Mark Bonner hails ‘pivotal’ result as Cambridge score late winner

Posted Sunday, March 07, 2021 by PA

Mark Bonner felt Cambridge’s late win over Walsall could be a huge moment in his side’s campaign.

The Us looked set to go four home games without a goal until Paul Mullin’s terrific winner deep into added time which secured a 1-0 win and handed Walsall their first away loss since Boxing Day.

“When you get to the end of the season, I remember saying January might have been a pivotal month for us, results like that could be too,” he said after the game.

“There were times today where we didn’t look like a good side in a game that was quite scruffy and really difficult to get going in, but it’s some strike. We lacked a bit of everything at times today but we found a way to win and we’re delighted with that.

“We stood here on Tuesday night, we’d dominated the game, created shed-loads of chances and lost. Today we haven’t really created anything of noteworthy quality and we win it. That’s just the randomness of football sometimes. Over the course of the week we certainly deserve three points.

On Mullin’s goalscoring exploits, Bonner added: “He said himself, I think that’s his first shot for four weeks so he’s delighted to have found one. He’s edging closer to that record that he wants.

“It’s a brilliant moment. It needed something, it wasn’t going to be through a flowing move, it was going to be someone pulling something out of the bag.

“His first touch is great and his connection’s really good. He’s found a really good bit of quality which we needed.”

Walsall boss Brian Dutton described himself as “absolutely gutted” after the defeat.

“They gave me everything, the boys, I couldn’t be more proud of them in terms of the performance,” he continued.

“They’ve come to a team such as Cambridge who are second in the league, on their home patch, and put in a performance like that. That is the level we need to reach to make things happen for us.

“We had that in abundance but you’ve got to be physically at the top of your game. That’s why all the top players are so fit because they’ve got to go right through the 94th, 95th minute.

“When you’re not able to do that you get punished and that’s what happened today, we’ve been punished. I’m gutted with the result but really pleased with the performance.

“It became end to end. There’s chances for us to go up the other end and win it, there were chances for them. The easy thing to do at Cambridge would be to shut up shop and settle for a point but I don’t want that mentality at Walsall Football Club.”