbacks spurred the Blues into action as they showed immense character to come back into the game. Totten was first to scare Loughborough with a mazy run but, having left defenders in his wake, he could not squeeze home a finish. This promising break was soon followed by Sherif firing just wide as Cambridge grew in confidence.

The inevitable comeback was initiated by a penalty after Totten was felled in the box midway through another probing run. Broadway stepped up to dispatch the penalty, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way in firing confidently into the bottom right. The Blues continued to press as Sherif and Forde were both denied by the Loughborough goalkeeper in pursuit of the equaliser.

The Blues manager Che Wilson fired up the players for the second half with a damning assessment of their first half performance. His words certainly helped as Cambridge were dominant after the interval. Indeed, the equaliser came almost immediately as Totten fired home a volley into the roof of the net after a rebounded effort fell kindly. A glancing header from Danny Forde then went just wide as the Blues increased the intensity.

The Blues threw caution to the wind as they looked for the winner with pacy striker Danny Kerrigan brought on for the below-par Tsuda. Kerrigan’s tenacity and agility made an immediate impression and he was lucky to escape unscathed after a terrible tackle on the hour mark saw a deserved red card for Loughborough’s central midfielder. The man advantage allowed an already dominant Blues side to control the game and Kerrigan duly scored from close-range to complete a fantastic comeback.

Cambridge, fuelled by a desire to maintain their stunning 100% record this season, overcame tired legs and minds in tough circumstances with a mesmerising comeback. Che Wilson was delighted, lauding the unmatched passion of the players.

The sensational run of form for the Blues has seen them win eleven consecutive games, and the Blues are now just one win away from back-to-back title wins having gained promotion last season. The semi-final of the Trophy in Edinburgh on Wednesday follows the title decider against Birmingham University in what could be another fantastic week for the confident Blues.