Roy McFarland made the one expected change to this afternoon's team, bringing back John Hansen to midfield in place of the injured Neil Mustoe, and switching Tom Youngs to the right wing. Neil Mackenzie could count himself unfortunate to be restricted to the bench again after replacing Mustoe during the second half of Tuesday night's win and performing very well. He was joined by rookies Zema Abbey and Adam Tann as the squad was stretched to its limits.

For Scunthorpe, new signings Richard Hodgson (from Nottingham Forest) and Mark Jackson (from Leeds United) made their debuts. The match kicked off in sunny but breezy conditions on a pitch which was showing signs of wear, especially in the goalmouths.

Reporter Mark Johnson sends a "Buonas dias" to SteveJ in Mexico.

Cambridge United did not make the best of starts and in the first minute Scunthorpe's recent £200,000 signing Steve Torpey flicked the ball on to Brian Quailey, but Martin McNeil stepped in quickly to snuff out the danger. Quailey has been in excellent form for the Iron and in the seventh minute he got on the end of a long ball from Andrew Dawson to beat the offside trap, but he was off-balance as he took a shot from the edge of the box and sliced the ball wildly out of play.

There was controversy a minute later as Quailey got into the area, Ian Ashbee challenged him from behind and the striker went down looking as though he had been tripped. Referee Trevor Jones fortunately didn't think so and instead booked Quailey for diving. In the 11th minute Quailey brought a long free kick down on his chest and from the edge of the box his sharp shot on the turn whistled just wide.

Then came a period of good pressure from United as they completely changed the pattern of the play so far. In the 13th minute John Taylor got away down the left and found Tom Youngs with his cross but the defence blocked the young striker's volley. Moments later United had the ball in the net after Hansen's cross found Trevor Benjamin who fired a first time shot into the bottom corner, but what seemed like an age later the flag was raised for offside.

Not to be denied, the U's continued to press and a minute later Ashbee's long throw was flicked on at the near post by Benjamin to John Taylor who was positioned centrally just outside the six yard box, and the 35-year-old nodded the ball into the far corner to score his 98th goal for the club. Soon after the restart Hansen and Benjamin combined to set up Taylor again but he was offside.

After that golden spell the game went through a scrappy spell and Scunthorpe looked short of confidence in front of their home crowd, frequently hoofing the ball out of play. In the 25th minute they won a couple of corner which were comfortably dealt with, and in the 29th minute Benjamin got away down the left but his cross was slightly behind Taylor, making it a tame header and easy for the 'keeper. Two minutes later a deep free kick bounced inches in front of Youngs allowing goalkeeper Tom Evans to hassle it away, before Scunthorpe mounted some pressure of their own.

In the 34th minute a long throw picked out former McFarland target Chris Hope on the edge of the box and his firm header was well held by Shaun Marshall, then four minutes later Harsley's shot from 25 yards was blocked by Paul Wanless and United smuggled the ball out for a corner, from which Hope's header drifted just wide.

Ben Chenery looked to be in difficulties for a while and England under-18 international defender Adam Tann in earnest, but he ran off the problem and was able to help United weather the Iron squall before half time. Ian Ashbee's speculative 30 yard shot ambled safely past the post in the 41st minute and United won a series of late throw ins but the final ball was just lacking. (Half-time 0-1)

At half-time Scunthorpe swapped Wayne Graves for new signing Hodgson and they exerted some good early pressure, with Harsley's 25 yard hopeful lob proving hopeless as it cleared the bar by a mile. A minute later Quailey tried to turn in the area but Marc Joseph got a foot in to hoist the ball clear, and United started to turn the screw in the 50th minute when Chenery's cross was allowed to slip between his gloves by Evans. From Hansen's corner Wanless' firm header looked as though it had been tipped over but the referee awarded a goal-kick in the latest of a sequence of odd decisions against both sides. A minute later Benjamin forced a corner which caused a melee and the ball finally fell to Taylor at the far post, but he slid the ball wide from an impossible angle.

