Cambridge boss Mark Bonner described his side’s remarkable escape from relegation as a “brilliant achievement” and believes the U’s could be looking at a much brighter future.
United had looked destined for League Two as they sat seven points from safety with nine games remaining but they secured survival on a dramatic final day of the season.
A 2-0 success over Forest Green for Bonner’s side saw them climb out of the bottom four for the first time since January, with club stalwart Harrison Dunk and leading scorer Sam Smith netting in the first half.
News of MK Dons’ failure to win at Burton sparked wild celebrations at the Abbey Stadium, with Cambridge securing a third season in League One.
“We’re a club on the up,” said Bonner. “You look at the number of people here; four sides of the stadium full of Cambridge fans. What a day. I was a bit emotional first half.
“I said a few weeks back we’re going to need to finish as we started, or even maybe more to make sure that we got across the line. It seemed an improbable task at the time.
“Firstly we had to take it to the last week, then we were trying to take it to the last day, then we needed the football gods to shine on us.
“It’s a brilliant achievement for us to do it. Hopefully this gives us a chance of building and making sure that next year’s a stronger one.
“What a way to do it, last day of the season. It’s incredible really. It will be one that sticks in everyone’s mind at the end of a really brutal season.
“The season, the longer it went on, became one where we said we’re going to have to have a fight to stay in it. I’m absolutely thrilled that we have for everybody. I’d say it’s well deserved.”
Forest Green boss Duncan Ferguson felt weaknesses shown in Sunday’s game summed up his side’s season as they ended the campaign bottom of the table.
“We’ve had a problem with set-plays during the season, that did us for the first goal,” he said.
“It was an end-of-season game for us, really. Of course they were chasing something, but we were always in the game.
“We think we’ve had a genuine shout for a penalty at 2-0 down, so a couple of decisions never went for us, but we lacked a cutting edge.
“The final third really has been a problem most of the season. We’ve not scored enough goals and we can’t even defend the set0plays, so that’s a problem.
“I’m always gauging the players, always judging them every day in training to see if we’re going to be good enough for League Two, so we’re always assessing.
“It’s been a tough season, probably even since the January before that we’ve struggled to win games. We’ve lacked that real goalscorer who’s going to stick the ball in the net.”
Birmingham 3-1 Wrexham: Stansfield brace hands hosts Hollywood derby bragging rights
Jay Stansfield struck either side of half-time to give 10-man Birimingham a huge 3-1 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Wrexham on Monday.
A game dubbed the 'Hollywood derby' was given a blockbuster start when Jack Marriot smashed home the opening goal for the visitors with just two minutes on the clock.
But Birmingham's £10million recruit Stansfield soon levelled the scores, being the first to react to Alfie May's effort that was parried into his path by Arthur Okonkwo.
The hosts then took hold of the encounter as May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman went close, but the game entered the break finely poised at St. Andrew's.
However, Blues' dominance prevailed seven minutes after the restart with Stansfield's header picking out the far corner following Alex Cochrane's pinpoint cross.
And the points were sealed just before the hour-mark in stunning fashion as Tomoki Iwata's strike from distance smashed in off the post, much to the delight of minority owner Tom Brady in the stands.
A fiesty conclusion to proceedings saw Chris Davies' side end the game with a man less after Krystian Bielik was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Andrew Cannon, but Birmingham were able to hold on for the win.
Data Debrief: The American dream
Much was made of Birmingham's approach to the transfer window after spending £25m in their attempts to return the Championship at the first time of asking, but their biggest investment proved his worth on Monday.
Stansfield notched his first two goals for the club since his permanent switch from Fulham, but the Blues striker also played a starring role in the encounter.
He registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Birmingham's 1.3 total, while he also produced more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (six) than any other player.
Birmingham 3-1 Wrexham: Stansfield brace earns hosts Hollywood derby win
Jay Stansfield struck either side of half-time to give 10-man Birimingham a huge 3-1 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Wrexham on Monday.
A game dubbed the 'Hollywood derby' was given a blockbuster start when Jack Marriot smashed home the opening goal for the visitors with just two minutes on the clock.
But Birmingham's £10million recruit Stansfield soon levelled the scores, being the first to react to Alfie May's effort that was parried into his path by Arthur Okonkwo.
The hosts then took hold of the encounter as May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman went close, but the game entered the break finely poised at St. Andrew's.
However, Blues' dominance prevailed seven minutes after the restart with Stansfield's header picking out the far corner following Alex Cochrane's pinpoint cross.
And the points were sealed just before the hour-mark in stunning fashion as Tomoki Iwata's strike from distance smashed in off the post, much to the delight of minority owner Tom Brady in the stands.
A fiesty conclusion to proceedings saw Chris Davies' side end the game with a man less after Krystian Bielik was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Andrew Cannon, but Birmingham were able to hold on for the win.
Data Debrief: The American dream
Much was made of Birmingham's approach to the transfer window after spending £25m in their attempts to return the Championship at the first time of asking, but their biggest investment proved his worth on Monday.
Stansfield notched his first two goals for the club since his permanent switch from Fulham, but the Blues striker also played a starring role in the encounter.
He registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Birmingham's 1.3 total, while he also produced more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (six) than any other player.
Reggae Boyz winger Kaheim Dixon completes move to Charlton Athletic
Jamaica’s Kaheim Dixon officially joined Charlton Athletic on a four-year contract, as he was unveiled by the League One club on Friday.
Dixon is now Nathan Jones' eighth summer signing and will wear the number 13 jersey at the London-based club, much like he did at Clarendon College.
The talented winger, who was instrumental in Clarendon College’s two titles in last season’s ISSA schoolboys’ football competition, scoring 32 goals complemented by 17 assists, continued to make a name for himself with Jamaica Premier League (JPL) club Arnett Gardens before eventually breaking into the senior Reggae Boyz setup.
Dixon, 19, was first identified by Charlton Athletic through their partner, Mount Pleasant Football Academy, after which his move from Arnett Gardens, for an undisclosed fee, was then assisted by Charlton Athletic’s strong ties to the Reggae Boyz, according to a release on the club’s website.
This, as Dixon’s Reggae Boy teammate Karoy Anderson is a current member of the club, while another Reggae Boy, Michael Hector, recently left after his contract expired.
Dixon, who has two goals in eight appearances for the Reggae Boyz, expressed delight at his move.
“I’m very happy to be here. My first opportunity to go professional is to be at the Addicks. It’s been very good to see Karoy [Anderson], another teammate from my country. I can’t wait to start playing with him,” he said.
Charlton Athletic have won both League One games played so far this season against Wigan Athletic and Leyton Orient and sit fourth in the table.
They host Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, where Dixon could possibly make a debut appearance.
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