Day 215

My players looked tired ahead of today’s match against Cambridge. I dropped Barnes-Homer and Bore in response to their publicly bad reactions to my team talk a few days ago. John Nutter wasn’t fit to start, nor were Benjamin Laurant, Michael Woods, and injury-victim Omar Koroma. Alex Billington came in for his debut at left back. Samba Kanouté stepped in at right back, while Alan Power, Robert Taylor, Ben May, and Francis Laurent were also drafted into the starting lineup. In the absence of any (fit) specialised left wingers, Chris Shuker switched flanks.

Power got us off to a flyer, seizing on Kanouté’s quick speculative ball back into the area after a clearance and firing comfortably past the Cambridge keeper.

Cambridge striker Lyle Taylor saw red in the 12th minute. Chasing a long ball in a foot race with Billington, Taylor found himself outpaced. He hacked at my left back with a reckless two-footed challenge. It was pure insanity—a routine tussle in a nothing situation. The referee didn’t hesitate to send him off, leaving Cambridge to play 80 minutes with ten men.

Laurent made their job even harder five minutes later. Power won a header in the middle of the pitch following a Cambridge goal kick. The ball somehow slipped through the Cambridge back line, and Laurent ran in behind. He kept his cool in the one-on-one with the keeper, doubling our lead.

Birchall added our third in the 54th minute. It was his first ever goal for the club, and he made it a good one—a fantastic low strike across goal into the corner.

With a win all but certain, I substituted Shuker, Birchall, and Taylor out for Laurant, Atkinson, and Smith. Smith nearly made an immediate impact, linking up beautifully with May to work through the Cambridge defence. The striker’s finish was poor, however, and the keeper made an easy save.

Power looked in command of the match. He played a stunning through ball for May around the 80-minute mark, then moments later went it alone on the edge of the box. Only a quick reaction and fine diving save kept the playmaker from adding his second of the game.

Alan Power received the man of the match award for his goal and two assists. I was also delighted with the efforts of Kanouté and Billington at the back and Francis Laurent in attack. Birchall and Marques once again showed that they’re a cut above the rest of the players at this level, too. Most encouraging, though, is that we did this without Olembé, Koroma, or Barnes-Homer—three of our five top performers this season—and Shuker played only a supporting role. This show belonged to Power, Laurent, and Kanouté—three fringe players.

We’re now three points clear at the top, with a much better goal difference than any other team in the league. Mansfield sit second, followed by Wrexham—who have three games in hand that could put second on goal difference.