Having earned a well-deserved point at Forest Green on Saturday, City travelled to Cambridge on Tuesday night to take on fellow promotion chasers (and unbeaten at home) Cambridge United. One change saw Matt Taylor come in for Steve Basham as Paul Tisdale switched to a 4-1-4-1 formation. Therefore, the line-up was: Marriott in goal, a back four of Friend, Tully, Seaborne and Matt Taylor; Rob Edwards employed as a defensive midfielder, with Gill and Andy Taylor in the middle and Carlisle and Moxey on the flanks, and Adam Stansfield playing up front by himself. The bench comprised Jones, Cozic, Elam, Basham and Logan.

City approached this match with a gameplan, which was to stifle Cambridge and hit them on the break - as could be told by the formation employed. However, it was City who almost broke the deadlock early on, Stansfield forcing former City keeper Danny Potter into a routine save. Andy Marriott too got an early chance to get his elbows dirty as he too dealt smartly with a snap-shot.

With City's defensive outlook, it was no surprise that Cambridge enjoyed most of the early play, with giant striker Lee McEvilly in particular looking dangerous with footwork far more fancy than befit such a behemoth. However, City were dealing comfortably with everything that was being thrown at them, thanks to the aerial presence of Taylor and Seaborne, while Matt Gill was enjoying the freedom of the middle of the park - enabling him to dictate play and bring in the wide men, with Carlisle in particular getting a lot of time and space on the ball.

In what was an absorbing encounter yet without much in the way of goalmouth action, it was hard to believe it was only 10 minutes until half-time when City scored. A deep ball out of defence to the right saw Carlisle draw an attempt at a foul, only for the defender to bounce off him. Carlisle turned and was off, only for his cross to be deflected out of play for a corner. Dean Moxey took the corner, and there was Danny Seaborne rising highest to nod home impressively.

It is often the case that when a side which has been under the cosh scores against the run of play, they often follow up with another goal, and it was so nearly the case for City. Dean Moxey was released in the inside left channel, and as he bore down on goal he hit a fierce drive that Potter did well to get to. The ball bounced agonisingly around the Cambridge area before being cleared.

Cambridge continued to press, aided by some bizarre calls from the linesman and the referee. From one such call, a free kick was headed at Marriott, who spilled the header but was able to pounce on the rebound. This was the closest Cambridge came in the first half.

The second half saw City once again come out brightly. Adam Stansfield couldn't quite get the ball out from under his feet and his shot was blocked away by Morrison. From the resultant corner, City will wonder how they didn't double their lead. Matt Taylor got in a powerful header, only for it to be saved by the face of Danny Potter. Other City breaks saw Stansfield twice get decent crosses in, only for the ball to evade the onrushing Wayne Carlisle on both occasions.

However, like in the first half it was mostly Cambridge possession. That said, again this pressure told for little in terms of real chances - shots from distance going well wide Paul Tisdale decided to make a change, bringing on Lee Elam for George Friend who, he will be the first to admit, didn't have the best of games. Dean Moxey slotted in to the left back slot.

In the closing stages, as Cambridge searched in vain for an equaliser while City defended resolutely, Elam had two opportunities to put the game beyond doubt. Firstly he brought down a high ball with instant control, but the Cambridge defence cleared before he could pull the trigger. The second opportunity saw Elam put in space by Stansfield (who was then crudely knocked down as he tried to join the attack). Elam teased the defence before firing a sublime shot from 25 yards that crept just wide with Potter beaten.

Try as they might, Cambridge could not get in behind the City defence - aside from one smart Marriott save late on - and City held on for the three points to the jubilation of the noisy travelling support.

Paul Tisdale should be congratulated for taking a gamble in going with a stifling formation and hoping that City could absorb the Cambridge pressure. The trio of Seaborne, Matt Taylor and Edwards were immense - Taylor in particular barely put a foot wrong all match - and Adam Stansfield will have earned his win bonus (if there is such a thing) for his tireless running up front. Matt Gill too was superb in the middle of the park, seemingly enjoying the freedom he was given by the presence of Edwards doing the donkey work in midfield. Cambridge may be wondering how they got nothing out of the game - and the second half was perhaps the longest 45 minutes witnessed in a long while - but in truth their one-dimensional play was out-thought by Tisdale's gameplan.