Memories of Cambridge Utd or City away..

I have been there several times, the most infamous of which was the Friday night fixture where we got dicked 6-1. It was a weird night all round, I sat next to a man- who went on to become a friend- who introduced himself as Gareth Taylor's dad, who was making his debut at centre back (who would have thought he would have gone onto to become a very accomplished striker). I think either Dion Dublin, or future Gas player John Taylor got a hat trick.
We nearly got kicked out from the stand because one well known forumer- who shall remain nameless- managed to get in a row with a middle aged couple who complained about his foul language (which come to think of it is reflected in his forum name), we left with about 5 minutes to go, and ended up in a very strange pub, where a dwarf- not me- was playing pool.
It was dense fog on the way back, yet our driver was hitting 100mph, and I thought I was going to die.
Not one of my favourite away trips, but certainly memorable.
BTW, the forumer who almost got us thrown out also went onto to have a big row with John Taylor when he played for us (during end of season celebrations!), talk us out of a fight, and then back into it at Northampton, and surpassed himself by being so argumentative during a night out in Manchester after Bury away, that he took the biggest right hook I have ever seen a woman throw, resulting in a peach of a black eye.
Think carefully before you travel to any Rovers match with this man.

In the spirit of the thread title...

I've only been once, about twenty years ago (before widespread satnav and smartphones) when I was working in Suffolk for a while.  I went with (equally seconded to that area) supporters of Man City and Blackpool, with whom I was working there.

We arrived in Cambridge and promptly got lost.  We stopped and asked a lady who very helpfully gave us detailed directions that didn't seem to tally with what we'd researched before we'd left.  We queried that and it turned out she was directing us to the Cambridge City ground.   When we said we wanted the other (league club) one, she had no idea where it was.  

I don't remember the game.

I went in the 70s,on a football special.
Escort to the ground and back its a long walk ( or it was the way the police took us).
On the way home we got bored,one of our mates was held down and his jeans legs ripped off so he had denim shorts,i had my bootlaces chucked out of the window etc etc.
On arrival at Temple Meads the city mob were waiting for us and a running fight went up and down Pruett street,I could only shuffle along in my laceless boots...happy days,cant remember the score I expect we lost.

On 7th March 1981, Rovers - nearing the end of their seven-season stint in Football League Division Two - were at Cambridge United.

Having travelled up from King’s Cross, I started the long walk to the ground from the Cambridge station in a light drizzle. By the time I reached the Abbey Stadium, the rain had become very heavy; the weather was as dismal as Rovers’ record in the League: just two home League wins, none away.

The Abbey Stadium hasn’t changed much over the last thirty years, apart from the south stand behind the goal, which was opened in 2002. When I went in 1981, it was open terracing, a bit like the Bristol end at Twerton Park. Nobody - even for a joke - was going to stand in the open in the driving rain, given the alternative which Cambridge offered: a small, covered, cosy standing area, just around the corner flag from the open terrace. The sight-lines weren’t great, and the weather made the view even worse, but the eighty or so Rovers supporters gathered in the dry enclosure and the game kicked off.

Through the first half, the rain eased and then stopped. That was the cue for a few of us to leave our cover and venture round the corner to stand behind the goal. Everything - sights, sounds, smells - seemed fresher and brighter; more alive, more optimistic, more immediate and closer.

It not only seemed closer, it was closer. I was used to watching games amongst thousands at Eastville, separated from the pitch by the greyhound track and the curve of the ground at the Muller Road end. In contrast, the goal posts at Cambridge were only a couple of arms’ lengths away.

And the game was being played just beyond the goal posts! Rovers were on the attack - in 1980-81! We knew it really was Rovers, because they wore blue and white quarters. (Bukta made the kit. You could see their tiny logo and the Rovers badge - shirt sponsorship had not yet been permitted).

The attack continued. Paul Randall turned and drove the ball along the ground, eighteen yards out from goal, so twenty yards from me. The line of the shot was straight towards me, and there was only clean, fresh air between the ball and the goal.

I heard the thump of the shot, the swish across the wet surface and then a rasp as the ball came to rest in the corner of the goal and a thousand raindrops flicked off the taut net.

We were unsure whether to cheer, applaud, or just stand there, stunned. Rovers had only scored eight goals away in seven months, so it was an eerily novel feeling. And the players were so close!

Randall stood with arm raised and fist clenched, as if gripping a steadying strap on the bus, with a big grin, looking at us and thinking…what? “I’ve scored!”? Or “We all know we’re going to be relegated, but that’s for you small group of fans”? Or “What are we all doing here”?

It was Rovers first and, as it turned out, only away win in the League that season. David Williams and Shaun Penny scored two more goals, Rovers won by three goals to one.

It was the first time I’d seen Rovers win away in the League after watching a dozen away games over six years.

Hey brill accounts, GM and concept!

I wonder why so many of us have some sort of amnesia when visiting Cambs?

I think its because we always do poorly and the brain tries to block it out...?...or maybe the whole area is in the Twilight Zone?

Only been once - in 2002 whilst working near St Ives. Went to their LDV game vs Rubbish & Dustbins. Tillo and Marcus Bignot were playing for the latter and also Onandi Lowe who was always a thorn in our side. Missed the first 30 mins as like Seth, got directed to the Cambridge City ground but eventually got let in for free - probably out of sympathy. Dustbins got surprisingly hammered 4-0 and Tillo despite being at the end of his career was still the most composed player on the park.

I've never looked for or been involved in trouble at a game but there was some sort of weird fascination/excitement about aggro back in the 70s/80s that went with watching the Rovers at matches.