A rivalry rekindled: Cambridge United host Luton Town in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup

Cambridge United fans do not like being reminded of their time in non-league.

The U’s have a storied history since they were first elected to the Football League in 1970. In fact, they came just inches away from featuring in the inaugural Premier League season, but ultimately lost in the 1992 Second Division play-offs.

Just 13 years later, they would be relegated from the Football League entirely for the first time in their history, with the club entering administration soon after.

In 2009, they were joined in the Conference by a Luton Town side seemingly following a similar path. The Hatters had been deducted a staggering 30 points for financial mismanagement and “matters concerning transfers of players under the previous board”. They were subsequently relegated from League Two, ending 89 years of league football at Kenilworth Road.

Of course, Cambridge and Luton are not traditional rivals and fans would not consider their matches to be “derbies”. The U’s have always considered Peterborough United to be their main enemies, while the same could be said for the Hatters and now Premier League outfit Watford.

However, their relative proximity, coupled with their days in non-league, kindled a new rivalry that would spill into the Football League when the two teams were promoted together in 2013/14.

Cambridge, however, would fail to beat Luton in any of their meetings in League Two, albeit that they knocked the Hatters out of the FA Cup on the way to earning a famous tie against Manchester United in 2015. It became clear that the U’s were stagnating, allowing their Bedfordshire rivals to take full advantage.

In the summer of 2017, Luton signed Cambridge’s star player and academy graduate, Luke Berry, on the way to winning promotion to League One in convincing fashion. It was the same season that they would record a 7-0 thrashing of the U’s at Kenilworth Road, which remains the heaviest defeat that the club have suffered in their Football League history.

Will this ever get old? ❌

Olly Lee scored from a different postcode as Town hit seven against Cambridge United #OnThisDay in 2017 ?#COYH pic.twitter.com/9O2ygNqAmN

— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) November 18, 2021

Both clubs have been on upward trajectories since then, albeit that Cambridge’s took a little longer to come to fruition. Luton are currently an established Championship side with eyes on a top-half finish and possibly even the playoffs, while the U’s look set to survive in their first campaign back in League One after winning promotion last season.

In fact, it is arguably the perfect time for the two sides to meet once again and the FA Cup Fourth Round draw certainly delivered. The two sides will meet for the first time in almost four years when they clash at The Abbey on Saturday afternoon with the game considered to be of such magnitude that it has even moved to a 5:30pm kick-off for TV selection on BBC Red Button.

Cambridge have already made FA Cup headlines after manager Mark Bonner masterminded a stunning 1-0 victory away at Newcastle United in the Third Round, with goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov putting in a heroic performance to help beat the richest club in world football in their own backyard.

Luton’s FA Cup journey has not been quite as exciting with Championship sides entering in the Third Round of the competition every season. Nathan Jones’ men earned a comfortable 4-0 win against League Two outfit Harrogate Town, taking them into the Fourth Round for the first time since 2007.

What makes this tie so exciting, on top of the aforementioned rivalry, is that both sides are in fantastic form.

Cambridge have stunned fans and pundits alike by climbing up to 13th in League One, with even the most optimistic outsiders tipping the U’s for relegation before the start of the season. Their impressive performances so far in 2022 have given them a nine-point cushion on the bottom four, having only lost one of their last nine games in all competitions.

Luton, on the other hand, find themselves just three points off the Championship play-off places with a game in hand on West Bromwich Albion in sixth. The Hatters have lost just once in all competitions since the start of December, having drawn against title-favourites Fulham and beaten automatic promotion candidates AFC Bournemouth at Kenilworth Road in the process.

However, their play-off hunt could mean that their heads are turned when it comes to FA Cup action.

The Hatters have to play a further six games before the end of the month, including two pivotal ties against fellow top-six hopefuls Stoke City and West Brom. Jones has already indicated that he will rotate his side for Saturday’s cup game, explaining that “one or two will get an opportunity because they need a game, and we need to test them.”

Sonny Bradley, Jordan Clark and top goalscorer Elijah Adebayo are all being assessed, although many believe that Luton will not risk them in the FA Cup ahead of their upcoming league fixtures. Nonetheless, the Hatters will head to The Abbey as heavy favourites, which is exactly how Cambridge will want it to be.

Bonner has labelled his side as “confident underdogs”, a tagline that has seen the U’s claim the scalps of many big sides over the course of the season so far. With a sold-out Abbey Stadium awaiting them on Saturday afternoon, there is a real sense of optimism that they can provide yet another upset and progress to the Fifth Round of the cup for the first time since the turn of the century.

However, if they are to stun the Hatters, they will have to do it without two of their best players.

Top goalscorer Joe Ironside remains sidelined after picking up an ankle injury in Cambridge’s 3-1 against Doncaster Rovers in mid-January. Defender Jack Iredale has also damaged his ankle, hobbling off at half-time in the U’s most recent game, a 2-0 defeat away at Bolton Wanderers.

This leaves Bonner with limited options up front and at the back.

Deadline Day arrival Lorent Tolaj was signed on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion to deputise for Ironside in his absence but Bonner has indicated that he is unlikely to start due to lack of match fitness. This means that Sam Smith will almost certainly be leading the line, despite concerns that he does not offer the same physicality to suit Cambridge’s style of play.

Iredale’s injury means that Bournemouth-loanee Sam Sherring will step into the heart of defence alongside Jubril Okedina. This does form an incredibly young centre-back partnership with both players just 21-years-old. Their combined age of 42 is just three years older than U’s midfielder Wes Hoolahan, who turns 40 at the end of the season.

Cambridge have often thrived off the back of injury crises with their backs-to-the-wall approach taking many of their opponents by surprise. With a sold-out FA Cup tie against one of their fiercest rivals, this could prove to be their toughest test so far.

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