Cambridge United’s relegation from Sky Bet League One was confirmed as they were edged out 2-1 by Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium…
On an afternoon of high stakes, a tense first half saw both Ryan Loft and John McKiernan receive their marching orders in quick succession. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson opened the scoring shortly after the break, with Elias Kachunga providing hope thanks to a late equaliser, but a late finish from Dylan Williams made sure of the U’s fate, whose four-year stay in the third tier came to an end.
Looking to spark an instant reaction from the come-from-behind defeat to Leyton Orient five days earlier by capping their final away day of the season with a positive result, Neil Harris named two changes to his XI as Liam Bennett and Dom Ballard were restored to the fold.
Remaining in the fight going into the game thanks to Bristol Rovers’ defeat in the early kick-off, the U’s knew victory was the bare minimum against the hosts, who too were battling to preserve their rank afloat of the drop.
Gary Bowyer’s side, buoyed by a strong home support, started in the ascendency by quickly closing Cambridge down and not giving them too much time on the ball. They conjured up the first opportunity 11 minutes in when Owen Dodgson bended an inviting 25-yard free-kick around the wall which skimmed low and was only seen late by Jack Stevens, who read well to dive to his left and paw away.
Eager to continue that upwards trend of improved performances on the road – where they had won two on the bounce – the U’s were starting to probe after riding out the early pressure. Although possession was not in their favour, they kept their shape and made things tight.
However, moments after Ben Stevenson required treatment for a poor tackle, Josh Stokes was forced off after going down for the second time without contact on the half hour mark. The creative spark was replaced by the physical presence of Loft as the visitors reverted to a 4-4-2 setup.
After James Gibbons’ deflected headed clearance fortunately evaded his own post and went out for a corner, United cleared their lines and sparked a quick counter-attack as Paul Digby slipped in Sullay Kaikai, who used his blistering pace to scamper past Jack Armer and pull the trigger inside the box, but it didn’t get enough power as Max Crocombe claimed assuringly.
Just when the first half looked to reach its end in a flat and stale manner, drama ensued. Whilst scrapping for the ball, Loft broke away from Udoka Godwin-Malife by the line, but both were caught in the afters and the U’s striker was shown a red card.
Deep into the six minutes of stoppage time, McKiernan was also dismissed for a second yellow after he caught Stevens late. The Northern Irishman was already treading on water, so it was a fair decision from referee Will Finnie.
15 minutes to breathe and unwind was very much needed for both outfits, who knew that space would inevitably open up playing with a man less. Looking to capitalise, Harris utilised his wing-backs and changed shape as Kachunga was brought on.
Deadlock was broken two minutes in when Williams released Bodvarsson inside the penalty area, who squeezed into the gap on the left side of the penalty area and fired a venomous shot into the roof of the net.
Purring, Burton almost immediately doubled their advantage when Kyran Lofthouse skipped past a man and got his strike away from 10 yards, with Stevens making himself big to get his body to it. As a result, the goalkeeper pulled up and couldn’t continue, with Nathan Bishop replacing him.
This was a mountain to climb for the U’s now, who required two goals and simply had to go for the jugular – and fast. Tasked to help with that was Shayne Lavery, who was drafted in just shy of the hour.
Biding their time with the hosts riding off the momentum of the opener, Cambridge went agonisingly close on 64 when, in their best chance of the game, Ballard did all the hard work to silkily dance past two Brewers before shooting, but it didn’t have the conviction as Crocombe closed in to block, before Kaikai dragged his shot wide of the post.
Enjoying the majority of the chances as the encounter reached its closing stages, Kachunga nicked in behind from Kaikai’s through ball and saw his effort comfortably denied by Crocombe, before James Brophy tested his luck with a 20-yard curler which wasn’t too far from nestling home.
The U’s endeavour paid off on the 83rd minute as they levelled proceedings to set up a tense finale. Excellent link-up play from Ballard and Michael Morrison saw the former slide to Kachunga at the back post who fired in his seventh of the season.
Understandably, the men in blue needed to pour forward at every attempt, but this left them vulnerable as Bowyer’s side secured the three points two minutes into injury time as Fabio Tavares slipped in Williams, who finished at a tight angle.
It proved to be curtains for the dejected U’s, who again had just fell short as they suffered their first relegation in 20 years.
Up next, the 2024/25 campaign reaches its conclusion next weekend (3rd May) as champions Birmingham City visit the Cledara Abbey.
Burton Albion: Crocombe, Godwin-Malife, Sweeney, Armer, Lofthouse (Delap, 70’), Chauke, Williams, Dodgson (Forde, 45’), McKiernan, Bodvarsson (Bennett, 86’), Burrell (Tavares, 86’)
Subs Not Used: Isted, Kalinauskas, Larsson
Goalscorers: Bodvarsson (47’), Williams (90+2’)
Bookings: McKiernan (RED)
Cambridge United: Stevens (Bishop, 50’), Bennett (Kachunga, 45’), Morrison, Watts (Andrew, 76’), Gibbons, Digby (Lavery, 58’), Stevenson, Brophy, Stokes (Loft, 32’), Kaikai, Ballard
Subs Not Used: Okedina, Hoddle
Goalscorers: Kachunga (83’)
Bookings: Kaikai, Loft (RED)
Referee: Will Finnie