The U's did it! Tuesday night was the home match of the 2 game semi-finals and after getting lucky enough to tie Burton at their home, Cambridge United just needed a win at our home to move on to the brand new Wembley Stadium for a match to determine if the team is promoted to exalted "League" status. All the tickets available to Cambridge fans sold out and Burton brought about 700 away fans so almost 7500 people packed Abbey stadium and were already singing when I arrived about 20 minutes before kick-off. KT was running a bit late--in fact, she missed the first goal. United scored within 30 seconds to send the fans into a frenzy. Burton soon tied the match, however, and dominated the first half--only our excellent goalkeeper kept the score 1-1. The second half was a different story as United played much better and finally went ahead on a fluke goal--a winger kicked what he admitted was intended to be a pass and it kept floating right over their goalie's arms. Bedlam. As the minutes ticked down, the crowd noise grew until everyone let out a sigh of relief when the whistle blew. And then the celebration started, including an impressive "pitch invasion" that saw fans stream onto the field and dance with players (Ok, so we eventually worked our way down to the field just to enjoy the moment--KT went first, not me).
Here's a Youtube link to highlights of the game for the few who care besides me!
Perhaps more amusing is this video of fans celebrating on the field. It includes the famous "Bounce Bounce Amber Army chant" that rocked the stadium throughout the match.
Now to buy tickets for the Sunday May 18 Wembley match--Cambridge sold nearly 10,000 tickets yesterday in the first 8 hours. Go U's! --jt