The U's pressure paid off again in the 63rd minute when Benjamin worked a great cross and Tom Youngs had the confidence and the audacity to beat Taylor to the ball, rasping a superb shot that stuck in the top corner. A minute later Scunthorpe's disappointment spilled over when the referee gave a free kick the other way and Marc Joseph got a hand in the face. A scuffle ensued and some United supporters got onto the pitch to 'help' their player, but the stewards stepped in smartly and Nathan Stanton got a talking to from Mr Jones.

Brian Laws made a change two minutes after his side had conceded their second, replacing Paul Harsley with striker Guy Ipoua to switch to a 3-4-3 formation. They got through immediately as Ipoua chased a through ball, Ben Chenery did a good job in holding him up and Quailey spooned his shot over the bar. It was a vital spell for the U's as they had to defend their lead, and they did so very well as every man rose to the task.

In the 73rd minute Benjamin cut into the penalty area and went to ground under pressure from a defender, but Mr Jones gave a goal kick, and two minutes later came a crucial incident. Dawson crossed the ball over Wanless to reach Torpey who had a free header which he nodded downwards, but Shaun Marshall stuck out a massive glove to flick the ball wide.

John Hansen, who had a very good game and ran himself into the ground, made way for Neil Mackenzie with 12 minutes left and it was Mackenzie who led the break out in the 84th minute. He found Trevor Benjamin on the overlap and the big striker, whose game has taken a massive stride forward since the departure of strike partner Martin Butler, thumped a low angled drive home. Immediately Glanford Park began to empty as the home fans left in their droves, and minute later Benjamin burst forward again and fired in a low drive which the keeper touched around the post.

United were making hay down Scunthorpe's right as they were committed to their attacking 3-4-3 formation and were getting caught out, and McFarland had the luxury of bringing off skipper Wanless in the last minute and sending on David Preece for another late appearance as the clock wound down.

"They say luck evens itself out over a season, " said Mark Johnson in his summary, "and after some outrageous penalty decisions in recent weeks, it was pay-back time on eight minutes in this match when the referee got one delightfully wrong."

He felt that every man in the United shirt battled to hold onto, and then extend, today's lead as though their lives depended on it, and once Tom Youngs had scored the vital second goal Scunthorpe committed themselves to attack and the Us were able to catch them out for the third.

United have turned their away form around to an astonishing degree in recent weeks. Since recording the first away win for ten months at Bury, today's was the third away win in four unbeaten away games and - incredibly - the second successive 3-0 win in a week. All this when the squad is stretched almost to its limits, a 35-year-old striker is playing every game, and several players are performing admirably in unfamiliar positions.

None more so than Tom Youngs, Mark's choice for 'Man of the Match': "He worked his little socks off in yet another unfamiliar midfield role, crowning his efforts with a smartly-taken goal."

Mark also praised John Hansen who "had a good game and worked very hard."

Results elsewhere were mixed as Oxford won at Colchester thanks to a last minute goal, Blackpool drew 2-2 with Cardiff in a result that does neither side much good, and bottom club Chesterfield held leaders Wigan to a good 1-1 home draw.

Cambridge are still in 20th place but the gap to Scunthorpe is now only one point as the Iron have been well and truly dragged back into the relegation mix, and next Saturday's visitors Wrexham lost at home to Burnley meaning they could also be dragged back into trouble if they lose at the Abbey.

Results on Saturday 11th March 2000

  AFC Bournemouth   0-1   Preston North End      5,317
        Blackpool   2-2   Cardiff City           5,015
     Bristol City   0-1   Gillingham             9,332
             Bury   0-0   Bristol Rovers         4,049
     Chesterfield   1-1   Wigan Athletic         3,106
Colchester United   1-2   Oxford United          4,058
       Luton Town   0-2   Millwall               6,341
     Notts County   0-0   Stoke City             9,677
          Reading   1-0   Brentford             11,427
Scunthorpe United   0-3   Cambridge United       3,964
          Wrexham   0-1   Burnley                6,582
Wycombe Wanderers   0-0   Oldham Athletic        4,471

