Cambridge 4
Aston 1

Blues’ goalkeeper James Dean will be thankful for a superb defensive performance from his back four that kept Aston from getting within 20 yards of his goal for the majority of the match; but less than pleased at the shot that it forced from Aston’s Ben Boukhobza. Catching hold of a loose ball in midfield, Boukhobza thundered the ball downfield only to see his wild effort bounce embarrassingly over the opposing keeper to bring Aston back into the match at 1-1. The wild lash of a shot was the only thing that was going to even threaten the Cambridge goal, however, as the Blues dominated a match that could have easily mirrored last week’s 7-1 hammering.

Having gone 1-0 up in the opening five minutes of the match when winger Brendan Threlfall charged his way past the Aston goalie, Cambridge must have sensed another win was on the cards. Blues’ Coach Alex Mugan however stated that “we were held back by the conditions in the first half. The wind was in our faces and we struggled to get the ball down and play”. Indeed, Aston failed to capitalise on their first-half conditions advantage as both teams seemed determined to by-pass their midfields with a series of long balls that failed to bear fruit. Dominating in the air, central midfielder Stephen Bailey ensured that Cambridge had the majority of this aerial game with some superb flick-ons to lone striker James Rusius who, due to a lack of movement and support, often found himself stranded in attack.

Having blocked Aston’s access down their favoured left side for the entirety of the match, Cambridge right-back Will Stevenson took the game to the opposition from the start of the second half. Ruling the right flank with an abundance of inch perfect crosses, Stevenson danced his way past two tackles before enabling midfielder Bailey to use his powerful neck muscles to head the ball home on 54 minutes to give Cambridge a 2-1 advantage. Looking an all-round classier outfit, Cambridge looked increasingly threatening in front of goal as time progressed yet they were unable to increase their lead. Midfielder Michael Johnson had a perfect opportunity to do just that when he sent his driven shot wide just moments before goal scorer Threlfall squandered a long range effort after a phenomenal 30 yard run.

Towards the middle of the second half Aston looked to emulate the Blues’ passing game success. Growing increasingly physical in midfield, Aston looked to grind down the Cambridge defence with a series of short passes and crunching tackles only to see themselves once again outclassed by an outstanding run from Threlfall down the right-hand side before a well-guided pass from star-man Stevenson set up Rusius for his third goal in two games. At 3-1, Cambridge looked to profit from on their deflated opponents mistakes that were increasing in frequency at an alarming rate. A mistimed header from Aston’s leftback allowed American substitute Johnny Chavkin to send an early cross to fellow super-sub Mattie Gethin to slot home his second goal of the season after a beautiful first touch saw him easily beat his marker.

Commenting on his side’s performance team coach Mugan stated “Today was a great team performance. Mikey Johnson had a great game in the centre of midfield but then again he always does. All the boys were fantastic. We approached the game in the same way as last week and I thought we played some outstanding football – especially in the second half when the wind wasn’t an issue.” Cambridge indeed deserved their three points today having worked tirelessly throughout the match and with assured performances from all areas of the pitch. After having won only once in BUSA this season the Blues will look to get another win under their belts as they look to cash-in on their recently found form with a win against Staffordshire in two weeks time.

Pete Huntingford