Dons ‘won’t look good every week’ Manning admits after edging past Cambridge

Liam Manning admitted his side lacked a bit of quality in their 1-0 win over Cambridge United but said the side’s unity and togetherness helped them over the line at the Abbey Stadium.

Struggling to reach their fluid best on a tough Cambridge pitch, the likes of Scott Twine, Mo Eisa and Troy Parrott struggled to find their way against a stern U’s defence, and needed a Warren O’Hora goal on the hour mark to see them to their 12th away win of the season, and their 11th road trip without defeat - a new club record.

Speaking afterwards, Manning said he felt his side did not reach their full potential at the Abbey Stadium and had to make alterations at the break to take more control of the game against a tough Cambridge outfit.

He said: “If you're hard to beat, if you're honest and hard-working, together and have tight spirit, you win games and that was us today. We tried to play at times today, there was a bit of a lack of quality but the way they set up prevented that.

“We're on such a run, we've worked so hard that it won't look great every week, but we were in that game because we are a solid team. There were moments of quality but we've now got some tired guys in there who need wrapping up.

“When you come to places like this, you have to expect they'll have chances and clearly have a strong culture. They hit the bar, Jamie made a good save and you have these grey areas but other than that we dealt well. It was a really honest performance.

“They're compact, they defend well and it was hard to get through. We went through a few times but lacked an intent to get into the box. It was something we did slightly better in the second half.”