Bottom of Division Two

17  Bury                  33  9 14 10  45  44    1  41
18  Wrexham               35 10 10 15  37  50  -13  40
19  Scunthorpe United     35  8 11 16  33  54  -21  35
20  Cambridge United      35  8 10 17  45  50   -5  34
------------------------------------------------------
21  Oxford United         35  9  7 19  31  56  -25  34
22  Blackpool             36  7 11 18  39  62  -23  32
23  Cardiff City          35  5 15 15  34  49  -15  30
24  Chesterfield          34  5 11 18  22  43  -21  26

Cambridge United's battle for survival continued with a great 3-0 win at Scunthorpe.

The first half was a very untidy affair, featuring tough tackling and not a lot of attractive football. However, Cambridge edged into a 15th-minute lead when player-coach John Taylor headed home from Trevor Benjamin's flick-on.

The visitors extended that lead through Tom Young's super right-foot strike in the 63rd minute, and the lively Benjamin deservedly added number three with an angled drive from the left.

Scunthorpe mounted few threats, the best coming from Chris Hope's header which flew straight at keeper Shaun Marshall.

(c) Copyright Press Association Ltd 2000

Scunthorpe's struggle to retain their hard-won second division status was given a real hammering by fellow strugglers Cambridge. Scunthorpe look now as if they will be dragged into the relegation mire, while Cambridge's revival was maintained with a display of strength and commitment.

Scunthorpe could find no way of holding Trevor Benjamin or player coach John Taylor, their only consolation being another hard-working display from their own front-man Brian Quailey. Newcomers Mark Jackson and Richard Hodgson struggled to make their mark but Steve Torpey and Quailey worked hard in the home attack.

Cambridge knocked the ball about to some purpose, Benjamin and Taylor looking dangerous alongside teenager Tom Youngs.

Tough tackling was a feature of the early stages of the game and in the eighth minute Scunthorpe's appeals for a penalty following Martin McNeil's challenge on Quailey were ignored by referee Trevor Jones, who booked the Scunthorpe man for allegedly diving. Nevertheless Quailey was a major threat to Cambridge and twice fired over from good positions.

As the visitors settled down it needed a strong challenge from Andy Dawson to halt Taylor in full flow, and in the 14th minute Benjamin showed a quick turn of speed and cracked the ball home following a mistake by Richard Logan.

That was ruled out through a linesman's flag but inside 60 seconds Cambridge had forged ahead when a long throw was flicked on by Benjamin and player-coach Taylor headed home, giving Tom Evans no chance.

The injury jinx which appears to be hitting Scunthorpe at the moment saw Justin Walker carried off midway through the half, but he was able to resume after lengthy treatment and he played an influential part.

Scunthorpe skipper Chris Hope attempted to put life into the attack when he ventured forward to reach a Paul Harsley corner with his head but it went straight into Shaun Marshall's hands. Steve Torpey and Quailey combined in the early stages of the second half to create problems in the Cambridge rear, but Quailey was unable to control the ball properly and the chance went begging.

Back came Cambridge, and Marc Joseph swung in a fine corner into the six-yard area where Paul Wanless's header flicked the bar and went out of play. Cambridge, who had begun to look far more threatening, took a firmer grip in the 63rd minute.

Benjamin was able to slip past the Scunthorpe defence, creating an opening for Youngs to crash home a right-foot shot which lodged in the top of the net.

Scunthorpe crumbled at this stage and the visitors grabbed a third goal with seven minutes left, Benjamin drilling home an angled right-foot shot past the hapless Evans.

RANDALL BUTT reports on how United sent Scunthorpe fans home early, while sending their own followers into raptures.

THE amber shirts seem to have magic woven into them. Whatever the injury problems, nothing impedes Cambridge United's remarkable revival.

Three wheels, or fewer, on their wagon but they keep on bowling along, this time to their biggest away win for more than a year, and first back-to-back victories of a late-blossoming season.

