Cambridge United 2-1 Barnet
Carabao Cup First Round
Saturday 8th August 2026
Cambridge United booked their place in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup as they navigated their way past Barnet with a professional 2-1 victory at the Cledara Abbey Stadium…
Following an open first half, the cup clash burst into life after the break when Kabongo Tshimanga gave the visitors the lead. Responding with determination, a clinical pair of quickfire finishes from Ben Knight and Isaac Heath gave United the impetus to battle towards progression.
Following a consistently sound campaign last time out, which culminated in a deserved promotion straight back to the third tier, the U’s were out to hit the ground running on home soil against a Bees side who had taken four points from them and were hoping to challenge following excellent late-season form.
Neil Harris’ first competitive XI of the campaign saw him hand debuts to Callum Perry and Heath in what was a familiar setup that saw Dominic Ball captain the side and Louis Appere lead the line.
Attacking towards the Newmarket Road End, United were potent on the counter in the opening stages. After Oisin Gallagher fired the first chance of the afternoon over the bar, Liam Bennett raced up the other end with purpose, applying the afterburners to fly down the wing and jink into the box – he looked to supply Glenn McConnell inside the six-yard box, but the delivery was claimed. Seconds later, McConnell found space to slip in Appere on the right from 20 yards out, who picked his spot with power but couldn’t generate the accuracy to beat Matthew Cox, who parried behind.
Dean Brennan’s outfit also looked in a hurry to accumulate the attempts, when on the 10th minute they initially fired into the net through Gallagher – but Tshimanga was ruled offside in the build-up.
A few minutes later, they showcased their aerial threat when Charlie Lakin’s whipped free-kick found Nikola Tavares at the back post, but the defended couldn’t direct a header at goal.
With 20 minutes on the clock, space opened up once more for Knight on the break, who was happy to glide through and drive as his options became limited. The drilled attempt was aimed at the middle of goal, but it was a comfortable stop from Barnet’s glovesman.
The chances continued to pile up for Harris’ side, turning defence to attack in a flash as Jake Eastwood’s throw to Heath allowed him to progress the ball and find the influential Knight – although he pulled the trigger, the strike rose at the wrong time as it flew over the woodwork.
On the half hour mark, the U’s weren’t far from drawing first blood when Appere did well to hold the ball up and tee to an onrushing McConnell, whose low attempt was aimed for the corner but stopped by a diving Cox.
Defensively, Cambridge had got their blocks in and retained their shape against a Bees side who were creative in the final third. They found the cutting edge to test Eastwood for the first time on the 41st minute when Nnamdi Ofoborh’s defence-splitting pass found Charlie Lakin inside the area – the number 8 fired towards the far post, but Eastwood’s outstretched leg crucially denied.
It signalled the end of an energetic and open first half where Cambridge certainly enjoyed the better of the opportunities, but they couldn’t quite make it count as they remained in deadlock.
Nonetheless, a rapid start to the second period saw the visitors from London open the scoring on the 48th minute. The U’s had initially defended resolutely to produce goal-saving interventions by Perry and Kell Watts, but Tshimanga was on hand to slot past a sea of defenders.
In response, the hosts rolled up their sleeves and levelled matters just a few minutes later when patient play saw McConnell feed Knight on the right-hand side of the box, who twisted and turned before cracking a low shot into the net.
On 55, the quickfire turnaround was complete which ramped up the atmosphere at the Abbey. Picked out by Appere’s cutback, Heath showed composure to adjust his feet and flick home from a matter of yards out.
The next task was to find some control now they had the lead for the first time, with Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Sullay Kaikai being introduced on the hour.
Taking the sting out of the Bees, a progressive move on the 68th minute saw Heath’s smart skill allow both substitutes to combine down the right - resulting in Mpanzu firing a shot which was well-stopped by Cox.
Tested 10 minutes later, former U Tom Knowles was handed an opportunity with a free-kick from 25 yards out. He got it over the wall, but it couldn’t beat an alert Eastwood who dived to his right.
Running down the clock in what became a feisty conclusion to proceedings, Cambridge were dealt a big scare three minutes into injury time when Barnet piled on the pressure and forced a goal-line clearance, before Kanu appeared to have equalised but the goal was ruled out.
Ultimately, despite the late barrage of pressure, Harris’ men had put in a commendable shift to secure their passage to the next round.
Up next, the 2026/27 Sky Bet League One campaign kicks off next Saturday (15th August) when the U’s welcome Wigan Athletic to CB5 – be sure to back the boys.
Cambridge United: Eastwood, Bennett, Jobe, Watts, Perry, Ball, McLoughlin (Mpanzu, 61’), Knight, McConnell (Kaikai, 61’), Heath (Bradshaw, 90+1’), Appere (Lavery, 73’)
Subs Not Used: Hughes, Briggs, Bauer, Efobi
Goalscorers: Knight (51’), Heath (55’)
Bookings: Watts
Barnet: Cox, Senior, Tavares (Smith, 83’), Williams, Collinge, Kenlock (Knowles, 65’), Gallagher, Lakin, Ofoborh (Wright, 83’), Kanu, Tshimanga
Subs Not Used: Ashby-Hammond, Siaw, Farquhar, Liwala
Goalscorers: Tshimanga (48’)
Bookings: Kanu, Williams
Referee: Carl Brook
Attendance: 3,521 (506 away fans)