Cambridge United face another pre-season test as QPR visit The Abbey for Harrison Dunk’s testimonial

Harrison Dunk will be celebrating his ten-year anniversary at Cambridge United with a testimonial match against the club he supports.

The 30-year-old grew up supporting QPR, but never actually played for the West London side. Instead, he started his career with AFC Wimbledon before being scouted by Bromley in an under-18 tournament in Germany. He joined the Ravens in 2009, spending two years at Hayes Lane before securing a move to then National League side Cambridge.

Throughout his ten-year spell with the U’s, the left-back has made over 300 appearances and only spent three seasons outside of the Football League, winning promotion to League Two in 2013/14. Despite having been presented with chances to play for other clubs at a higher level, his faith has finally paid off and he’ll now have the chance to test himself in League One next season.

Talking about his time at the club, Dunk said:

“It’s a bit surreal to be honest. If you’d told me ten full seasons ago that I’d still be here and the club would in League One… it’s definitely something that I signed up for when I first came. I knew that the club was going in the right direction and I couldn’t have dreamt of a better journey.”

While most of the focus will be on celebrating Dunk’s time at the club, Tuesday’s game against QPR will play a crucial part in Cambridge’s pre-season preparations. The U’s have just two more friendly matches lined up before their opening League One game against Oxford United. Mark Bonner still has a lot of work to do before then, as was highlighted in his side’s 3-1 defeat against Brentford B on Friday.

Mark Warburton’s men are looking to improve on their ninth placed finish from last season, and their pre-season results show that they’re heading in the right direction. The R’s beat League One side Portsmouth at the start of the month and earned a shock 4-2 win against Premier League giants Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.

Of course, friendly games have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but QPR will certainly be expecting to challenge for promotion to the Premier League next season after strengthening their squad over the summer. The likes of Jordy de Wijs, Andre Dozzell, Charlie Austin and Stefan Johansen have all sealed permanent moves to the Kiyan Price Foundation Stadium, and could feature against Cambridge on Tuesday evening.

The U’s have also bolstered their promotion-winning squad from last season, but the lack of depth in defence is undoubtedly concerning Bonner. The U’s head coach has planned to sign a centre-back and a backup goalkeeper before the start of the new campaign.

Question marks remain as to whether they’ll be able to replace Paul Mullin’s goals from last season, with the 26-year-old sealing a move to Wrexham after turning down a new contract at The Abbey. Jack Lankester’s injury setback has further limited the U’s attacking options, forcing Bonner to play around with new tactics.

The 35-year-old ditched his favoured 4-4-2 formation for the defeat to Brentford B, opting to play a 4-2-3-1 instead. This saw Knibbs drop into a much deeper position, with Joe Ironside playing as a lone striker. It remains to be seen whether he perseveres with this system against QPR.

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