Bonner praise for aggressive Town
MARK Bonner has given credit to Grimsby Town’s aggressive, high-pressure style of play ahead of the Mariners’ FA Cup secondround tie away at Cambridge United today. Both teams will be desperate for a positive performance and result, with neither in great form heading into the game, but it is especially pertinent for Bonner and his players who find themselves in the relegation mix in League One.
Nine defeats in their last 12 and without a league goal at home for over 10 hours of football for Cambridge makes Town’s current issues look minor, but both teams recognise the importance of today’s clash for momentum and also for a chance of a great day out for their supporters at a big club.
“They [Grimsby Town] have a very good away record,” said Bonner.
“A very good defensive record as well, and I thought the result and performance against Plymouth (5-1) were outstanding. I spoke to Steve Schumacher recently and he spoke about Grimsby and how well they played that day.
“They’re a very hard running team, a real high pressing team, will get the ball into forward areas and make you defend your box, and can counter-attack well. All the statistics lead towards them being that kind of team, they’ve flipped the shape in recent games and gone to a back three, but they have some flexibility around how they might play.”
Bonner is feeling pressure from his own supporters for what is likely the first time since taking over at Cambridge in 2020. Promotion to League One in his first season and keeping them in the third tier the next year suggests things have gone relatively smoothly for Bonner, but this rough patch of form is testing his resolve.
It might be on a slightly smaller scale, but Hurst is also facing pressure to find consistency in his Town team, and there are certain parallels to the two teams’ seasons so far with Bonner keen to rewrite Cambridge’s script.
The U’s boss continued: “Our job is to give supporters a team they want to watch and hopefully a winning team, but if not a team that can really hit a high level.
“We’ve done that at times this year but our home form recently hasn’t been where we want it to be and, obviously, people have been starved of goals.
“I’ve got no problem with that (the frustration) whatsoever as long as people divert their abuse to me, I’m fine with that, just leave the players alone because they need a little bit of help and support at the minute - they’re having a tough time.
“I’ll take it off them and know that we’ve got good players and we have got a good side. We’ve seen that actually within the last few weeks but just not often enough and we certainly saw it in the early part of the season. And we certainly have seen it over the last two years.”