Cambridge United bid to end Rotherham United’s 13-match unbeaten run
Cambridge United will be out to show that 13 is unlucky for some when they make the trip to Rotherham United in Sky Bet League One on Saturday (November 20).
In the midst of a run of fixtures against the top seven, the U’s visit the third-placed Millers, who are unbeaten since September 11.
Having lost 4-2 at home to Fleetwood on that day, they have not suffered defeat in any competition in their last 13 matches.
“Rotherham are in great form,” said United head coach Mark Bonner. “They’ve got a strong squad, very similar to the squad that competed in the Championship last year.
“We know what we’re up against and how tough that task will be. I think that one of the reasons we’re so pleased to be competing at this level is for these challenges.
“It’s one we will take on with our usual optimism and energy and give the best account of ourselves that we can against a really strong side that obviously has different expectations to ours but one that we’ve got to try to show we can be competitive with.
“I believe in us going there and delivering a strong performance full of all the qualities we’re going to need to be competitive in the game.”
Rotherham, who Bonner described as “incredibly athletic and incredibly powerful”, have one of the best goal differences in the league, with plus 17; they have scored 29 goals, the fifth highest in the division, and have the best defensive record, having conceded just 12. In Michael Smith they have League One's top scorer, with 12 goals.
“I think they’ve created the most chances in the league, have the most penalty box entries in the league, and have really high crossing stats,” said Bonner.
“Every stat is in their favour at the moment, it’s why they are one of the top teams and why they’re fancied like they are.
“You can go into a game feeling like the task is impossible if you talk about that too much. We have to know what we are, what we can do, remind ourselves of when we’ve done that really well.
“The key to the game will be, yes our defensive concentration and defending, but what we do with the ball, if we can control periods of the game.
“The task for us is to try to do what we did in the second half last week (in the 4-1 defeat at MK Dons) at a time when the game is level and there in the balance.
“When the game had run away from us last week is when we really began to play. We have to try to become a team that can be super competitive throughout the whole game against these sides.”
United responded to the MK Dons defeat in good fashion, with a dominant display in the FA Cup, first round replay against Northampton Town, which they won 3-1 at the Abbey.
And Bonner wants to see them replicate some of that performance.
“Probably how well we used the ball and the attacking threat we carried,” he said.
“We had a nice composure about us with the ball, and I think we’ve got to do that at the weekend to see if we can be a threat not only on the counter attack but try to have spells in the game where we sustain possession in their half - I think that’s important for us.”
Bonner, who anticipates a “physically challenging” game, added: “Rotherham are fresh off an international break so there is some energy in their team no doubt, we will have to cope with that.
“They’re on a really good run of form recently, going all the way back to September when they last lost a game. We know what the challenge is, but our task is to try to bring that run to an end or to stop that winning run as best we can.”
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