Wednesday 28 January 2026
Mark Johnson & Doug Shulman – Cambridge United v Shrewsbury Town, BBC Radio Cambridge (2026)
The build-up before felt uneasy. One of those games that should be straightforward and never is.
Cold Tuesday night. Home game. Shrewsbury in town. Hapless away from home, on paper at least. Surely a banker at the Abbey. Visitors have conceded 31 goals on the road this season. I am stuck at work, listening via my mobile.
Jono and Doug are doing what they always do: calm, steady, reassuring, even when the nerves start rattling. 12 games unbeaten. A drab match. Few chances. The visitors would be happy with a draw. Parking the bus, and who can blame them? Hurtling towards a dour nil-nil.
Then it happens.
92nd minute. A handball (slightly dubious by some accounts). A penalty. Pandemonium waiting to happen.
Ben Purrington steps up. Converts. Cool as a cucumber. Tight as a drum.
The Abbey erupts. Absolute chaos. I celebrate silently in front of my colleague. One of those moments you don’t shout, you just absorb.
But it’s not over.
I get in the car, and the radio cuts out. Spotify kicks in. Damn, computers in cars! Peter Gabriel, I love you, but not now. Not this moment.
Manage to retune. Back to the game.
Shrewsbury win a free kick with the very last action. One final ball sails over the bar.
A massive sense of relief.
Victory secured.
Thirteen games unbeaten in the league. Up to third in League Two. After last season’s relegation, the question sneaks in quietly: can we dream again?
Final score, ill-deserved but fully celebrated:
Cambridge United 1
Shrewsbury Town 0
Beautifully described. How important could this result be by May?
The Listening Log 