A strange day at the Abbey Stadium which ended with both teams and sets of supporters celebrating. Preston clinched the Second Division title - but only due to results elsewhere - after they struggled against a Cambridge team who needed a victory to guarantee survival.

Cambridge got off to a flying start when John Hansen scored with a spectacular volley in the eighth minute and there was little after that for more than 2,000 Preston fans to cheer until the other results came through to confirm their team were champions.

During the first half, they showed some of the football which brought them 26 wins on their way to the title, but manager David Moyes's hope of clinching it at his old club was dashed by poor finishing. Brett Angell and Michael Appleton both fired wide from excellent positions, allowing Cambridge to survive the early storm.

And Cambridge stuck a crucial blow a minute before half time when Trevor Benjamin ran on to a knock-down from John Taylor to hammer a shot inside the right post for his 11th goal in 12 appearances.

Cambridge had little trouble after the break controlling a game in which Preston seemed to lose concentration as the cheers rippled around the terraces in response to other scores which went their way.

Moyes commented: "We played poorly today and I don't want to say anything else about it. But it's been a great season, the players have been magnificent and we deserve the promotion. It was a shame we couldn't finish off in style but you have to look back over the whole campaign at a time like this."

Said Cambridge manage Roy McFarland: "Preston deserve the title. I've thought throughout the season they were the best team in the division. But I was proud of the way we played to beat them. We were virtually down a couple of months ago but the players have reacted magnificently.

"Winning this game must give us tremendous confidence in the Second Division next season."

It could have been even more clear cut for Cambridge but for a controversial incident in the 71st minute, when Trevor Benjamin appeared to score a perfectly good goal, flicking the ball inside the far post. But after initially signalling a goal, referee Richard Beeby disallowed it after consulting a linesman who had raised his flag, apparently missing a Preston defender who was standing on the goal-line.

There was a sour note before the Champagne flowed for Preston, when Michael Jackson was sent off for a clash with Taylor in the 90th minute.

A SEASON to remember, a game to forget for Preston, while Cambridge United could just about swing that statement all the way around as they turned the Division Two table on its head.

Under intense pressure after failing to perform at Colchester two days earlier, they outgunned, outfought and out-thought the team who finished the day as champions due to results elsewhere.

One Preston player left the Abbey clutching an open bottle of champagne and a supporter's cardboard cut-out silver paper-covered trophy, which seemed highly appropriate. His side rarely looked anything like the best in the division and that, to a large extent, was because United, driven by a survival instinct, were in no mood to let them showboat through the game without putting in the work.

As in the Colchester match, there was a short, crucial spell which had a huge influence on the outcome. But yesterday it happened soon after the start. North End opened impressively, and Michael Appleton had a free run at goal when Brett Angell chipped a pass over the United defence in the sixth minute. But he shot too early, wide of the left-hand post.

Two minutes later a superb cross from Sheffield United loanee Jonathan Hunt, in the starting line-up for the first time, was met by a thunderous volley from John Hansen, stunning Preston and their 2,000 party-going fans behind that goal.

United manager Roy McFarland admitted: "Preston missing that early chance was important. It would have been much tougher for us if they had scored the first goal."

North End recovered from the setback to gain much more possession than United throughout the first half, but the spark was lacking in an attack from which manager David Moyes mysteriously had dropped 25-goals top-scorer Jonathan Macken. Another squandered opportunity midway through the half, when Angell sliced a shot wide followed by a vital Jason Kavanagh tackle on the same striker, seemed to convince the League leaders it was not going to be their day.

With Scott Eustace back at centre-half after suspension and Marc Joseph restored to left-back in place of Clive Wilson, United tightened things up in defence, as the midfield blocked channels and stopped Preston's runs.

Skipper Paul Wanless said: "We knew Preston could play good football, but we made sure they only did it across the front of us where it wasn't doing any harm."

Another goal, from what was only United's third attack of any real threat, at the classic "good time to score" -- a minute before half time -- turned out to be decisive.

A Preston backlash, spurred by what they saw as the injustice of Trevor Benjamin escaping an offside flag, was expected after the break, but never arrived. United played sound and sensible, safe soccer, and as far as their fans were concerned, the 45 minutes were splendidly uneventful.

