Ben Mynott's report and ratings:
A nice victory to consolidate our 2nd position. Fulham losing was a bonus, while a couple of other results also went our way.

Cambridge got off to a good start looking by far the better side. Admittedly this was mainly down to the fact that Hull were unbelievably poor, but CUFC made the most of it early on. After a couple of reasonable chances in the opening minutes, the ball was fed to McGleish on the edge of a crowded area. He did well to keep possession jigging one way then the next, but couldn’t break free of all three defenders who were on him. While looking to get a shot in one of the defenders took a desperate swipe at the ball in an attempt to clear the danger. However all he managed to do was curl a brilliant (!) shot into the keeper’s bottom right corner! McGleish celebrated as though he had scored, and in fact both the tannoy and all reports I’ve read have credited him with the goal. No doubt amongst any of the fans behind the goal though (it was at our end) that it was an own goal.

Not many minutes later Granville was adjudged to have fouled a player who seemed to be running clean through. It’s difficult to tell being the opposite end, but the challenge looked like a fair shoulder barge. Whether another defender was covering is also debatable, but the ref only showed the yellow card. Nothing came of the free-kick.

Ten or so minutes later Cambridge found themselves 2-0 and a player up. Jamie Barnwell was put clean through with a long ball over the top by McGleish. He got goalside of his marker, who as a last resort brought him down from behind a few yards into the area. Excellent refereeing as he was right up with play just yards from the incident, and after what seemed an incredibly long pause he blew his whistle and pointed to the spot.

With Barnwell’s confidence as low as it seems I doubt he’d have scored, so the defender (Dewhurst I think) did us a real favour. He took a long time to pick himself up and face the ref. He looked up as if to say "you’re not sending me off" but the ref’s facial expression was a clear "you’ve got to go". Sure enough the ref produced his red card with very little hesitation. Micah Hyde confidently placed the ball on the spot and scored with a well-taken spot-kick. He found the bottom corner sending the keeper the wrong way to his right. Not that he’d have got it had he dived the right way.

For the rest of the half Cambridge had chance after chance, but saw each one go begging. There were a reasonable number of corners with Craddock and Wanless both heading just over the bar (noticeably outjumping Robbie Turner!). Barnwell could have had a hat-trick. He was put almost clean through twice, each time miscuing his shot well wide both times. On another occasion he tried to lob the keeper but ended spooning his effort miles over.

McGleish had a good chance to increase the lead when he found himself in acres of space just outside the area. But not realising the time he had, he tried a volley that he didn’t quite connect with, making the keeper’s job far too easy. Given the time and space he had he could have taken the keeper on.

Hayes had a half chance that he almost made the most of. The ball was half cleared to him on the edge of the area and he unleashed a first time drive goalwards. However the keeper managed to get a good sight of it through a crowded penalty area making a very good save low to his right.

Another chance was created by Hayes after some great work down the left. He got past his man, looked up and saw McGleish making a run for the near post. His low cross was perhaps slightly too close to the keeper, but both McGleish and goalie went in bravely. It looked like McGleish might just squeeze the ball past the keeper, but after a few ricochets the ball went wide for a corner.

The only real chance I can recall for Hull was when too many defenders were drawn wide allowing Robbie Turner to play a simply square ball and put a player clean through. However he snatched at his shot dragging it wide.

Despite being a man down, Hull started to come back into the game a bit in the second half. Chances weren’t quite so easy to come by for Cambridge, while Hull pressured at times without really threatening Barrett’s goal. Whenever a player looked to find a shooting position he was quickly closed down by a solid Cambridge defence. Eventually all six subs appeared, Cambridge’s being Preece, Hay and Thompson. Initially Preece seemed to steady things a bit, playing a part in the third goal. Micah Hyde found himself clean well clear of the defence. He took the ball into the area, rounded the keeper, and despite seeming to have taken the ball far too wide, he calmly found the target from a tight angle, beating a defender’s goalline lunge.

Cambridge really should have wrapped the game up as more clear-cut chances went begging. Hay was put clean through only for the keeper to save at his feet; a striker should score 4 times out of 5 in such a position. Beall then worked a gilt-edged chance breaking free down the right, drawing the keeper then squaring the ball to Hyde. Micah somehow missed an open goal, slicing his shot from 8 yards onto the post and wide. There was even an extra man in Hay waiting in space!

There were some other half chances for Cambridge, but I can’t remember them clearly enough to describe them.

Hull continued to battle and weren’t scared to throw men forward. This was why Cambridge found themselves clean through so often, but Hull were somewhat let off the hook. Their persistence paid off with about 10 minutes to go. A player broke through on the right but was closed down by Joseph and Granville. Barrett had come miles off his line to claim the ball, but not hearing a call Joseph tried to clear the danger. His half clearance fell to the unmarked lanky substitute, who lobbed Barrett with ease. The ball was in the air for an age, and had Barrett not been so far out of position, it would surely have been easy to get back to make a save. Definitely a black mark for the keeper.

The game seemed to die a death after this, with no more memorable chances coming to either side.

To sum up a great three points and a convincing margin, but had it not been for some poor finishing the scoreline could, and should, have been much greater.

Poor Robbie Turner got a hell of a lot of stick from the travelling CUFC fans. Having alienated the fans it would seem best now for both parties if his loan move became permanent. He actually played OK, but was "clumsy" at times to say the least (well, maybe dirty) but the ref wasn’t stupid and booked him for one such challenge. He was taken off midway through the second half - perhaps to prevent him from being sent off!

Performances:

Barrett       5.5     Not as convincing of late, and despite having little
to do managed to concede a tame goal.  Dodgy handling at times.

Matt Joseph   7       Another powerhouse performance.  Wasn’t able to get
forward a great deal but defended admirably.

Hayes         7       Played wide on the left, at times at wing back and
at times in a more forward role.  Was superb in the first half, setting up
chances and unlucky not to score, but he faded in the second half and
should perhaps have been subbed.

Granville     8       Easily MoM.  Superb defending throughout, and made
good use of the ball when turning defence into attack.  The three guys I
went with were all in 100% agreement.

Craddock      6.5     Not a bad game, but nothing outstanding.

Wanless       6.5     Seemed to play in between defence and midfield. Had
a reasonable game not making any mistakes, and should feel hard done by
being subbed early in the second half.

Beall         6       Not bad.

Raynor        6       Drifted in and out a bit, but was often there to
pick up the pieces after a Hull attack and start off a counter-attack.

Hyde          6.5     Better than of late, but not as good as he was for a
period earlier in he season.  Seemed to have a bit more confidence, taking
his two goals well, but could and should have had more.  His effort that
hit the post was a very bad miss.

McGleish      6       Had a lively start but faded quite a bit in the
second half and was rightly replaced by TT.  Scott was far from happy
though.

Barnwell      6       Seemed to be everywhere in the first 20 minutes,
playing a part in every Cambridge attack.  He did well to win the penalty,
using his pace to get goal side on the defender.  He badly needs a goal
though to boost his confidence; had his finishing been on song he could
have easily had three or more and been MoM.  As a striker he really should
have done better in front of goal.

Subs:

Preece        6.5     Steadied things for a while and worked hard for his
30 minutes, showing no signs of his injury.  Was very brave in the tackle,
winning most 50-50 balls.  The Hull players seemed to follow through in the
tackle quite often and I winced thinking of his perhaps slightly fragile
bone, but he came through fine.

Hay           5       Missed chances.

Thompson      5.5     Did very little.

Ben.

With grateful thanks to Ben Mynott for his views.

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