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Back in September, Cambridge United became the first club in the country to allow fans in to watch elite competitive football. Just under three months later, and their supporters will finally be back at The Abbey for the visit of Mansfield Town.
862 Cambridge United fans were in attendance to watch their side beat Fulham U21s in the Papa Johns Trophy as part of a pilot scheme to test supporters returning to football stadiums. However, a subsequent rise in Covid-19 cases saw the initiative scrapped just days after. The club’s chief executive, Ian Mather, has been very vocal in his support of the Let Fans In campaign and has welcomed the decision to allow supporters to watch live football in ‘Tier 1’ and ‘Tier 2’ areas of the country.
However, Cambridge have been flying high without their fans in attendance. Manager Mark Bonner has turned the team from relegation battlers to promotion contenders in just a matter of months, with the U’s sitting third in League Two. Alongside Exeter, they’ve scored the most goals in the division (26) and have the best defensive record, conceding just 10 goals in 13 games.
The fans won’t be the only ones returning to The Abbey on Wednesday however, as George Maris may face his former club for the first time. However, the midfielder suffered bruised ribs in Mansfield’s 2-1 away win against Forest Green in mid-November and has yet to return to the squad.
Maris left the U’s to join The Stags over the summer for an undisclosed fee after a turbulent time in Cambridgeshire. A product of Barnsley’s academy, his superb performances for Cambridge almost earned him a move back to Yorkshire with Championship side Rotherham in 2018, but a failed medical saw the deal collapse at the last minute.
His Mansfield side haven’t played in front of a crowd since their 2-1 win at Northampton Town back in March. The Stags have had a torrid start to this campaign, winning just one game under manager Graham Coughlan before he was sacked, with the club sitting outside of the relegation zone on goal difference alone. Former Burton boss Nigel Clough has replaced him at Field Mill in hope that he can emulate the success he had with the Brewers.
There’s a lot of hope and optimism around the appointment. Mansfield were backed as one of the early promotion favourites after a successful summer transfer window, and under the management of Clough, there’s a lot of expectation that the Stags will quickly kick on and climb up the table. He’s scrapped the 5-3-2 formation that Graham Coughlan played, introducing a 4-4-2 system instead.
Clough needs to focus on getting the basics right before pushing on with Mansfield, which is something the Stags have struggled with in recent games. However, it’s far from an ideal time to play Cambridge United. Not only have they shown themselves as real promotion contenders so far this season, but they’ve also had an extended period of rest.
The U’s clash against Southend was controversially postponed due to positive Covid-19 cases meaning that Mark Bonner’s side have played just one game in the last two weeks. To contrast, Mansfield come into this clash having played three games in just over a week, including 120 minutes against Dag & Red in the FA Cup.
The U’s are undefeated at home and will be looking to keep themselves in the automatic promotion places heading into an intense period of festive football. The odds are stacked against Mansfield, but Nigel Clough has thrived on being the underdog before and will believe he can do so again.
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