Neil Mustoe, a major influence in the recent transformation, was sitting in the Press box as a wounded pundit, but the side carried on smoothly from the midweek blasting of Bristol City. United have a dramatic and unfortunate history of leading by the break at Glanford Park, then making a hash of it in the second half.

This time, though, after shading a fairly even first 45 minutes, they stamped their authority on the game from the restart, quickly crushing Scunthorpe's spirit and virtually making sure of the points with only a little more than an hour gone.

The old master John Taylor did it again with a vital early goal, all three of the main attacking players combined for the killer second in the 63rd minute, and when the third started a stampede for the exits by the home supporters in the 83rd minute, 400 travelling fans were convinced "the U's are staying up."

The team spirit, praised more highly than any performance by manager Roy McFarland at the end, makes the patched-up team a much more formidable unit than the sum of their parts. And they have developed a spine of rugged strength, running from the rapidly-developing Shaun Marshall in goal, through Scott Eustace, Paul Wanless and Ian Ashbee to Trevor Benjamin, anchoring the performances and scaring the opposition.

Scunthorpe boss Brian Laws, whose own toughness has got him into trouble a time or two, admitted: "We were rattled, and there aren't many teams in this division who ought to be able to do that to us. Cambridge have hit form, Benjamin was at his best, and they gave us a battering. I reckon we should have had a penalty early on, but I can't use that as an excuse for 3-0 at home."

Most of the stadium thought Scunthorpe should have had a spot kick in the eighth minute when Brian Quailey broke into the box and went tumbling over Martin McNeil's knee. It looked like a penalty from the angle of the Press box, and considering the recent run of decisions against United, a possible red card for the young centre-back.

McFarland and his men in the dug-out, nearer to the incident, were convinced it was not: "As soon as he went down, Preecey (David Preece) shouted, 'the ........ dived'," said the United boss. But he feared the worst.

Referee Trevor Jones pulled out a card, but to howls of protest from the home fans it was a yellow one for Quailey for trying to cheat his way to a penalty.

Taylor's goal seven minutes later quelled the initially noisy home support, encouraged by the midweek win at Millwall, and it took Scunthope until the half-hour mark to recover from the early setbacks. That was when they might have changed the course of the game, as United started defending too deeply and were beaten in the air at a couple of set pieces. But Chris Hope aimed one header inches wide, then Marshall made a blinding 34th minute save to tip another Hope header over the crossbar.

United had not threatened to add to their 15th minute goal, and "The Iron" must have been optimistic of hitting back after the break, especially after Laws turfed out new signing from Nottingam Forest, Richard Hodgson, one of three unwise-looking changes from Tuesday's winning side. But United were at their throats from the whistle, Ashbee and Wanless winning everything in midfield, an Ashbee tackle often being followed by a glare at the manner of his chest-to-chest challenge, which rapidly diluted Scunthorpe's enthusiasm to go for the 50-50 ball.

Taylor directed the attacks, prompting thundering runs from Benjamin down the left, backed by John Hansen, then substitute Neil Mackenzie. And Tom Youngs worried the home defence whenever he took the ball at them on the right.

There was only one chance for Scunthorpe after United's smoothly-crafted second goal in the 63rd minute, that gangling substitute striker Guy Ipoua could conjure something out of nothing. His unpredictability added an element of danger to the home attack as they switched desperately to 4-3-3. But United's back four, in which Ben Chenery and "emergency" left-back Marc Joseph followed up their performances in the clean sheet against Bristol City, provided good protection for Marshall.

The third away win out of four, a record only blotted by a ridiculous refereeing decision at Brentford, was topped off in sweeping style seven minutes from time, sparking celebrations behind that goal which continued until the last exultant United player had disappered down the tunnel.

Report © Cambridge Newspapers Ltd

What an afternoon ! One of my best trips to watch the U's ever I think.... loads of tension in the second half then the delightful second and third goals to make the last ten minutes an out-and-out celebration.

The U's started off poorly, looking very vulnerable at the back with Eustace in particular seeming slow to find his bearings. I thought we were mighty lucky when Quailey was booked for diving when many refs would have given the penalty - the forward had probably pushed the ball too far ahead of himself but a U's player (McNeil ?) still made a stupid and very late lunge and appeared to trip him.

