Tomorrow afternoon sees the Alex travel to the Abbey Stadium to face Cambridge United.
This Season:
They sit in 13th place following wins against Burton Albion, Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth, AFC Wimbledon, Morecambe, Cheltenham Town, Lincoln City and Doncaster Rovers, they have drawn with Oxford United, Plymouth Argyle, Fleetwood Town, us, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth while they have lost against Accrington Stanley, Lincoln, Gillingham, Shrewsbury Town, MK Dons, Rotherham United twice, Sunderland and Charlton Athletic.
They lost to Millwall in the Carabao Cup 2nd Round after knocking out Swindon Town on penalties while they host Luton Town in the FA Cup 4th Round after knocking out Northampton Town (after a replay), Exeter City and Newcastle United.
They finished top of their EFL Trophy group following wins against Oxford and Tottenham Hotspur’s Under-21s before a defeat to Stevenage. They have knocked out Walsall and Portsmouth to set up a trip to Rotherham on Tuesday night in the quarter-finals.
Transfers:
The only signing they have made since the last meeting is defender Sam Sherring arriving from AFC Bournemouth while defender Leon Davies joined Southend United on a free transfer.
Head-to-Head:
Alex Wins: 8
U’s Wins: 15
Draws: 9
Biggest Alex Win: 3-0 at Abbey Stadium in October 1986
Biggest U’s Win: 4-1 at Abbey Stadium in August 1987
Last Meeting:
Crewe Alexandra 2-2 Cambridge United, 2nd October 2021
Goals from midfielders Oli Finney (10) and Scott Robertson (26) would give the hosts a 2-goal lead before Will Jaaskelainen’s own goal and Adam May’s equaliser in the 79th and 90th minutes respectively saw the points shared.
Alex: Jaaskelainen; Ramsay, Offord, Daniels, Adebisi; Murphy, Robertson, Finney (Lundstram 72); Kashket (Mandron 28), Porter, Bennett (McFadzean 77)
Cambridge: Mitov; Williams, Jones, Masterson (Hoolahan 64), Iredale; Lankester (Tracey 64), O’Neil, May, Digby, Brophy (Smith 73); Ironside
Played for Both:
The following players have been contracted to both teams:
Goalkeepers: Dean Greygoose, John Ruddy
Defenders: Geoff Hudson, Mark Roberts, Anthony Tonkin
Midfielders: Chris Flynn
Forwards: Bryan Conlon, Alan Daley, Roger Eli, Steve Guinan, Ivan Hollett, Uche Ikpeazu, Marc Richards, Kevin Tully, Billy Waters
Officials:
The officials for this game have been announced here with Sam Allison the referee, Andy Bennett and Samuel Ogles are his assistants with Andrew Aylott the fourth official. The following Crewe games have been refereed by Allison in the last 5 years:
- Northampton Town 0-1 Crewe Alexandra (20th March 2021) – Dale
- Rotherham United 1-1 Crewe Alexandra (25th September 2021) – Porter
Opposition View:
I asked Cambridge United journalist Owen Mizon for his thoughts going into the game.
How would you describe the season so far for the U’s?
A terrific season thus far – success had been brewing for some time from our early-season performances. This has all come into fruition in January. In a healthy position in the league and still standing in the FA Cup and Papa John’s has exceeded expectations and then some.
What is the position that you think needs strengthening before the end of the transfer window?
The squad is a very tight-knit one. We may not have a plethora of options like other clubs in the league do, but I’d argue it suits us. Versatile options mean I don’t think too much business is necessary, but it would make sense to bring in another striker who is predominantly suited to playing by himself – our 4-2-3-1 system has been resolute.
Are there any players that you are missing from this game?
Long-term absentees Greg Taylor and Lloyd Jones remain out, as does tricky winger Shilow Tracey and loanee Jensen Weir, who are all big misses for the club. We’re hoping to have the no-nonsense George Williams back and keeping our fingers crossed battering ram Joe Ironside is given the green light after picking up a slight knock on Tuesday.
What would be the team that you would pick for the game if you were in charge?
In the aforementioned setup, I’d personally go for: Mitov, Okedina, Sherring, Iredale, Dunk, Digby, May, Smith, Hoolahan, Brophy, Ironside.
Who is the danger man for yourselves?
Ironside will of course be a handful, he’s slotted into League One football seamlessly. Dimitar Mitov remarkably gets better by the game – his performances against Newcastle United and Lincoln City were out of this world. A mention to Jack Iredale too, the full-back has converted centrally as of late and has been immense – Mr Consistent and, in my opinion, United’s standout performer this season.
What is the target for the rest of this season?
I think every U’s fan would bite your hand off for our current ranking of 13th. Wrap up safety with a few games to spare so we can blood some of our exciting youth prospects – I think that’s realistic. Two wins from Wembley in the PJT and a winnable tie against Luton Town in the FA Cup Fourth Round, Mark Bonner is giving the United faithful every right to dream.
