Neil Harris hails Cambridge ‘character’ in win over Shrewsbury

Posted Sunday, February 04, 2024 by PA

Cambridge boss Neil Harris praised his side’s mentality after they recorded just their second win on the road all season by beating Shrewsbury 2-1.

The last victory on their travels came against Fleetwood in early August when they won 2-0 under the guidance of previous coach Mark Bonner.

Shrewsbury broke the deadlock through Dan Udoh, who beat U’s keeper Jack Stevens at his near post.

But it only took Cambridge two minutes to find the leveller through Lyle Taylor, who slotted home at the back post.

Taylor grabbed the winner just 30 seconds into the second half, poking home from within the box from an Elias Kachunga cross.

Harris said: “Firstly I’d like to praise my players not just for the victory but the mentality.

“The attitude to come from behind and score in the second half and then see it out relatively comfortably – I don’t remember Jack making a save after conceding the first goal.

“As much as Shrewsbury had a lot of the ball, and they are a big side who put it in the box, I thought we stood up to it really well.

“Credit to the players for that and credit to the fans for sticking with us because it’s been a long time since the last away win.

“We showed the character and composure in the key moments to score the goals we did, so credit to my players.

“The character of the boys to not only come from behind in that moment to score against the run of play but to respond as we did so quickly in Paul Hurst’s first home game when the fans could have really got behind them was vital.”

Shrews boss Hurst felt the timing of Cambridge’s goals hurt his side.

Hurst said: “I am frustrated after getting off to a good start as well.

“You are never quite sure how the game will pan out realistically but the timing of the goals we conceded was really disappointing.

“We got ourselves in front and no one really had time to celebrate enough and we end up back at 1-1.

“Then we come out for the second half and the next minute you are 2-1 down and against a team like Cambridge who have a good defensive record and don’t give up many chances that suddenly becomes a lot more difficult.

“I thought we had some good bits of play and had some possession, however we didn’t really create enough and that is the challenge.

“They defend deep and don’t give you much space, it was difficult to get in behind them often, I think we did do it the odd time.

“It didn’t feel like they did too much to us but probably from their point of view they felt they defended well and did a good away job.”