Garry Monk expressed his frustration after Cambridge United’s winless run continued with a 2-0 defeat to Lincoln City, criticising his players’ lack of “character” and “personality” as the tough start to the season dragged on.
Cambridge United’s struggles were evident from the early stages of the match, as Lincoln dominated. Lincoln were forced to make an early substitution when Ben House went off injured in the first minute, with Freddie Draper coming on to replace him. Draper made his presence felt not long after, opening the scoring in the 26th minute. Jack Moylan’s well-timed pass found Tendayi Darikwa on the right, and Darikwa’s low cross was fired home by Draper.
Lincoln dominated much of the first half, but Cambridge’s goalkeeper Vicente Reyes kept the home side in the game. He made two critical saves, first denying Jovon Makama when the match was still goalless and then stopping another Makama attempt after Draper set him up on the break just before the interval. Despite Lincoln’s control, Cambridge nearly found a way back before halftime, but George Wickens in the Lincoln goal denied a deflected effort from Dan Nlundulu.
The second half saw Cambridge continue to struggle to create clear-cut chances. Wickens again came to Lincoln’s rescue, blocking a close-range effort from Michael Morrison. However, Cambridge’s hopes were dashed when Lincoln doubled their lead in the 68th minute. Adam Jackson’s long ball found Bailey Cadamarteri, who brought it down with his chest before finishing calmly past Reyes to secure the result for Lincoln.
After the match, Monk didn’t mince his words when addressing his side’s performance. “When you’ve got adversity and you’re in a situation like this where you’re not winning games, you need really strong character and personality to come out of the other side of it and give yourself a building block,” he said. “We’ve taken a lot of adversity, but I didn’t see enough of that personality today. That’s probably the furthest we’ve been away in all the games, especially in that second half.”
Monk continued to stress the need for resilience: “I’ve been in the game long enough—your duty is to work hard and take what’s coming at you. You’re either going to fight or take flight. My mentality has always been to fight, and I try to put that across to the players. I think they are fighting, but confidence is lower than it should be. There’s only one way out of it, and that’s showing character. We’ve done that in a lot of games, but this one was too far away from that.”
United remain rooted to the bottom of the League One table with just one point from seven games, and Monk knows time is running out to turn their fortunes around.
Writer’s View
Cambridge United’s struggles continue, and it’s clear that Monk’s frustration is growing. The lack of fight and character that he referenced is concerning, especially with confidence appearing to wane further with each game. The team needs leaders on the pitch to help grind out results, and without that, they risk slipping deeper into trouble.
The next few matches will be crucial for Cambridge to restore some belief and momentum. Monk must find a way to spark his squad into life, or this season could become a long and difficult one for the U’s. Tuesday’s home clash against Rotherham now looks like a must-win to keep hope alive for a turnaround.
Lincoln City have cost two Cambridge united managers their jobs in recent seasons – Shaun Derry and Mark Bonner left the Abbey Stadium after losing to Lincoln at home. Monk might not be that close, but another weak display against Rotherham in midweek and something might have to be done.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief at The Real EFL, Gary is a passionate Lincoln City fan with extensive content creation across the Championship and EFL. He also shares expert football betting tips.
Looking forward to League 2 – already!!