United line-up: Barrett, Matt Joseph, Granville, Thompson, Craddock, Raynor, Richards, Hyde (Wanless 76), Kyd (Hay 46), Barnwell (Palmer 54), Beall.

Terry Wilby's report:
We managed a 2-1 win but I'm not sure how. If our luck continues then we will win the division by Easter, if not we are in for some stuffings. There was nothing in the CEN on Friday about the team changes, Michael Kyd was in the team in place of Scott McGleish (injured), and Darren Hay as substitute.

We just shaded the first half on play and were 2-0 up thanks to goals from Kyd (who was put through by Tony Richards) and then Richards scored after a quick break from defending a corner. Matt Joseph had a long shot clip the top of the bar and Paul Raynor was close with a free kick but that was about it. Raynor seemed to be playing at the front (which is not his best position), Barnwell was not very good going forward and even worse when defending. Micah's good passes were matched by the number of fouls he committed (around 5, he got booked for 1, and although the fouls were not vicious another referee could have sent him off after the second.) Scott Barrett kept us in the game with a number of good saves.

In the second half Kydd (who looked knackered) was replaced with Hay. We made some half chances, Jody heading over from a corner was the best. Barnwell was replaced with Paul Wanless, later Micah was replaced with Adi Hayes. We gave away possession far too easily, our back 3 were overworked dealing with long diagonal passes for the wingers to run on to. Brighton scored from that sort of play when Barnwell missed a tackle. If Brighton continue to play like that they will not be at the bottom long. There was a lot of "Archer Out" chanting but no other demonstration from Brighton fans during the game. There is a plan for a mass evacuation 15 minutes before the end of their next game.

I reckon there were around 500 U's fans at the game.

Anglia Kick-off is now back on Sunday afternoon and showed the goals. They are thinking of a "Worst Game" feature. If we write in as Boring fans I wonder if they would show the 5-1 goals?

I can't go to Fulham, but if someone wants to borrow my lucky "Moose is Loose" yellow hat.................

Terry Wilby.

Ben Mynott's report and ratings:
On paper Cambridge should have walked the match. Brighton have had a terrible start to the season, particularly over the past month having lost 5 of their previous 6 matches. And although the result stuck to the form book, the match itself showed no sign of the huge gap between the clubs in the league.

Cambridge did dominate most of the first half, but this was as much to do with Brighton playing badly as Cambridge playing well. Michael Kyd, playing his first game since coming back from Australia just days earlier, caused Brighton more trouble than most with some great runs down the right. On numerous occasions he beat his man, got to the by-line and got a half-decent cross in, but never was there anyone on the end. I guess the main reason for this was not having an out-and-out striker in the team; Richards was in a centre forward position but often drifted to the wings, while Kyd and Raynor played as attacking wide men (or so it seemed).

Cambridge's dominance was soon converted into goals as first Kyd, then Richards, found the net. The view from the away end (I was at pitch level sitting down) was far from great, but the first goal, which came after just over 20 minutes, looked to me like a bit of a comedy. Richards received the ball in what looked like acres of space on the edge of the area, and surely should have turned for goal where he would have had a clear run. His control was far from great, and eventually he played the ball square to his right in the rough direction of Raynor and Kyd. Raynor either missed or dummied the ball, allowing it to run nicely into Kyd's path. The youngster made no mistake, firing powerfully past Rust while holding off a challenge (I think!).

Cambridge looked the more likely to score again after the opener. Raynor had a curling free-kick agonisingly go over; from where I was it seemed destined for the top corner, but it obviously dipped a fraction too late. I sat back down quickly, fortunately not having made too much of a fool of myself as many other fans also thought he'd scored. Still, even though it missed, it was our best free-kick in a long time. The ball really curled in the air (it started off fairly straight) and after clearing the wall it had Rust totally beaten. Unfortunately the dip came just that bit too late.

Matt Joseph went close with a left foot drive from 25 yards; he had run into a central position and with no other options open and no sign of a challenge he had a pop himself. His shot whistled just inches over.

It certainly wasn't all Cambridge though, and Brighton came slowly into the game (no thanks to their fans, who gave little encouragement). Barrett had to be on his toes ans was called on more and more as the gaem progressed. It was from a Brighton attack that Cambridge got their second. In the 43rd minute the ball was cleared from a corner to Kyd, just inside his half on the right. He took the ball forward a bit before hitting an accurate low pass to Raynor, a good 40 or 50 yards further ahead and to the left. Raynor loomed down on goal but then seemed to hesitate somewhat. It turned out to be the right choice as Richards was soon up in support. Raynor tapped the ball into the oncoming striker's path, who controlled the ball well and unleashed a powerful shot into the net. A very good goal all round.