Still, I am not complaining about that slice of luck and the ref later made two absolutely shocking decisions in the second half when first Joseph and then Benjamin made good runs and were pulled off the ball just outside the box near the touchline, and the referee gave decisions against them.

The goals... Shaggy's was a neat header, Youngs thumped an unbelievable shot across the keeper and into the top corner where it lodged in the stanchion to Ian Ashbee's delight, and Trevor supplied what is becoming a trademark finish by lashing an angled ground shot underneath the keeper.

The performance, besides the edgy opening, was simply excellent. The commitment from every player outstripped that of Scunthorpe and some decent football was played on the back of that. Scunthorpe, you can stick your 13 pounds entry fee where the sun doesn't shine - but on this occasion it was worth every penny.

MARSHALL: Hesitant too often in the early stages, one really good save
CHENERY: Our best defender in the jittery opening spell, had a sound match
JOSEPH: Deputising magnificently at left-back, I can't praise him enough
EUSTACE: Poor early on, got his act together with typical rough handling of the strikers
McNEIL: As ever, defensively quick and committed but such a liability with the ball
ASHBEE: Not quite at the heights of his show on Tuesday, but you know the level of commitment you'll always get from the man, who celebrates goals more wildly than any fan
WANLESS: Just the usual... Excellent.
HANSEN: I disagree with Mark Johnson's U's Net report, I thought John was disappointing, often slow to react and didn't produce much besides a couple of little touches. Did take better corners than we have seen from Mackenzie recently.
YOUNGS: Excellent, and his stunning goal is one I will never forget. I was one of those people who said this guy would never ever make a professional footballer.....wrong wrong wrong !
BENJAMIN: Continued his recent form, an absolute menace to Scunthorpe throughout the game. It is wonderful to see him playing with such commitment and confidence, what a special player we have produced here.
TAYLOR: Did his wily veteran stuff, winning free-kicks and playing an invaluable part - not least with goal number 98....

MACKENZIE: Came on and impressed again with his composure and ability to retain the ball
PREECE: He's got no hair but we don't care.

Luke Black

After arriving at the ground around 2.15pm, we found ourselves a seat right behind the goal. The terracing was fairly shallow and there was a post in the way so we all moved.

I had a good feeling about the day and United got off to a flying start with a goal after about 15 minutes, only for it to be disallowed for off side. That didn't matter because after about 5 minutes the ball was in the back of the net again and this one was allowed.

A nice long throw from Ian Ashbee was flicked on by Trevor Benjamin and then headed home by John Taylor. A good set piece for once that worked with everyone being in some space. Scunthorpe had a few chances with free headers but these were easily saved by Marshall. 1-0 half-time.

The second half and United were attacking the end where we were seated. The second goal came after Ashbee headed to Taylor, who headed to Benjamin. Trevor laid it back to Youngs who shot straight away across goal and into the top left hand corner and got stuck on the stancheon.

This was a scorcher of a goal and it looked just as good on t.v. If it had been scored in the Premiershit they would have been ranting about it for days. Everyone went to congratulate Tommy apart from Ashbee who stood pointing at the ball and looking at the fans. Tommy Youngs always looks like the cat that got the cream when he scores.

Anyone else hear on the Sky Sports clip, someone shouts "Bury it" just as Youngs is about to shoot?

The third goal came from a long run from the half way line by Mackenzie, he pulls the ball wide for Benjamin and Trevor blasts it straight through the keepers legs. Where do they get that strange goal celebration from? It looks as though only Mackenzie and Mc Neil do it with Trevor!

A thoroughly enjoyable performance from a team who know they CAN survive in this League. Yes, I know the pessimists among us will say that we are winning against poor teams but this will give the players the confidence to win against the tougher teams left to play.

After seeing us get 10 points from the last 4 away games I am even more optimistic of Division Two football next season.

THE U'S ARE STAYING UP................

Julie Mansfield