Long Hot Summer
The song used in this piece’s title had nothing to do with the weather or the time of the year (not even I’m that sarcastic to suggest we’ve had a long hot summer). It is because this Style Council single from 1983 has been chosen because of its video, which was filmed on the River Cam in Cambridge.
The early season rush of fixtures continues apace with the first away game of the season coming after the opening home league win against Blackpool, and the rollercoaster midweek Carabao Cup win at home against Swindon Town. We are playing Cambridge United, one of three league games Thamestink trains can take us directly to this season from Three Bridges.
Since my last piece, the draw has been made for the second round of the Carabao Cup, and it is a very tasty tie, away against Brighton & Hove Albion. Which means that we will be playing their u21s on Tuesday and then the full team the week after on the Tuesday. If we follow that through it should mean the Tuesday after next, we will be playing their old boys, and I can’t wait for the pace of Ade and RHM to be going at Steve Foster and Mark Lawrenson.
And we have a new striker in the considerable shape of Tola Showunmi, who we’ve got from the USL side Louisville City. Let’s hope he turns out to be as good as our last signing from the USL — Jeremy Kelly.
First time playing Cambridge United since the League Two 2020–21 season when we won at home against them 2–1 and lost the away trip 3–1. In total we have played them twelve times, with five wins and seven defeats and no draws at all.
In the Cambridge squad there is Sullai Kaikai, who had a brief loan sojourn with us back in 2014. In the other direction, Jack Roles, had a season on loan there back in 2019–20. Also there in 2019, and also on loan was Rushian Hepburn-Murphy. It would be nice if the pair of them could score at the Abbey stadium for old times’ sake.
We’ve won both of our games so far this season and Cambridge have lost both of theirs, let’s hope we can keep both of those runs going.
The FSS billboard with us on it was up at Crawley station, but at the other end I just had my camera out to take a picture of the Cambridge United one on their station when a train pulled in in front of it.
It was a slightly later start than planned,
but we were in Cambridge before 11 and out wandering through historic and increasingly busy streets with grand college buildings and churches either side of us.
And there were plenty of opportunities to keep up with my blue plaque obsession, which reminds me I need to finish writing up the rest of the Crawley ones.
The lure of the tat shops and another fridge magnet were too strong to resist. I did see a t-shirt which any number of people on the forum could/should be wearing.
Once satisfied the meandering route got us to the ground and a welcome sit down and drink in the shade away from the sun. The camera is well worn out before we even get to the Abbey Stadium.
The Abbey Stadium is an old school ground, and in the away end is the Steve Claridge bar. I’d forgotten he’d played for Cambridge. I remember him from when I lived in Leicester and all the City fans going mental in the Golf Range when he shinned in the last-minute winner in the playoff final to see Leicester promoted to the Premier League.
Cambridge still have a programme and it looks quite stylish.
The ground’s main stand is sponsored by petrest who appear to be a pet euthanasia company. Not something to be reminded of at games.
Neither Fish nor Faal are in the squad. There is a lot of noise from a full looking away terrace
and there is a red smoke flare set off before we’ve even kicked off. We are in our white/grey away kit and Cambridge are in their traditional amber and black.
Rushian Hepburn-Murphy charges down an attempted early clearance from the Cambridge keeper, but unlike the Blackpool goal last week it flies up and hits the top of the stand behind the goal.
A couple of early heavy Cambridge challenges only see the players get a talking to. Cambridge attack, Jojo Wollacott saves and the follow up is cleared off the line by Josh Flint, and only when the ball is up at the halfway line does the lino put his flag up for offside.
A third heavy challenge does see a Cambridge player get a yellow card and the free kick from thirty yards out on the right is cleared. And Jay Williams picks up a booking for clearing out one of their defenders. Cambridge break from a corner and have a shot which goes wide but they looked suspiciously offside, and the lino gets a load of abuse. And then sticks his flag up on their next attack but it is the last time he does all half.