There was just one moment of danger, and another of huge annoyance when a perfectly good third goal was chalked off due to a linesman's blunder. Bjarki Gunnlaugsson broke through in the 56th minute to hit a fierce, narrow-angled, close range drive, but United keeper Lionel Perez did well to block the shot to send the ball spinning across the face of goal and out for a corner.

Then in the 71st minute Wanless and Taylor combined to set-up a chance which Benjamin buried from five yards. Referee Richard Beeby signalled a goal, only to disallow it after consulting the linesman, whose flag was raised for offside despite the fact that a Preston defender had been standing on the goal-line.

Taylor protested so vigorously he was booked, and later the referee lamely remarked the Preston player had stepped back into the net out of play, which, if it was true, could be seen as a technical offence in itself and no justification to disallow a goal.

"It didn't matter in the end," said Wanless, "but there was still nearly 20 minutes to go at the time, and it could have got us relegated."

Those final 20 minutes were among the most surreal in Abbey history as from both ends of the ground cheers erupted which had nothing to do with the play. Preston fans were celebrating their champions as the radio news revealed Wigan and Gillingham were struggling, while the home supporters chanted: "The U's are staying up," as they discovered Cardiff were losing and Oxford drawing.

After acknowledging their fans at the final whistle, United left the pitch to allow North End to mark their triumph, but after a minute or two had to return because their own happy fans were not prepared to let the visitors hijack the whole party.

Preston's 26 League wins made them worthy champions, but the match also sealed a remarkable recovery by a United side who looked dead and buried, rock-bottom and seven points adrift only a little over two months ago.

Report © Cambridge Newspapers Ltd

It's not often a team is beaten, has a player sent off and ends the game spraying champagne over the crowd. But this was Preston's millennium moment . . . a surreal case of chumps to champs in the flick of a radio switch.

One minute the bubbly was going back on ice - the next the corks were popping in title celebration. And all the while manager David Moyes sat alone in the dressing room not daring to believe that defeat actually meant victory thanks to other results in Luton and London.

It took the man on the TV to confirm what the man on the tranny was saying - Preston really HAD won the Second Division title - before the boss came racing on to the pitch like David Coulthard to drench players and fans alike with a bottle of the fizzy stuff.

Only minutes earlier there had been an eerie silence at the away end of the Abbey Stadium as the team looked at the supporters and the supporters looked back at the team, neither knowing how the arithmetic added up. Victory over Cambridge is how North End would have loved to have clinched it. Yet defeat still handed them the trophy because both Wigan and Gillingham failed to win. And once those two priceless results came through on the scores of radios dotted through the crowd, the place exploded in wild celebration.

The game which preceded the champagne party was hugely forgettable. In fact the gory details were largely forgotten once that first cork had gone 'pop'. But we are duty bound here to detail the events of those 90 minutes - if only for the record. And just in case a few thousand hangovers have left a few thousand folk unable to recall what really went on before the drink started to flow.

Cambridge bagged two first half goals - the second of which looked at least two yards offside - and had a third disallowed 20 minutes from time. As for Preston, it was just a rare bad away-day at the office, culminating in stoppage time with the red-carding of Michael Jackson for an incident involving striker John Taylor. Sadly, when North End kick off their first season for 19 years in the top half of English football come August, Jackson will miss the opening three games through suspension.

The Abbey Stadium still held painful memories from an almost identical visit four years ago when Gary Peters’ side could have claimed promotion, but lost 2-1 instead. On that occasion the team went on to clinch it the following Saturday and take the championship a week after that. Only Ryan Kidd and Moyes himself still survive from the squad which came unstuck that night. And for a few anxious moments at the end it must have seemed like a bad case of deja vu.

North End could perhaps use injuries to key players as mitigation this time, with skipper Sean Gregan, top scorer Jonathan Macken and in-form loan winger Iain Anderson all sidelined with a variety of problems. And all three were missed as the side struggled to get to grips with a Cambridge team fighting tooth and nail to keep clear of the drop zone.

