Hughes strike the difference

Saturday 10 January 2015 17:34, UK

Carlisle were made to pay for wasting a number of chances as Cambridge picked up a smash and grab 1-0 victory at Brunton Park.

An uneventful first half saw Carlisle dominate possession but fail to take advantage of several clear-cut chances. Antony Sweeney saw a header from a Danny Grainger cross go a few yards wide of goal while Steven Rigg's flicked header came back off the crossbar. The closest Cambridge came to scoring was in their own net, when Josh Coulson diverted the ball inches wide of the post from Brad Potts' low cross. The visitors started the second half brightly and took the lead with their only chance of the game after 48 minutes when Liam Hughes' shot from 25 yards took a wicked deflection off a defender to leave goalkeeper Mark Gillespie stranded. The Cumbrians struggled to get back into the game against a side happy to settle for 1-0 win, but did go close on 82 minutes when Sweeney and Troy Archibald-Henville both saw headed attempts cleared off the line in a goalmouth scramble. A low 30-yard shot from Potts had goalkeeper Chris Dunn scrambling to make a save late on but the visitors held on to secure all three points.