Delight for Derry as U’s down old club
CAMBRIDGE boss Shaun Derry was left beaming after a second-half turnaround saw the U’s beat his boyhood club.
Derry, sacked by the club he supported and played for as manager in March, watched his new team fall behind when Adam Campbell gave Notts County the lead.
But the U’s roared back after the break through a Barry Corr penalty, a freak goal by Ben Williamson and a classy strike from Luke Berry.
Derry said: “It’s a huge victory for us on so many levels. I’m delighted, especially with the second half.
“There was an edginess in our play in the first half. I felt we had a lot more intensity and it was a wonderful second-half performance.
“The boys knew they had underperformed in the first half and really wanted to show everyone what they were capable of doing – and they did that.
“We really started the second half on the front foot. It helps with Barry being on the pitch and he made a difference.
“There was a large amount of fortune for the second goal. There were a lot of unhappy people on the County bench, but Williamson actually turned his back when the goalkeeper kicked the ball at him.
“It was an element of fortune for us, but I am not looking at that as the turning point in the game.The turning point for us was half-time when we came out with a different game plan.”
Notts have just won once away in the league this season, and manager Ricardo Moniz was bewildered at how his side had squandered such a promising position after Campbell had given them the lead.
He also said he wanted to see the controversial second goal again, when Roy Carroll kicked the ball at Williamson with the goalkeeper claiming his clearance was charged down. “I will have to see the second goal again before I can pass comment on it,” said Moniz. “But what happened was a horror scenario. Roy said it was a foul, but I will have to see it back.
“We should have made it 2-0 in the first half with the wind at our back.We didn’t and we knew we would face difficulties in the second half.We needed to stay out of the box.We didn’t and that’s when we gave away the penalty.
“They brought on Barry Corr at half-time and he is a target man. With the wind behind them and being a goal down it was normal for them to bring him on, but we should have dealt with it and we didn’t.
“We left four people up front and at the moment you must keep the pressure high and the ball on the floor.You have to continue playing football and we didn’t.”