Garry Monk admits struggling Cambridge are “running out of time” in their battle to beat the drop.
Even a win would not have lifted Monk’s side off the bottom of the League One table, but a 1-0 defeat at home to Exeter ensured they remained well adrift of safety.
Despite taking Nottingham Forest to penalties in the FA Cup on Tuesday, Exeter’s league form had seen them fall down the table, but a Josh Magennis header earned the Grecians a first league victory of 2025.
“It’s a big blow to us, of course it is,” Monk said.
“It was a massively important match. There is enough time, but we’re running out of time. It’s not over till it’s over, football works like that.
“It’s hard in this moment, everyone in that dressing room feels really hugely frustrated, disappointed. In football you have to dust yourselves down, move on, get ready.
“It was a poor match overall. It looked like two teams that are struggling for form and points. In a match like that the key is the first goal.
“We had our opportunities to score a goal or at least hit that target, we didn’t take that and then they get really one opportunity in the second half.
“It’s not even really an opportunity, it’s just really poor defending from us. It’s a simple cross in the box. We don’t defend the situation and find ourself a goal behind.
“We huffed and puffed after that without any real quality and obviously ended up with a really bad result.
Gary Caldwell demanded Exeter’s first league win since Boxing Day set the standard for the remaining months.
“I have to demand more. I have to build on this and try and take our performance levels forward in the coming games,” Caldwell said.
“I felt like (in) the first 20 minutes the game was there for us to really take control.
“Because of the run we’re on, because of the game on Tuesday night, we couldn’t quite do that.
“The way we ground it out, the way we found a way to win after that was really pleasing.
“We said after Tuesday, as much as we were disappointed at losing the game on penalties, the performance, the spirit, togetherness that we showed had to be the foundation. I think we’re carried that on.
“Now we have to build performance levels and the areas we feel we can still improve. That will come as we keep picking up results.
“Positive results build confidence. The players will feel good about themselves, but we’re back into work next week and we build again for a really difficult game at Charlton.”
Ange Postecoglou insisted his controversial cupped ear celebration to Tottenham fans in a 1-0 loss at Chelsea had been misinterpreted on another bad night for the Australian.Spurs slipped to a 16th defeat in the Premier League this season thanks to a 50th-minute header by Enzo Fernandez, but it only told half the story of a typically frenzied London derby.VAR was required to rule out a fine strike...
Chelsea climbed back into the Premier League’s top four as Enzo Fernandez’s header early in the second half earned a 1-0 derby win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.Enzo Maresca’s side were under pressure after limping into the international break playing football that had ceased to excite home fans, but they largely had the better of a disappointing Spurs team that failed to tak...
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender