Cambridge United beat Morecambe in Sky Bet League One thanks to goals from Jack Lankester and Harvey Knibbs
Cambridge United picked up their first Sky Bet League One away victory of the season courtesy of today’s 2-1 win at Morecambe.
The U’s fell behind early on to a goal from midfielder Jensen Weir, who spent last season on loan at the Abbey Stadium.
However, Jack Lankester – one of four changes head coach Mark Bonner made to his starting line-up – levelled up the scoreline before the break.
And with only a few minutes left to play the three points were sealed courtesy of Harvey Knibbs’ strike from Shilow Tracey’s cross.
Bonner told United's YouTube channel: “I thought we were deserving of it over the 90 minutes. The amount of chances we created, the amount of set-plays we had, I thought we were the dominant team.
“They were a constant threat on the counter-attack and they started well in the second half, put us under pressure, but I think overall we played a really good game.
“We just had to be patient, at times we needed an extra pass to try and help us but we got into lots of situations in the same way.
“It gives us our first away win. It’s a difficult place to come and win games but winning games in this league is hard. We’ve made a decent start of that in the first 10 games. That’s a big win and it’s another one where we’ve come from a losing position to do it so I’m absolutely thrilled with the boys.
“We’ve had a few long away days recently and that one is a long one as well but we’ve used the week well, we’ve put in a good performance and we’ve got a mega result.”
Bonner also felt the victory highlighted the strength in depth that now exist within the United squad.
He was particularly impressed by the performances of goalscorer Lankester and Zeno Ibsen Rossi at the back, but he was also keen to praise those that did not get on to pitch.
“We’ve said a few times this year we like the squad, we like the balance and the numbers we’ve got,” he added.
“I really like the contribution from players like Greg (Taylor) and Liam (O’Neil), who are frustrated they didn’t get on the pitch today but they’re leadership skills and they’re conduct around the team is massive and the energy that they bring the team – that’s so important.
“And there’s other performers who are on the pitch that come into the team for the first time. We know we’re going to turn the squad around. We’ve got a 46-game season to grind out and a lot of the boys that we’ve got that are playing a real pivotal role this year – like Jubril (Okedina), Shilow, Knibbsy – have never been at a stage in their careers where they are 46-game players.
“We’ve got to make sure they’re strong and they’ve got momentum all season so how we move the squad around is important.
“I thought Zeno had a really good game against a good front two. He played well with the ball because he had lots of it and defended the aerial threats well.
“Jack had an excellent game, scored a really good goal, played with some real good intent between the lines, excellent delivery on set-plays and crosses – everything we wanted him to be. And that boy has been patient to wait for a chance to play because he’s on fire in training, he’s got himself into brilliant condition.
“We are in a really good spot too and I think that’s a consequence of just having a good squad, we can change things around.”
The win has moved United up to seventh in the table ahead of next Saturday's home clash against Derby County.