Cambridge United prepare for mammoth trek to Accrington in their first away game of the League One season

Cambridge United are set to face their first away day of the season, with a near 400 mile round trip to Accrington Stanley on the horizon.

The U’s played their first third-tier game in almost 20 years last weekend, earning an impressive draw against promotion hopefuls Oxford United at The Abbey. Karl Robinson’s side edged in front just before the half-time break, with Steve Seddon popping up unmarked at the back post to fire a powerful volley past Dimitar Mitov.

Perhaps this was an undeserved lead. Granted, Oxford were clearly the better side and posed a much bigger threat, but Cambridge kept them at arm’s length for much of the first half. It was just one lapse in concentration that saw them concede, as is often the case when facing League One opposition.

That presented Mark Bonner with a dilemma. If they surged forward in search of an equaliser, Oxford would cut them open on the counter but if they sat back and defended, there would be no hope of finding the back of the net. Luckily, the U’s head coach found the perfect balance. His side kept their shape when off the ball, but found acres of space to exploit in wide areas.

The Yellows’ full-backs, Seddon and Anthony Forde, both prefer to push incredibly high up the pitch. Cambridge used a high press to win the ball and then focused on playing James Brophy and Shilow Tracey into the gaps left in wide areas.

Perhaps the biggest catalyst in changing the pattern of the game was Bonner’s decision to play with two strikers for the last quarter of the game. Sam Smith was brought on to play alongside Joe Ironside in attack, with Wes Hoolahan shifting out wide and Tracey being substituted after a superb performance.

Paul Digby was tripped inside the box with just over 10 minutes of the game to play, allowing Ironside to calmly dispatch his penalty into the bottom left corner of the goal. Cambridge’s resilient performance earned them a point, although they may have been frustrated that they were unable to take all three.

Of course, playing Accrington Stanley will be a completely different test. John Coleman has worked miracles on a shoestring budget, leading his side to an 11th place finish in League One last season. They can’t sign the marquee names that some of the bigger teams in the division can but consistently manage to consolidate their place in the third tier.

In many ways, that’s what Cambridge want to achieve as a long-term goal. Bonner was full of praise for Accrington and explained that he hoped his side could emulate what they’ve achieved since winning promotion to League One in 2018.

“People call them a small club with a small budget but they never get anywhere near consideration to struggle in the league. It’s a huge testament to what John’s done and how the club have developed over time.

“You see a new training ground, you see a stadium that’s developing every year. They’re making good progress and edging forward little by little. They’re balancing that act of investing in the team and the club at the same time so you can grow as you develop.

“That’s a good model for us to go down. We have follow a similar pattern and path ourselves, and if we emulate the sort of thing they’ve done and consolidate ourselves at this level then that would be a great thing for us.”

If Cambridge are to avoid an immediate return to League Two, they’ll have to improve upon their last performance in the Carabao Cup. The U’s played out a 0-0 draw against a Swindon Town side that many have tipped to be relegated from League Two after a turbulent summer which almost saw them enter administration.

While that may be unlikely given their recent takeover, Bonner’s side could’ve easily slipped to a defeat on Tuesday night. In the end, they sealed a fairly comfortable win on penalties and earned a second-round tie away at Millwall. This means that Cambridge will face eight games in the first month of the season.

For now, the focus will remain on their next game against Accrington on Saturday afternoon. The Lancashire side slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat against recently relegated Wycombe Wanderers on the opening day despite having 61% possession. They bounced back with an impressive Carabao Cup win against Rotherham United in midweek, proving that they’re still a force to be reckoned with against League One opposition.

Much of that comes down to their sensational strike partnership of Dion Charles and Colby Bishop. Between them, they scored 29 League One goals last season, accounting for just under half of the team’s total goal tally for the campaign. Both of them found the back of the net in Tuesday’s 2-1 win at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Nullifying their threat will be a number one priority for Cambridge, much as they did with Matty Taylor in last weekend’s draw against Oxford. That being said, they may have to do it without Lloyd Jones and Jubril Okedina, both of whom are injury doubts. Should they miss out on the trip to Accrington, the U’s would have just one senior centre-back in the squad in Greg Taylor with Paul Digby likely to drop into the backline.

One player who certainly won’t be travelling to Lancashire is Andy Dallas. The 22-year-old was absent from Cambridge’s midweek draw against Swindon, with Bonner subsequently confirming that the club had accepted an offer for him to leave on a permanent basis.

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