Cambridge United earn a hard-fought win and a draw against Mick McCarthy’s Cardiff

Cambridge United managed to avoid defeat against Championship opposition as they played two one-hour games against Cardiff City.

The U’s travelled to South Wales for a short training camp on Thursday afternoon, as Mark Bonner looked to improve the fitness levels of his current squad. It also provided a suitable opportunity for the head coach to get his tactics across to the new signings who joined the U’s this summer.

A tough test against Championship side Cardiff City would be the first time that the fans were able to watch their side since winning promotion against Grimsby Town at the start of May. The first of two hour-long games saw Cambridge field a stronger lineup, with Lloyd Jones, James Brophy and Jensen Weir making their debut for the U’s.

They’d be facing a strong Cardiff side too, with first-team regulars such as Aden Flint, Marlon Pack and Will Vaulks all starting in the first game at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium. However, it took just four minutes for Cambridge to put themselves into the lead.

A disastrous mix up at the back allowed Sam Smith through on goal to fire the ball past Alex Smithies in the Bluebirds net, giving the U’s a shock 1-0 lead. An end-to-end first half ensued, with Smith close to finding his second of the game before Isaac Vassell and Lee Tomlin missed chances for an equaliser.

Perhaps understandably given the heat, the second half didn’t live up to the expectations set in the first. The U’s continued to look like the superior side, and eventually managed to double their lead with three minutes to spare. 19-year-old Weir took aim from 30 yards out, beating Smithies once again as the ball bobbled into the bottom left of the goal.

With a fresh lineup for the second game, Cambridge started with the same intensity as they did in the first one. Shilow Tracey burst into Cardiff’s penalty area with just seconds on the clock, before being brought down by Dillon Phillips for a spot kick. Joe Ironside comfortably dispatched the penalty to give the U’s a 3-0 aggregate lead across the two games.

The Bluebirds find the back of the net just over ten minutes later, as Chanka Zimba latched onto James Collins’ cross to head home from close range. Albeit a friendly game, Bonner will be frustrated that his trialist centre-back was beaten in the air by Cardiff’s 19-year-old striker.

The U’s intensity soon dropped once again, with Wolves loanee Ryan Giles clipping the post in the first half before firing inches wide in the second. Despite wreaking havoc down the flanks, his side were unable to find a winner and had to settle for a defeat and a draw against League One opposition.

This will be a disappointing result for McCarthy in the same way that Bonner will be incredibly pleased with the performances he saw. Nonetheless, pre-season results have to be taken with a pinch of salt, and the U’s head coach will be well aware that a lot of work still needs to be done before their opening League One game against Oxford in three weeks time.

The 35-year-old opted to play a 4-4-2 formation in both games, and it looks incredibly likely that he will stick with this system for the foreseeable future. Despite being played as a right winger, Wes Hoolahan was the star of the first game, pulling all the strings from midfield throughout his hour on the pitch. Cambridge will undoubtedly be relying on him heavily for their upcoming campaign in the third tier.

While Smith and Ironside played in different matches, a strike partnership with the two of them looks all but certain. They were by far the sharpest players in the U’s attacking line, and Bonner will surely be keen to get them working together in upcoming friendly matches.

It was a disappointing afternoon for Jack Lankester, who did not feature in either game as he continues his recovery from a back injury. Goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov wasn’t involved either, nor was Kai McKenzie-Lyle. The Guyana international was involved in his country’s short-lived CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign, where he unfortunately made countless errors in a 4-0 defeat to Guatemala last week.

The U’s will now return to Cambridgeshire to continue their pre-season preparations. They’ll head to St Neots to face a Brentford XI next Friday, before welcoming QPR and Northampton to The Abbey the following week. Then it’s just a matter of days until Cambridge face their first game back in League One.

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