Seven bookings and a sending off provided some sort of pointer to the temperature on the field, boosted by a welcome bout of Easter sunshine. But the biggest disappointment was North End’s inability to combat the aerial bombardment which United launched into normally one of the tightest back fours in the section. Time and again the defence was caught out as Trevor Benjamin and Taylor both used their height to good advantage. And it was little surprise that both goals came from a high ball pumped up into the box.

The first, after just eight minutes, was one which John Hansen will probably never repeat as long as he can pull on a pair of football boots. Jonathan Hunt sent over a diagonal ball towards the left hand corner of the box, no-one managed to cut it out and HANSEN lashed it into the roof of the net first time.

A minute before half-time Cambridge made it 2-0 when Jason Kavanagh fired a long ball upfield, Taylor looked two yards offside when the ball was delivered, he nodded it down and BENJAMIN knocked it past Tepi Moilanen into the bottom right-hand corner. Tepi raced across to the man with the flag to enquire why he hadn't waved it to cancel out the goal and was promptly booked for complaining - a protest which he continued with referee Richard Beeby as the players left the field at the interval.

In that first half Preston had created a few half chances with Brett Angell and Michael Appleton both going close. Bjarki Gunnlaugsson was desperately unlucky not to halve Cambridge's lead 11 minutes into the second half but bad luck in front of goal continued to plague him. This time he hit a low shot which keeper Lionel Perez only half saved, but the ball went under him and rolled across the face of goal before going out beyond the far post.

Jackson headed just inches over from a corner and Appleton scuffed a shot straight to Perez from the edge of the box. After 64 minutes Moyes opted to gamble by throwing on Steve Basham and David Eyres for Graham Alexander and Appleton. He switched to three at the back, with four across midfield and Gunnlaugsson in behind a front two of Brett Angell and Basham. But it was still Cambridge who created the better chances with Benjamin having a 70th minute goal disallowed for what looked a highly dubious offside call.

Defender Colin Murdock was then sent on in place of wideman Lee Cartwright and told to play striker, giving Preston four frontmen on the park. And with six minutes remaining the Northern Ireland international very nearly found the net, his shot striking team-mate Angell, of all people, in front of goal and bouncing clear.

With Cambridge fans chanting "We are staying up," and North End supporters singing "We are going up", the match ended with both sets of followers jumping up and down. But the Preston crowd soon settled down to wait for the results from Luton and Millwall which might help to decide the fate of the team which milled around on the pitch in front of them eager for confirmation too.

Luton 1, Wigan 1 came first and fists punched the air in delight. Then there was silence again, before Millwall 2, Gillingham 2 saw the 2,000 North End supporters erupt in celebration. The crowd's reaction set the players off and soon we had the away team and its fans celebrating the title at one end of the field and the home side and its supporters partying at the other to mark safety from the drop.

Out came the champagne - even though North End had sworn they wouldn’t be tempting fate by taking any to Cambridge - and out came Moyes to spray it with bubbles too.

Report © Lancashire Evening Post

A hot sunny day, and the heat in the Supporters Club was set too high!

Starting line-up:
Benjamin, Taylor,
Hansen, Wanless, Ashbee, Hunt,
Joseph, Eustace, McNeil, Kavanagh,
Perez.

Eustace returns to the centre of defence, so Joseph moves to left full back. Lots of attacking options on the bench too.

Plenty of PNE fans, expecting a win to give them the championship, and they started the brighter with a long range shot which went over, getting their first corner on 3 minutes, then shooting wide as a through ball gave a forward space and time.

We scored with pretty well our first attack after 8 minutes, a long crossfield ball from Eustace (I think) dropped over the full back and Hansen volleyed into the roof of the net giving the 'keeper no chance. An absolutely superbly taken goal, not many of the team would have the confidence to take a chance like that. A minute later Hansen had another chance, but shot across the goal and wide of the far post.

Brett Angell was playing for PNE, and as with any team he has been with when we've played them caused us some problems, but shot wide when a ball over the top found him in space. A Wanless snap shot went way too high, then the same player headed just past the post from a Hansen cross. Angell headed wide from a good cross at the other end, then Kavanagh had to be alert to block a shot in our penalty area. Eustace headed over from a corner.

