Cambridge United match winner James Brophy backed by boss Garry Monk to score more goals after ending long drought against Woking in the FA Cup

Garry Monk has backed James Brophy to find the back of the net on a more regular basis after he ended his long Cambridge United goal drought at the weekend.

The midfielder went into Saturday’s FA Cup first round tie at Woking having not scored in any of his previous 156 appearances for the club – a sequence that dated back to October 2021.

However, Brophy ended the wait when his 73rd-minute effort flew into the top left hand corner of the net to seal a 1-0 victory for the U’s at the Kingfield Stadium.

And head coach Monk believes that there is more to come in front of goal from the 30-year-old, who went close to scoring during last month’s league encounter at Stevenage.

“We’re all delighted for Brophs, it’s been a long time coming and it was a good goal to win the game,” said the boss.

“I’ve spoken to him a lot about it. The quality that Brophs has, he should be scoring more goals because he has the quality to finish.

“He’s the type of player that does a lot of unseen work and everyone appreciates that – especially as a coach and team-mates.

“But he has quality and he does need to score more.

“He’s been more of a threat this season and he’s having more shots compared to before, it’s just about converting them now and encouraging him to keep getting into those positions.

“It’s an improvement from the Stevenage one where it’s a good strike but he’s probably picked the wrong side of the goal.

“He’s learned from that because it’s a similar chance and he’s put it in the goal.

“He’s definitely getting more opportunities for himself this season, which is good, and it’s good to see him getting the winner – that will make him feel even better.”

Brophy’s previous goal for the club came during a 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town.