Steve Evans felt that Stevenage were fully deserving of their 2-1 win at Cambridge.
Stevenage have won all three league games since promotion to League One, with their success at the Abbey Stadium ending their opponent’s own perfect start.
Jamie Reid’s fine effort from outside the box eight minutes from the end proved decisive, coming less than two minutes after Mark Bonner’s side had pulled level through Elias Kachunga’s first goal for the U’s.
“There’s no doubt, we should have had the game over in the first half. Rather than good chances we just don’t take advantage of getting in good areas,” said Evans, whose side had gone ahead in the first half through Jordan Roberts.
“In the second half Cambridge were much better at counter-attacking than we were in the final third, but if it had been anything other than an away victory tonight it would have been a travesty.
“We missed three of four good opportunities. Jamie Reid should put us in front earlier than he did, but it’s a great strike to get the winner.
“The credit to us is that they get the goal from a scuff, they don’t get another chance.
“That’s credit to us because this is a good Cambridge team. There’s no one sitting here saying they aren’t a good team, they’ll win lots of games.
“He is big goal Reidy, the boys have just been singing that to him in the dressing room.
“He’s an infectious character but they’re all infectious. We can’t ask these players to give us any more.”
Bonner felt there were encouraging signs in the performance his Cambridge team produced, despite their first defeat of the campaign.
“They’re very, very good at what they do, Stevenage, and they’ll win a lot of games because of it.
“For large parts of the game we defended the threat very well, in certain periods when we were chasing we got counter-attacked a little bit too easily in the second half.
“The timing of the second goal’s a real killer for us because we’ve just got ourselves back in the game.
“I think there’s loads to learn tonight, and loads to like from it as well. Some of the football at times was brilliant, really good.
“We had the best chance early on where the ball flashes across the goal, a couple of set plays that flash across.
“It was nearly moments I think in a lot of our attacking play, without creating as much clear-cut stuff as we’d have liked.
“Actually our goal came probably at a time where the game was fairly balanced and we probably didn’t see it coming.
“The quick one from them is a tough one to take. I think if tonight’s a draw it’s probably the right result.”
Object thrown at City striker 'Bunny' Shaw in Champions League win over Hammarby sparks UEFA investigation
UEFA has opened an investigation after Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw was hit by an object during their Women’s Champions League win against Swedish side Hammarby on Thursday.
The towering Jamaican striker scored both goals in City’s 2-1 win at the Stockholm Arena to see her side through to the quarterfinal stage.
Her animated celebration in front of the home fans after her first goal saw the 27-year-old being booked, with replays also showing an object seemingly thrown her way from the stands.
“Proceedings have been opened against Hammarby IF for throwing of objects (Article 16(2)(b) of the Disciplinary Regulations),” UEFA said in a statement.
“Manchester City player Khadija Shaw received a yellow card following her goal presentation for unsporting conduct,” the statement added.
Following the game, City captain Alex Greenwood chided match broadcaster DAZN for failing to mention the incident in a social media post.
The post on X, external said Shaw “antagonised” the home fans and received “stick” from them.
Greenwood replied, "Correction. Travel to Stockholm, score a big goal. Celebrates her goal. Gets objects thrown at her.”
Flick: Barcelona need to learn how to win without Yamal
Hansi Flick has urged Barcelona to find a way to win without the absent Lamine Yamal, as he misses a second consecutive match with an ankle injury.
The 17-year-old missed their 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad which halted Barca's seven-match winning streak in all competitions before the international break.
Yamal has only missed two LaLiga matches since the start of last season, while Barcelona have lost both games this campaign in which he has not started, after coming off the bench in a 4-2 loss to Osasuna in September.
Flick said that his players need to show that they can win without their teenage sensation.
"Tomorrow I will put the question to the team, it will be a very good question for them [if they can win without Yamal]," Flick told a press conference on Friday.
"Against Real Sociedad, we didn't play well, and it wasn't because of Lamine's absence. He is a very important player for us, but we have options to also play well without him.
"He won't be able to play tomorrow, we don't know when he will be able to go back from his injury, but what is clear for me is that we want him to be back only when he is 100% recovered."
Yamal played a big role in Spain's European Championship title win earlier this year in Germany, winning the best goal and the Young Player of the Tournament award in his breakthrough campaign.
He continued to thrive this season with five goals and seven assists to help Barca to the top of the LaLiga standings on 33 points, six ahead of rivals Real Madrid, who have a game in hand in second place.
Yamal is also the only player across Europe's big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).
Flick suggested that he may have to adjust his system, as it is hard to replace a player with such a mixture of speed, technique and finishing.
"We might be a bit limited by the absence of Lamine," Flick said.
"But we have a lot of players with great quality, and they can play in different positions. We'll see what we'll need and we'll design the game plan.
"It's always important after the international break to come back strong and with confidence. That's our goal for tomorrow."
Moca FC's Baez, Correa sanctioned by Concacaf Disciplinary Committee for violent conduct in Carib Cup semis clash against Cavalier
The Concacaf Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned players Miguel Baez and Jesus Correa of Dominican Republic club Moca FC for incidents that occurred during their Concacaf Caribbean Cup second-leg semi-final match against Jamaica’s Cavalier FC on Thursday, October 30.
After considering the documentation and evidence gathered during its investigation and based on the competition regulations and the applicable disciplinary code, the Disciplinary Committee has imposed Miguel Baez a six-match suspension and Jesus Correa a three-match suspension for violent conduct.
The sanctions include the automatic one-match suspension for the on-field direct red cards given to each player during that 7-0 beating in Kingston.
Both Baez and Correa must serve their suspensions during the upcoming 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup third-place matches and future editions of the competition.
Moca FC is scheduled to meet Haiti's Real Hope FC in that home-and-away tie on November 26 and December 3 to determine the next Caribbean representative that will contest next year's Concacaf Champions Cup. Finalists Cavalier and Cibao FC, also of the Dominican Republic, have secured automatic berths.
Meanwhile, the Disciplinary Committee has also warned the players and the club that more severe sanctions could be taken should incidents occur during future matches.
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