A Cambridge defensive clearance heads over the main stand for ball loss one of the day. They are doing most of the attacking. Another header is just wide, and we try to gift them a goal from the goal kick, but the shot is easily saved by Wollacott. They get a free kick on the left edge of the area and the shot is straight at Wollacott. A corner just after sees a chance headed over. And they attack again and have a shot just wide.
We finally get an attack as Williams intercepts the ball in midfield and plays it through to RHM in the box, but he is tackled before he can get a shot off.
Then it is straight back to Cambridge attacks and another couple of chances for them and lots of possession before Armano Junior Quinirta has a shot just wide in our first attack in about ten minutes.
There are two added minutes at the end of the half, enough time for ball two to be hoofed over the roof of the stand we are in, before the whistle goes for half time.
During which there is some “sumo” (their words, not mine) in the centre circle and somebody Pickering wins it two nothing for Crawley. Our best performance of the game so far.
We start the second half with a Scott Malone shot over the bar. Their number 11 gets a booking on totting up quickly followed by one for Toby Mullarkey. Joy Mukena loses the ball near the area, but Wollacott saves and as he dives on the ball is clattered by their striker and needs some treatment.
Another Cambridge attack sees a save and then a scramble before the (other) lino puts the flag up for offside. Back at our end the lino remembers how to use his flag and waves it to say Armando is offside and he is then booked for kicking the ball away.
We get a corner from an Armando shot which is deflected behind off an arm, but it’s just a corner and not the claimed penalty. The ball is worked in, and the shot is saved. Three subs follow with Alexander, Armando, and Malone off, and replaced by Panutche Camara, Ade Adeyemo, and Cameron Bragg.
A general improvement in play follows and we have more attacking play, working the ball all over the pitch before finding Ronan Darcy whose shot from twenty yards out is saved. Another substitution follows with RHM off and Jack Roles on. A corner is played to Darcy and his shot is blocked. The ball is recycled in and Adeyemo’s shot is well over the bar.
A free kick into the area sees a header from Mullarkey go over the bar and land on the roof of the net.
With less than five minutes of normal time left a ball played over the top finds Adeyemo and he takes it round the keeper, but wide, yet manages to steer it in from an acute angle and we lead 1–0.
The goal is celebrated with a red smoke flare thrown onto the pitch.
After a delay, from the restart we are almost through again, but this time the final ball doesn’t find Adeyemo.
There are seven added minutes. A long clearance from Wollacott is mis-headed behind for a corner and we’re in no rush to take it. A Cambridge attack is headed back and forth across the box before it ends up in Wollacott’s hands. There is time to substitute Williams for Barker, but only just as the whistle goes for full time after the ball is thrown back in, and Crawley won 1–0.
The players come over and none of the 494 Crawley fans (out of a crowd of 6,720) are in any hurry to leave. And I manage to make a hash of trying to get a picture of Scott Lindsey mid arm pump celebration, I either mistime it, or someone suddenly stands up in front of me, or it ends up blurry. I will get one of them eventually.
Cambridge didn’t announce their man of the match, but I suspect it went to the lino on our side of the pitch.
We may have ridden our luck a bit in the first half but were much better in the second and the win leaves us in third place in the fledgling table.
I don’t think the grounds staff were overly impressed by the scorched earth on the pitch after the game.
Helen had had the foresight to book a table at the curry house opposite the ground and it was all the tastier for an away win.
Cambridge fans were moaning about their profligacy and the smoke flares, as they had items taken off them and a raffle ticket given for them to collect it after the game, but our fans had got flares in. Which was a surprise as the bag check and pat down on me was quite thorough.
The sun has long gone by the time we get home, tired but happy after an enjoyable day out.
There is no respite, we go again back at home on Tuesday night in another different competition with the Bristol Street Motors trophy starting early for us with the visit of Brighton U21s for the first game in our group stage.
Come on you reds.
Originally published on my own website (without the pictures) at the link below.
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