AN EQUALISER BY Danny Carey-Bertram three minutes into time added on for stoppages earned Cambridge United a draw at The Lawn on Saturday, but the point apiece left the two protagonists occupying the bottom two places in the Nationwide Conference.
After only two weeks and four matches of this season, Cambridge and Forest Green Rovers had decided that Ron Newman and Gary Owers, their respective managers, were not taking the clubs in the right direction.
For Cambridge, in their second season in the Conference since relegation from the Football League, Lee Power, the new chairman and close friend of Newman, said that “results had not been going the club’s way and we needed a change”. At Forest Green, a move up the hill to a new, purpose-built stadium has raised expectations for one of the league’s perennial whipping boys and they, too, felt the need to part company with their manager.
The search for a new manager at Cambridge continues with Power holding the reins on a temporary basis, but late last week Jim Harvey, the former Morecambe manager, was appointed as the new man at the helm at The Lawn.
It started well for Harvey when Allan Russell seized on hesitancy in the Cambridge defence to put the home team ahead. Despite numerous chances for the visiting side, it appeared as if Forest Green would hand Harvey the perfect start until CareyBertram popped up unmarked at the far post to head home a cross from Marcus Richardson for a late equaliser.
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“That goal is what we have been waiting for and I think that it’s going to turn our season,” Power said. “They’re not a bad bunch of players but I’m baffled sometimes and maybe that’s why they’re playing at this level — because they switch off easily.”
Forest Green Rovers (4-4-2): S Williams — D Jones, A Lawless, K Nicholson, C Edwards — P Stonehouse (sub: M Brough, 60min), L Afful (sub: D Williams, 60), S Clist, J Pitman — A Russell (sub: G Ipoua, 77), A Meechan. Substitutes not used: T Butler, C Griffin
Cambridge United (4-4-2): P Crichton — R Gier, M Peters, M Morrison, T Robinson — S Smith (sub: D Bridges, 71), J Brady (sub: M Gash, 86), R Wolleaston, C Pitt — R Simpson (sub: D Carey-Bertram, 70), M Richardson. Substitutes not used: M Bloomer, J Simpson. Booked: Wolleaston, Robinson, Peters