Gerry McDonagh earns praise of Cambridge United manager Shaun Derry

Young striker caught the eye in U's victory over Crawley Town

Shaun Derry has praised the impact of striker Gerry McDonagh in Cambridge United’s win over Crawley Town.

The 19-year-old, who is on loan from Nottingham Forest, was an early substitute in the 2-0 victory, and helped change the dynamics of the game.

“I thought Gerry did really well last week,” said United manager Derry.

“He has been struggling with illness for a few weeks and not been involved in match days because Uche (Ikpeazu) and Barry Corr were around, and I didn’t want to have three bigger framed centre forwards in the 18.

“For him to come back and produce that level last week, and he did change it, was good.

“We had a problem in the first 25 minutes where we couldn’t get out, but he allowed us to have that Plan B, and that Plan B became our Plan A as the game went on.”

McDonagh had made 11 appearances since joining United on loan, but prior to last weekend had not featured since the defeat at Accrington on March 28.

“He played well because of where he has come from and the time he has spent with us for the last three to four months, understanding what he brings to our team, he is a different type of player to what Uche is,” he said.

“So when you’re changing centre forwards as often as we do, it sometimes poses a problem. The good thing about us last week is that we adapted straight away, and it really worked for us.”