Cambridge United boss proud of his side’s display at Charlton but rues missed chances

Cambridge United manager Mark Bonner has given his verdict on their 2-0 loss at Charlton Athletic.

The U’s came into the match at The Valley with an impressive record of scoring in every away league match in the calendar year. And they had smashed Cheltenham 5-0 at Whaddon Road in midweek.

But Conor Washington netted twice for the Addicks, once in either half, as the South London hosts continued their impressive renaissance under caretaker boss Johnnie Jackson.

Bonner said: “We didn’t take the chances that we created. The performance was excellent. We deserved to come away with something – not only for the way we played but the chances we created.

“We had some good moments before they scored in the first half and we had a dominant spell in the second half and should do better with the chances that we have.

“It’s Sod’s law, isn’t it? Everyone for the last week has been saying we’re on a record for a number of away goals scored and number of consecutive games away from home and then we come here today and we can’t put one in the net.

“The small consolation is we’re going toe to toe with big clubs, huge budgets, massive expectations and great atmospheres. We’re getting better and better all the time. We were sung off the pitch by our 1,500 away fans – that tells you everything you need to know about what they thought about that performance.

“They make you defend the box, you know you’re going to have to defend some crosses and they get really good runners in from midfield. They are flying at the moment. Johnnie has got them going, got this place going….I’m not quite sure what he has got to do to get the job. He has certainly put himself in pole position for it. He’s on a brilliant run.

“We knew we were coming into a tough challenge but we handled the start quite well. It’s the biggest crowd we have played in front of so far since our step up. We took the ball well and played under pressure really well. Joe Ironside has had a tough afternoon up there on his own. Had the referee assisted him a little bit more he might have won one or two free-kicks. He blows on someone and it is a free-kick the other way. It’s not why we’ve lost the game but we do wish for a little more fairness in some of those decisions.”

PICTURES: PAUL EDWARDS