Joe Dunne lauds Cambridge after win over Notts County

Posted Wednesday, February 21, 2018 by PA

Interim head coach Joe Dunne was full of praise for Cambridge after the 1-0 victory over promotion-chasing Notts County.

Medy Elito’s first-half goal proved decisive as the U’s won their third successive match under Dunne following the departure of manager Shaun Derry.

Those three successes means Dunne has managed the same number of victories in three games as Derry did in his last 16 while he was in charge, lifting Cambridge to 13th and seven points outside the League Two play-off positions.

“That had a bit of everything; skill, flair, tenaciousness, courage, spirit,” Dunne said.

“We spoke in the week that that’s what it’s going to take with the quick turnaround of games, we need that kind of complete performance.

“There were a lot of good things going forward and obviously a lot of good things defensively. We talked about complications they would give us because they’re a good side and I’m really pleased, not only for the goal and the win but also the clean sheet.

“It allows the confidence to keep going. That’s a complete 1-0 win but it’s still three points, so if it’s 3-2, scrappy, if it’s 5-4 and it’s three points then we take what we can get.

“Tonight we did a lot of really good things going forward. We wanted to go offensive towards the end of the game because they’re such strong finishers. The back four especially and the guys in front kept a good line and we’re just pleased to get a win.”

Notts County boss Kevin Nolan was dismayed by his side’s display while crediting their opponents for the way they played.

“I’m deeply disappointed because I thought we were getting back to where we were,” he said.

“The set-plays were better, they were more organised. They just seemed to want it more than us tonight and that’s a big disappointment on our behalf.

“We looked at (Uche) Ikpeazu as one of their main threats; I don’t think we dealt with him well at all. We looked at their strengths, we didn’t deal with any of them really, and the weaknesses we felt they had, we didn’t do it. We just didn’t do anything.

“Whether it’s a bit of naivety, whether it’s a bit of (being) low on confidence, whether it’s all of that put together, I can’t put my finger on it but what I will be doing is I’ll be working hard over the next 72 hours to make sure that we’re ready for Saturday.

“Maybe with what’s happened early on in the season there’s been an added pressure and they’re not dealing with it well as yet.”