Derby day demolition - Peterborough United vs Cambridge United
31 miles separate the cities of Peterborough and Cambridge, and the two football clubs that represent these two historic cities have been at it since they first met back in 1956. As the only two professional clubs in the county of Cambridgeshire, a rivalry between Peterborough United and Cambridge United was formed naturally after their first meeting, and crowds at these games throughout history have always been higher than their average attendances across respective seasons.
The first Cambridgeshire derby in the football league was played in 1970 at the Abbey Stadium and ended 1-1, with Cambridge getting the first ever derby win in 1971 at London Road as they won 3-2 in the Fourth Division. In the early noughties, the two clubs started to take very different trajectories, especially after 2005 when Cambridge were relegated to the Conference National League and didn’t return to the football league until 2014. During those dark years for Cambridge, Posh enjoyed 3 promotions, and survived relegation once in the Championship in 2011/12, before being relegated back to League One a season later. The two sides didn’t meet each other at all during this period, and eventually met once again in 2022 as both teams found themselves in League One following Cambridge United’s promotion season under the management of Mark Bonner.
So, the Cambridgeshire derby is alive and kicking once again. In the past 2 seasons the clubs have met 4 times, with Posh winning 3 out of the 4 games, including a humiliating 5-0 thrashing of their rivals at London Road last season. Due to the absence of this fixture in the league for 16 years, the hatred has grown even more intense. Some derbies in English football become tedious and can lose a bit of their edge due to the fact that they happen so frequently. For this derby, the time apart has created an excitement and anticipation every time it happens and this game was no different.
Walking around Peterborough before the match you could sense the tension and the feeling that it was an important day. Local bragging rights were at stake, adding more incentive to win than ever before with both clubs desperately in need of the points anyway. Posh started the day in 13th needing points to catch up with the play-off chasing pack, while Cambridge were sat in 22nd trying to break out of the relegation zone, despite winning their previous 3 league fixtures. Police vans were scattered around the city centre and both sets of supporters were sent to different pubs to keep them away from each other.
Upon entering the ground, the importance of the fixture was clear for all to see. A packed out away end were in good voice pre-match hoping to see their club avenge the humiliation from last year. The game was a complete sell out, with the home supporters in the GH Display stand (formerly known as the Deskgo) behind the goal where we were stood creating a fantastic atmosphere fitting for the derby. Regular match going Peterborough United fans will tell you how this isn’t the norm for home games, the atmosphere at most league fixtures this season at London Road hasn’t been bad but this was a real step up in terms of intensity and volume from the Boro faithful.
The game featured several moments of hostility and some of the usual fan antics that you may expect from a local derby. Unfortunately, a moment of real disrespect came before kick off during the minute’s silence to remember those who have fallen in conflict, as a very small minority of fans were unable to remain silent and showed a real lack of class. After the game kicked off, it was the Cambridge fans who had something to get excited about early on as they saw their side dominate much of the ball and create some decent chances, winning a number of corners which roused the away end. The Posh supporters behind the goal were jittery but still loud in their efforts to get behind their side.
In the 25th minute, Ricky Jade-Jones slid in to convert a cross from Jack Sparkes which sparked wild scenes in the GH Display stand and across the stadium, it was an unexpected goal against the run of play but one that ended up being a catalyst in turning the game completely on it’s head. From the opening 25 minutes, it looked like we were heading for a tight and tense derby day affair, with 1 goal perhaps tipping the balance. However, Ferguson’s attack minded side had other ideas as a procession of goals before half time included a Kwame Poku brace and a penalty from Malik Mothersille, and saw Peterborough go into half time with an incredible 4-0 lead against their bitter rivals. Safe to say, the Posh fans were ecstatic and started choruses of ‘Cambridge United, it’s happened again’. Blue smoke filled the concourse at half time as fans bounced around in unison revelling in the misery of their Cambridgeshire counterparts. It’s hard to know exactly how Cambridge fans would have been feeling at this moment, going into this fixture with so much hope only to see their dreams crushed in the space of 45 minutes must have been extremely deflating.
Credit to them, many of the Cambridge fans who had travelled remained in the stadium for the start of the second half, although there were a sizable number of visibly empty seats. The Posh fans by this point were in full party mode and Ryan De Havilland’s 50th minute strike only escalated the scenes further. By the time the match entered it’s dying moments, there were barely any away fans left. Those remaining did have a goal to celebrate as Sullay Kakai curled in an effort in the 84th minute but Posh fans didn’t seem to care too much. The final goal of the match came from Poku again who topped off a classy individual performance as his left footed shot beat Vicente Reyes at his near post. Poku is a massive talent and leads the League One top scorers chart along with Louie Barry of Stockport, both of whom are on 10 goals each already.
In the closing stages we joined in with the longest chant that I have ever been a part of as Posh fans behind the goal sang ‘Deskgo, I like it’ on repeat, for what seemed like forever. The chant itself was a message of admiration towards the stand and a cry to the club to allow home fans to have the whole stand allocated to them on a more regular basis. We witnessed an incredible atmosphere behind the goal which must have helped motivate the players and it is clear to see why the Posh fans want to see more of that going forward. Current sponsors GH Display may not be the biggest fans of the new chant however.
There was also a moment of head loss from a Cambridge fan who reacted to Ricky Jade-Jones and tried to get onto the pitch to attack the Posh striker, although stewards were easily able to intervene and carry him away. On the final whistle, the Posh players came over to celebrate a huge derby day victory with the fans in a moment of unity, topping off a fantastic day for the Posh fans who had just seen their side beat Cambridge by a 5 goal margain for the second time in just two seasons.
On Saturday we learnt that the Cambridgeshire derby is massively underrated. From us, it gets a 10/10. The build-up, the match itself, the atmosphere in the stands and in the concourse provided everything that you could possibly want in a derby. Understandably, Cambridge fans will not feel the same at this moment in time, but it will continue to be a fixture fuelled by hatred and passion and we look forward to the next instalment.
Written by Joe Horne