On 31 minutes Joseph was booked slightly harshly in my view, but it was the first of many harsh or odd decisions from the referee. Just before half time a long diagonal cross was headed down by Taylor to the unmarked Benjamin who scored easily. He had been in an offside position when the first ball had been played, the PNE players thought he was still offside from Taylor's pass and complained to the linesman, the 'keeper, Moilanen was booked. A somewhat surprising half time score of 2-0.

Early in the second half Ashbee won the ball in a tackle but was booked for some reason. PNE had a weak shot saved easily, then Benjamin set up Taylor for a shot which was well wide, then Perez had to make a good save at the expense of a corner. Kavanagh was booked, then Appleton for PNE.

Benjamin got a boot to an attempted kick out by their 'keeper, but the rebound fell kindly and into the keepers arms. 25 minutes into the half and Taylor headed down to Benjamin who scored again, but the goal was ruled out by the linesman for offside I presume. There was definitely a player on the line with the 'keeper, so quite who was offside I don't know. I wonder if the linesman couldn't see the player on the line by the post? Taylor was booked for arguing with the referee.

Hansen was replaced by Mustoe on 38 minutes. PNE had a shot deflected away off the back of Angell which was the last of the goalmouth action 5 minutes from the end. There was still time for Hunt to be booked, then in injury time Jackson was sent off for a late tackle from behind as Taylor shielded the ball near the touchline. At the final whistle both sets of fans were cheering, PNE because other results meant that they had won the championship (the 4th time in recent years that the visiting team has taken the championship at the Abbey), and for us the news that we definitely couldn't be relegated. Both teams came back out to acknowledge their fans, the United players applauding the visiting fans.

Ashbee had a good game in the middle, and Hansen even better on the wing going forward and tackling back, but my MoM is Eustace. He dealt well with everything thrown at him, making some timely tackles, and distributing the ball well. If Roy doesn't give him a new contract I'll be surprised. Hunt was not too good, a couple of free kicks went over, and all too often he gave possession away. I'd have replaced him with Youngs midway through the second half when he seemed to be tiring.

I hope we can keep the same level of commitment for the final 2 games in order to finish a few places higher in the table.

Terry Wilby
Proud supporter of Cambridge United Football Club.

What a difference a few days makes,a poor performance at Colchester is followed up my a magnificent display today in an electric atmosphere, with United firm underdogs the game started at a high tempo with both sides pushing foward.

Cambridge looked a complete team with all areas looking solid and when John Hansen scored by making a goal from nothing we never looked back. The goal was of high quality and matched if not bettered the Di Canio volley of previous weeks. Preston did have a few chances of there own, but with the experience and class of Scott Eustace and Lionel Perez we were reasonably comfortable with the pressure & crosses aimed at the much travelled Brett Angel.

The second goal was always there for the taking as Preston searched for the equaliser, but with United missing a few chances and wasting the odd ball with sloppy passing it looked like being a slender margin at half time which could always prove costly in the second half especially with a team of Preston`s quality.

As the crowd roared the players responded ... John 'the legend' Taylor seemed to lose a few of those years and found Trevor Benjamin who scored to put us two up at half time - "the u's are staying up" bellowed across the Abbey as the half time whistle sounded.

The second half was as good as the first with both sides showing some quality football, all preston attacks were brushed aside by superb defending - Jason Kavanagh made some excellent interceptions, Scott Eustace was solid, Martin McNeil put everything possible in the way of the ball in order to stop them getting though, Marc Joseph marked his men well and the experience of Perez was always there when needed and he made a great save. As the game went on United began to gain confidence going forward with the midfield battling well even though a poor ref often made some awful decisions, it looked as though the game was out of Preston reach when Trevor netted his second of the game but somehow we were in company of another linesman with no knowledge of any rules as he somehow ruled the goal out for offside even though there was a player on the line! This proved the standard of refereeing needs assessing although on this occasion it proved irrelevant but if the score was 0-0 it could of been costly, even David Moyes the Preston boss admitted it was a fine goal on an interview with radio 5.

The final whistle came as the Abbey's roof was lifted, the result means we will be in division 2 where we belong next season and Preston are champions.

The U`s are staying up and now you have got to believe us!

Bring on Burnley ...