Cambridge boss Neil Harris hailed his side’s resilience after they hit back to beat Huddersfield 2-1 despite conceding a late equaliser.
Struggling United remain in the relegation zone and five points from safety, but for now Harris is just pleased that they remain in with a hope of escaping the drop into League Two.
He said: “I asked for a fighting chance, I asked for some creativity and quality around the box. I think I’ve got both.
“We’ve certainly got both the character to show resilience after Huddersfield were excellent for 12 minutes, and for us to hang in there and not go behind was quality by us to adjust to a shape change so early in the game.
“I felt at half time we had just quietened the crowd, they were getting edgy and were frustrated with their own players. I felt something would come for us, fair play to the lads for hanging in there and being diligent.
“We got that impact from the bench which I’ve not had too often in my time in charge.
“Conceding in the manner we did from a set play was disappointing for us, we shouldn’t be doing that, but we responded accordingly and I’m proud of the lads.
“We know we’re still in a real tough moment and we’ve only got three games to go. We’ve got a huge game on Monday, a quick turnaround, and have to be ready for that, but we’ve given ourselves a chance.”
Struggling Huddersfield meanwhile suffered their ninth defeat in 12 games – including two in a row against sides who were in the relegation zone – and once again missed the chance to put pressure on the top six, despite Bolton and Reading both suffering defeats of their own.
Interim head coach Jon Worthington said: “It’s frustrating. I’m disappointed, absolutely.
“I felt going into the game it was an opportunity with who the other teams above were playing against. It turned out it was an opportunity the way the results went, and it’s an opportunity missed.
“As far as the issues go it’s a bit of everything. In both boxes it’s not good enough, and I think everyone can see that.
“It’s difficult to digest and go into what needs to change over the summer in that level of detail straight after a game, when emotions are running high, but there’s certain things that are pretty clear and they’ve already been voiced – and I would agree with that.
“The goals we conceded were very poor. Against Burton last week and this one here, they’re both games that were opportunities you have to take. That’s why the level of frustration is so high from our point of view.”
