Cambridge United boss Neil Harris reacts to 1-0 League One defeat to Charlton Athletic

Neil Harris felt today’s 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic perfectly encapsulated why his Cambridge United side will almost certainly be playing League Two football next season.

In general play there was not much between the two sides at the Cledara Abbey Stadium, where Tyreece Campbell’s 14th-minute goal moved the visiting Addicks a step closer towards securing their place in the play-offs.

Cambridge, meanwhile, could be relegated from League One over the Easter weekend with the gap to safety standing at seven points and only four fixtures remaining.

Reflecting on the 90 minutes, head coach Harris said: “How do I sum that one up? It’s levels sometimes in football. Players are at a level for a reason, Charlton are where they are for a reason and we’ll end up where we end up for a reason.

“Today sums it up. Between both boxes we were the better team. We had a good identity, we played well, we got from box to box quite easily and smoothly at times and showed some real quality.

“But then when we got around the box it just becomes about levels. Football matches – 99 times out of 100 – are won in both boxes and today they had one moment of quality in our box. It’s a really good strike and it ends up in the back of our net.

“I lost count of the amount of times – 15 maybe 20 – we got to the corner of their box and didn’t quite have the quality to either create something with one-v-one ability or create something with that killer pass or cross. When we did get the ball in there, we’re just not good enough to get on the end of it.

“Anyone in the ground would have seen the application, attitude, structure of our play until we made a lot of changes – it was really good. It’s there again, it’s just both boxes and we fell short.”

Harris also felt the fact that Gassan Ahadme remained on the Charlton bench throughout the contest was a perfect indicator as to where the two clubs are at.

Ahadme impressed while on loan with Cambridge last season, notching 13 goals to top the club’s scoring charts.

The Spaniard joined Charlton from Ipswich Town for a reported £1m fee in the summer, but he has struggled to make an impact with the Londoners.

“When I go to shake hands with Nathan Jones, Gassan Ahadme is sitting on the Charlton bench and he hasn’t been getting in the matchday squads recently,” added Harris.

“He’s one of the best centre-forwards to represent this club in the last decade – and that’s the reality of where we’re at.”