Haverhill Cambridge United Supporters

United 4 Dagenham and Redbridge 2

As this rollercoaster season hurtles towards it's end the highs get higher and the lows even lower. An unbelievable 7 - 0 win against play-off challengers Weymouth made us feel that we were destined to stay up but this was followed by a 1 - 0 defeat by a Halifax side that had only won one match in their last eleven, and the gloom descended again. Then on Saturday the visitors to The Abbey were recently crowned Conference champions Dagenham and Redbridge and despite United going 0 - 2 down the team put in a terrific fightback to take three unexpected points in a 4 - 2 win.

Last Three Games

United have just three games left to play, for the next two Saturdays they travel to Exeter and Aldershot before returning to The Abbey for the final game of the season against Tamworth. The bottom three Conference teams will probably still fill those places at the end of the season which leaves the one remaing place to be fought out between six teams. Three points might be enough for Cambridge if Halifax continue their poor form but four points should be enough to avoid relegation

Northwich Victoria 0 United 4

Following football can help us to understand philosophy, Nietzsche said "Hope is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man". Supporting Cambridge this season has given us a profound understanding of the meaning of this quote. Every time we have been convinced that the club are doomed to relegation (and possibly the end of the club) the team hit back with a surprising performance to achieve an unexpected win. On Sunday it happened again, a Robbie Simpson hat-trick contributed to a 4 - 0 away win against Northwich Victoria. Last week we said United needed four wins in seven games, this week we need the, still difficult but slightly easier, task of three wins in six games. With Southport and St. Albans seemingly finished and Northwich having too many games in hand, our rivals now seem to be Grays and Tamworth with just the outside chance of Halifax (who we play Saturday week) being dragged back. It looks more and more as if the final game of the season, against Tamworth, could be the game that decides United's future. Could you bear to watch?

Next at The Abbey

On Saturday the team are at home to Weymouth, who still have an outside chance of qualifying for the play-offs. U's fans will also need to watch next Tuesday night's results where most of the Conference play their games in hand.

Crawley 1 United 1

United were just a few minutes away from winning three desperately needed points. An injury time goal for Crawley (by former United striker Marcus Richardson) cancelled out Robbie Simpson’s fist half strike but it was Crawley’s failure to take their chances and four or five superb saves from the recalled Paul Crichton that kept The U’s in the game until then. Cambridge are now left waiting on other sides to play their games in hand. With other clubs playing mid-week the task facing the team will be clearer after next weekend, at the moment it looks as if United need four wins in the seven remaining games. To put the challenge into context, the team have only won four times in the last eighteen games.

Next at The Abbey

Cambridge are away this weekend playing Northwich Victoria on Sunday. If we are to win four games before the end of the season then this game will probably need to be one of them. The team return to The Abbey on Saturday week when they play Weymouth.

League Table

With United not playing last Saturday, U’s supporters were just as interested in the final results of the other matches. The draw between St. Albans and Southport leave them both looking very vulnerable at the foot of the conference. Above them, the surprising 4 – 0 away win by Tamworth over Stafford Rangers lifts Tamworth off the bottom place for the first time since early January and now gives them some hope of avoiding relegation. Altrincham were obviously boosted by their mid-week win against The U’s as they went on to their second successive win, away against Weymouth. So what does this mean for Cambridge? Hopefully St. Albans and Southport will not be able to catch United but the next two relegation places will be decided between Altrincham, Grays, Tamworth and Cambridge. It looks like a nail biting finish to the season, and United’s last match is against Tamworth.

Join The Junior U’s For Free

The new Junior U's club has a host of membership benefits, including £2 entry for all members to league matches until they're 16, free birthday card signed by a player, welcome pack including free gift and membership card, and discount on away travel and merchandise. Application forms are available at the club offices or can be downloaded at www.cambridge-united.com.

Stafford Rangers 1 United 2

At last The U’s have started to pull away from the relegation zone. Another away win on Saturday, thanks to goals from David Bridges and loanee Christian Smith, put them six points clear of fourth place. There is still the worry about all the other teams having games in hand but United are the form team in the relegation battle with seven games undefeated.

Ground Talks

Chairman Lee Power has revealed that he has been talking to the owners of the ground, Bideawhile. Worryingly he commented "The simple facts are that we need to relocate and we have a perfectly good potential 'development-partner' in Bideawhile.” The worry is that we have been here so often before, for years the board tried to find somewhere in Cambridge to relocate the ground but where totally unsuccessful. No mention has been made of an option for the club to buy back the ground and control its own destiny, are we to assume that the buy back option is no longer being pursued?

Next at The Abbey

Cambridge have a difficult home tie on Saturday against the third placed, former league club, York City. This will be a chance to see how our improved performances stand up against one of the best teams in The Conference.

United 2 Southport 2

Two goals by Robbie Simpson earned The U’s a point at The Abbey on Saturday. Although this takes United’s unbeaten run to five matches we stay just three points outside the relegation zone. Luckily, many of the other clubs near the foot of table have failed to win their games in hand. There has certainly been a marked improvement throughout the team, especially in attack, but moving on from draws to wins would calm a lot of United nerves.

March

This will really be a crunch month for the club. Out of the seven matches in March, five are against teams within a few points of United. St. Albans at home and Stafford Rangers and Altrincham away could help to decide the final table positions. The downside of a relatively easy March is a much more difficult run-in towards the end of the season, with the final game against the current bottom club Tamworth, being the only match that looks winnable.

Next at The Abbey

The team are away on Saturday to Stafford Rangers, this is followed on Tuesday by the Altrincham match, they return to The Abbey the following Saturday for a difficult game against York City.

Morecambe 2 United 2

The U’s revival continued on Saturday with a draw against promotion chasing Morecambe. The team went ahead twice only for Morecambe to equalize with 8 minutes left. With two wins and two draws from the last 4 matches United are starting to look as if they may escape promotion. Shrimps' manager Sammy McIlroy said after the match "It was a great game of football, and Cambridge are nothing like the side we played at the Abbey earlier this year". The confidence is returning and the results are much improved. With the boardroom and the finances looking more stable we can now hope that the worst days are over for United fans. Or is this just wishful thinking?

Next At The Abbey

The team are at home on Saturday when the visitors will be Southport. This is the first of four matches in a row against teams fighting relegation. Eight points from these games will show that we are well placed to beat the drop, four points or less will bring the gloom back to The Abbey.