After a tough 0-0 at Abbey Road only 11 days ago, the two teams, now 79 league places apart, faced off again. This time it looked like it would be an easy win for Manchester United on paper, they were at home, the big names in the squad were included and they had a strong result in their last game against Leicester. However, they would be up against Richard Dunn who had a great performance last time out against them and would be hoping to carry that form into this game. After a 20 minute delay to kick-off due to heavy traffic, the game way underway.
An upset looked to be on the cards within the first minute of the game. Daley Blind couldn't quite reach the ball and ended up giving it away to Tom Elliott, who's first thought was to go for goal. Much to Blind's relief, he couldn't get the curve of the shot right to take it around the keeper and hit the post instead of the back of the net.
United began to build on their attacking front soon after this. They were pushing forward with their wide players, Marcos Rojo and Paddy McNair, and they were getting plenty of balls into the box, but Cambridge were equal to everything. Although, most of the time, the passes and crosses were sloppy, which made it easier for Cambridge to clear the ball and try to mount their own attack. Sometimes, instead of passing forward straight away, Cambridge tried to play it out of their own box which caused them to get dispossessed and almost present a goal to the home team, but luckily withstood all of the attacks.
United's first real chance came from Wayne Rooney after Marouane Fellaini played the ball into him. Rooney cut inside onto his left foot but could only direct his shot into the arms of Dunn. Dunn looked comfortable in the Cambridge goal; willing to catch shots and punch away corners to a safe distance for his team. He looked to be a tough player for the front-line of United to get past.
Eventually, on 25 minutes, United were finally able to find the breakthrough that had eluded them. McNair passes the ball into Juan Mata who then passes out to the left wing. Fellaini is found waiting in the box, and his header back in is met by the waiting Mata who's shot bounces off the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net.
Not even 10 minutes later, United had got their second. They had a couple of chances between the two goals, including a great chance for McNair on the volley, but the ball hit the back of the net after a corner kick taken by Angel Di Maria. Fellaini got the ball in a lot of space in the area and after his shot was blocked, Robin van Persie chipped the ball up and Rojo met it with his head to direct it into the bottom right corner and scoring his first goal for the team.
Cambridge began a steady build up after this in search of a goal to get them back into the game and turn the tie around. They had some nice build up play that led to a shot from Ryan Donaldson which went across goal and wide of the post. Cambridge were beginning to create chances but at the same time not really testing David de Gea. One of the Cambridge chances did lead to a counter attack from United with Di Maria receiving the ball and sprinting down the by-line with Rooney alongside him. When Rooney received the pass, he could only hit his volley against the floor and watch the shot go wide of the post.
10 minutes into the second half saw a lot of chances for van Persie went begging; starting with a Rooney volley which was saved by Dunn and van Persie couldn't collect the rebound. He also had a great chance from close range that Dunn was equal to as well. It just wasn't shaping up to be his day in front of goal.
On 55 minutes, Robbie Simpson gave Cambridge their first shot on target, but it was aimed straight at De Gea. Even so, Cambridge weren't ready to surrender their chance to be in the fifth round just yet.
It was proving harder for them to keep United out at the other end though. They were throwing their bodies on the line to keep the deficit at 2 goals, Dunn was being especially helpful, but they were finding it difficult to contain and deal with the wide threat that United possessed. On 64 minutes, van Persie had another great attempt with a volley on the turn, but once again Dunn was perfectly placed to deal with the shot and turn the ball away from goal.
Not long after, Gearoid Morrissey had a good chance for Cambridge after being set up by Elliott, but he could only direct his shot wide of the post. This was followed by a wonder strike from outside the box by Di Maria at the other end, but Dunn gets up in time to palm the ball over the crossbar.
For a long time, it looked like the score line was going to stay the same, with both teams determined to not concede goals in the second half. However, substitutes James Wilson and Ander Herrera had a big part to play in changing this. After a Cambridge throw, the ball is sloppily given away to United. Herrera plays the ball into Wilson who takes on the shot with his left foot from outside the box and finds the bottom right hand corner of the net. Dunn would be disappointed though, after making a lot of good saves in the match, he just had to watch as the ball bounced over his outstretched hand.
The Cambridge players began to tire as the game headed into the last 10 minutes, but Rooney seemed to come alive in this time. He had a lot of good chances, either getting saved by Dunn or just skimming the outside of the post. No matter how hard he tried though, he just couldn't seem to find the goal that he was chasing.
Deep into stoppage time at the end of the game, Cameron McGeehan came very close to getting Cambridge a consolation goal. He tried to direct his shot into the bottom corner and around de Gea but could only watch as it swerved just wide of the post, meaning a proud Cambridge team were out of the cup, leaving United to play Preston in the next round.
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