Cambridge City manager Jamie Cureton praises defensive unit after 1-0 win against Redbridge in Isthmian League North Division
Cambridge City manager Jamie Cureton has credited the defensive unit and goalkeeper James Philp for helping to secure Saturday’s 1-0 triumph over Redbridge.
After a run of four Isthmian League North Division games without a victory, Jack Thompson’s second-half goal saw the Lilywhites return to winning ways in front of a crowd of more than 700 at the FWD-IP Community Stadium.
And Cureton singled out the players at the back end of the pitch for praise.
“I’ve always said you start with it (a clean sheet) and that’s the one thing you should try and keep,” he told the club’s YouTube channel.
“We’ll always create chances and score, so the clean sheets are key. They’re good for the group and the back four or five with Philpsy involved have been brilliant for the last three or four months – they’ve been outstanding.
“For them it’s good to get clean sheets because it shows the hard work that they’ve been doing. Today we probably worked them too hard because we didn’t kill the game off so we had to defend more then we’d like.
“Philspy made a big, big save before we scored so he’s done his job. The back four and five have been really good.”
At the other end, the game marked a debut for recent arrival Jahkyah Ebanks-Blake.
The teenager joined City on loan from Cambridge United last week and he impressed Cureton as a second-half substitute.
The City boss added: “He became available through Cambridge and I’ve been speaking to them for about week to get it done.
“They were unsure if he was ready, but I think everyone will have seen for the 30 minutes after he’s come on that he’s more than capable of doing a decent job.
“It’s his first taste of men’s and league football and I thought he did really well.
“It’s nice to have a link with Cambridge United, we need to build that a make it stronger.”
Eleventh-placed City will return to action on Saturday (29 March) away at relegation-threatened Haringey Borough.
