Cambridge United 4 Blackpool 4

 I imagine there are some people who regretted leaving this game when Blackpool went 4-1 up as they missed a very impressive comeback.

Last week it was the forward line who I was critical of, but this week the defence let the side down for periods of the game and despite a poor game last week Shayne Lavery who scored a brace helped secure a point for the Us.

The game got off to the worst possible start when the Us were caught napping at a corner and James Husband headed in at the far post. The rain poured down and Lavery thought he had an equaliser shortly after but was denied by the offside flag. That didn't deter him or the Us though and on 28 minutes Brophy found Lavery who slotted home for an equaliser. The lead didn't last long though as 10 minutes later Husband scored with a carbon copy of the first goal - you would have thought Cambridge would have learnt from the first one. Things then went from bad to worse as from the kick off Kyle Joseph burst forward and lobbed Reyes in the Cambridge goal to make it 3-1 within a minute. 

It was the kind of goal where commentators always say at halftime 'the next goal is going to be important' in an attempt to keep people interested when the game already seems dead and buried. If there was any hope for Cambridge it appeared to be completely over when Kyle Joseph set up Dom Ballard to make it 4-1 to the Tangerines. Some Us fans had seen enough and went home. They probably should have waited as the game and the weather had changed by the time the final whistle blew.

I think that the subs made a difference in what was about to unfold and Josh Stokes in midfield who came on for James Brophy in particular made a telling difference. Shortly after his introduction he was fouled just outside the area and the referee should have played advantage but fortunately Danny Andrew scored from the freekick to make it 4-2 with just over 30 minutes left. 

It was another substitute that made the Us believe when Brandon Njoku scored his first professional goal with his first touch on 72 minutes. Three minutes later and the comeback was complete when Njoku found Liam Bennet who crossed the ball in for Lavery to get his second and Cambridge's fourth.

Both teams pressed for a win, but there were no further goals in the last 15 minutes and it finished 4-4. It'll be interesting to see how Stokes and Njoku get on during the season as well as Blue Nose Emanuel Longelo, who despite being a defender seemed to be on the wing when he came on.

Anyway, a performance and match that will live long in the memory when I went with pretty low expectations!


In the above two photos Danny Andrew strikes from a freekick to make it 2-2.

Blackpool's second goal from a corner to give them a two goal lead.

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