From this point on it was Brighton who dominated. I felt 2-1 would have been a fairer scoreline at the interval, but Barrett, Craddock and Granville had all done admirably well.

At the break Hay replaced the tired Kyd. Brighton totally dominated the second half, Cambridge seeming unable to get a grip on the game. Brighton had attack after attack and corner after corner, but fortunately all they were rewarded with was a solitary goal. Poor play by Barnwell allowed Storer to get clean through on goal, and he made no mistake slipping the ball into the far post.

Barrett was outstanding, making numerous crucial saves. There were several heart-in-the-mouth moments fro the visiting fans; in some ways it was a blessing we couldn't see all the chances too clearly. Fortunately Brighton's finishing tended to let them down.

Cambridge were restricted to breakaways for the entire second 55 minutes (the ref added an amazing 10 minutes, which he must have carried over from another game - there were few stoppages and Cambridge actually didn't time-waste). This was predominantly the midfield's fault as Darran Hay and Tony Richards did their bit. Hay's performance compared to that of Ferdinand in the week; he won most things in the air and was excellent at holding the ball up and laying it off. Perhaps at times he would have been better to be greedy and have a go himself. He did try a couple of one-twos that almost came off, and came close to converting a driven cross-shot from Richards, but had very few crosses to feed on. He had one snap shot on goal that he didn't quite get hold of, leaving Rust to make a simple save.

Brighton's corner count must have outweighed Cambridge's by about 10 to 1 in the second half, but no prizes for guessing what Cambridge did with their few. Raynor to Thommo at the far post each time, but on this occasion they all proved fruitless. Craddock did have one golden chance from a right wing cross; the keeper had committed himself and was nowhere, but Craddock couldn't control his header and it looped over the bar.

Palmer replaced Barnwell around the 55th minute and went to the centre of defence with Granville switching from a central position to the left. Palmer caused a couple of anxious moments, not least when he headed a long ball past Barrett. There was no real danger, but the keeper and defender failed to communicate and Palmer headed the ball towards where he believed Barrett to be. But Barrett wasn't there, and Lee had to be quick to ensure his header didn't end up in the net!

Overall a very lucky win, but the sort of thing we'd never have got last season. We'd have undoubtedly buckled under the pressure, but this time to their credit Cambridge battled away despite playing poorly as a whole.

Performances

Barrett         8.5     Man of the match easily.  Superb saves on numerous
occasions, safe handling and good kicking.  Had it not been for him we'd
surely have lost.

Joseph          5.5     Often went on sidewards runs, only to give the ball
away.

Barnwell        3       This man is not a defender!  Awful performance
again, rightly substituted.  Perhaps he'll improve with more games there....

Granville       7.5     A very good game, often picking up the pieces at
the back and quick to spot openings for counter attacks.

Craddock        7       After a poor start to the season, he's getting back to his old self.  Some excellent defending.

Thompson        6       Reasonably solid.

Beall           6       Absent for 20 minutes, excellent for 25, then just
worked hard for the second half but with little success.

Hyde            5       A poor game, especially by his high standards.  The
team were looking to him to put his foot on the ball in midfield and take
control of the game, but it never happened.  His timing was all out and he
was deservedly booked early on.  Numerous clumsy challenges later he was
extremely lucky to stay on the pitch. TT subbed him after the ref gave him
what appeared to be his last warning, and put Wanless in his place.

Raynor          6.5     Battled away all match, and played quite well first
half.  Faded in the second.  Had a part in both goals, playing in a more
forward role, and was extremely unlucky with his free-kick.

Richards        6.5     Decent game without doing too much amazing.

Kyd             8       If he hadn't tired (as he appeared to for the last
5 minutes of the first half) and had to be replaced, he'd have been in with
a shout for MoM.  Great performance on his return, giving TT some real
selection headaches up front.  With Hay suspended on Tuesday and McGleish
doubtful, he's sure to start against Fulham.  Apparently the football team
he was playing for were part time, and hence he was far from 100% match
fit.  Trevor Peer cited this as one reason why part-time football in the
lower divisions is far from a good thing.

Subs:

Hay             7.5     Showed some good skill and clever touches I don't
remember from his first spell at the Abbey.  He was always powerful and
good in the air, but at Brighton he showed himself to be a good all-round
striker.  Turned his man brilliantly in injury time to get Brighton's Smith
sent off.

Palmer          5       Showed why he's far from the starting 11.  Did at
least do a couple of good things, but also some bad things.

Wanless         6.5     Battled really hard to get possession in the heart
of midfield, with some success.  His introduction, coupled with Brighton
being reduced to 10 men, meant Brighton didn't threaten too much in the
over-long period for stoppages.

Ben.

With thanks to Terry Wilby and Ben Mynott for their views.

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