Andrew Stephen’s Hot Off The Habbin article in the match programme for the CUFC v Swindon Town match on 2nd April 2026.
“Setbacks are what build character. They are what separate the lucky from the truly successful.” Cherie Carter-Scott.
Tonight’s game will be a real sign of things to come. We’ve had a few setbacks over a largely successful season, one of which was away at Swindon. Losing at Barnet and drawing at Walsall were deeply disappointing games. Certainly the 1800 fans who travelled to Barnet had expected a better performance, although Barnet are no mugs and Walsall were experiencing new manager bounce. In fact all the leading teams have lost to teams they would previously have expected to beat. At this stage of the season strange results happen but Fortune favours the brave and we are good enough to be as brave as we like. I hope we start with Nevitt and Appare up front from the beginning. I hope that we play each remaining game as if we expect to win. Neither Swindon or Notts County will fancy coming here and I suspect that Bromley are anticipating a really tough fixture in front of the cameras. We haven’t taken as many of our chances as we should and our midfield hasn’t been quite as fluent as it was earlier in the season. When we are at our best, Ben Knight and Kaikai can cause havoc. Certainly we don’t need to sit back.
Swindon have not often been associated with footballing success but most of us were delighted when the Robins destroyed Arsenal in a League Cup Final at Wembley, a Wembley which, unusually, looked more like a ploughed field than the bowling green it usually resembled. Those were the days of John Trollope and the rampaging genius that was Don Rogers. We love an underdog. We all love genuine competition. It was more realistic to expect a giant killing in those far off days. Swindon was always more famous for the Great Western Railway and its wonderful railway village and workshops. People love to take pride in the place where they live and often their support for a football team reflects just that. Cambridge as a city is on the up. United are following suit, aiming higher than ever. I wonder what Ian Darler would have done with the Wembley pitch all those years ago. The man is a genius and the Abbey pitch is a delight to play on. Almost always.
Appropriately enough one of The Darlerites will be here in force tonight. The Norwegian branch of the Amber Army will be celebrating Ole Olsen’s 50th birthday. No pressure but a thumping home win would be a very appropriate and welcome present. Their devotion is something to behold and celebrate.
Some will remember a match at the County Ground in January 1992, when a very talented John Beck side won 2-0 courtesy of Neil Heaney and Dion Dublin. Swindon manager Glenn Hoddle complained, as he often did, about our playing style when we beat his stylish and expensively assembled teams. Swindon were completely outplayed on that day. Lets hope we see the same outcome tonight and a fitting comeback from Saturday’s disappointment .It would be great to see a G.Hoddle on the scoresheet too!
Andrew Stephen