By Matt Badcock
CAMBRIDGE UNITED may be spending some of their FA Cup windfall on new toilets, but Ryan Donaldson has a request on behalf of the players – tracksuit bottoms for the subs!
Richard Money’s League Two U’s held Manchester United – complete with Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Robin Van Persie – to a 0-0 draw in the fourth round.
They may have lost 3-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday night in their televised replay but it has boosted their bank balance by more than £1m.
And while chairman Dave Doggett says a loo upgrade at their R Costings Abbey home is on the agenda, Donaldson is dreaming of warmer legs.
Freezing
“The subs don’t get long pants on the bench so I think that might be our first request,” Donaldson joked. “If it’s cold then your legs are freezing. We get a big coat but everyone else gets bottoms.”
Former Newcastle United youngster Donaldson shone with his penetrating runs showing up the Premier League giant’s shaky defence.
Inside the first ten minutes he had nut-megged Holland World Cup star Daley Blind to set the tone for an excellent evening.
“It looked good that – we wound it back a few times!” smiled Donaldson, who lives with team-mates Richard Tait and keeper Will Norris.
“I got absolutely smashed for that. It was nice, but then I got brought back down to earth pretty quick.
“We had Saturday off so we chilled out because we were exhausted. We put the game on to enjoy it in a different way. When you know the result you can enjoy it that bit more.
“I thought we did well and we got praise from the commentators. I think they were impressed.”
As were the written media, who were housed in the south stand’s academy players’ classroom for post-match interviews.
“When I walked in with Champs (captain Tom Champion) I said, ‘Flipping hell, what’s happened here, where are all the tables?’
“We normally get shovelled into the ref’s room while the ref has a shower to do interviews, so it was a nice change.”
Money’s men were back to reality on Tuesday night with a 1-1 draw against Dagenham & Redbridge before a crucial league clash at Luton yesterday.
But the club proved they can handle big occasions last season, by winning the FA Trophy at Wembley and using it as a springboard for promotion to the League.
Donaldson said: “We’ve had great success over the last 18 months. The club is full of good people who work hard and that translates onto the pitch. We’re all good pros and we want to do well.
“It’s the culmination of everyone’s efforts over the last year-and-a-half that we can match Man United and give a good account of ourselves. We’ll enjoy the replay.”
The U’s are eight points adrift of the play-offs in League Two, but if you fancy Donaldson and co to go on a good run, you can get football odds of 28/1 for promotion.
