Cambridgeshire derby
The Cambridgeshire derby is a sobriquet used to describe football matches held between Cambridge United and Peterborough United, the only fully professional football clubs in Cambridgeshire.
| Location |  Cambridgeshire |
|---|---|
| Teams | Cambridge United Peterborough United |
| First meeting | Cambridge United 1–5 Peterborough United (22 March 1956) Hunt's Premier Cup |
| Latest meeting | Peterborough United 2–0 Cambridge United (12 September 2023) 2023–24 EFL Trophy |
| Next meeting | 2023-24 EFL League One |
| Stadiums | Abbey Stadium (Cambridge United) London Road (Peterborough United) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | Total:50 League: 31 |
| Most wins | Total: Peterborough (21) League: Peterborough: 12 |
| All-time record | Peterborough: 21 Draw: 14 Cambridge United: 15 |
| Largest victory | Cambridge Utd 1–5 Peterborough (22 March 1956) Hunt's Premier Cup Peterborough 1–5 Cambridge Utd (3 January 1989) 1988–89 Fourth Division |
| Largest goal scoring | Cambridge Utd 2–5 Peterborough (19 April 1972) 1971–72 Fourth Division |
The first derby took place on 22 March 1956 and has since been played 49 times with Peterborough winning 21 to Cambridge United's 15. The most recent derby took place in the EFL Trophy on 12 September 2023, with Peterborough United winning the match 2-0.
The Cambridgeshire derby is one of 23 requited rivalries in English football.[1]
History
The first league meeting between Peterborough United and Cambridge United took place in Division Four in October 1970 at Abbey Stadium. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, however Cambridge United won the first league derby with a 3–2 away win at London Road later the same season.
Following Cambridge's relegation after the 2001-02 Second Division, the sides would not face each other in a competitive fixture for nearly 16 years.
In August 2015, a memorial match was played between the two teams in honour of Chris Turner who had died four months earlier.[2] Turner, who was born in Cambridgeshire, made 314 league appearances for Peterborough and 90 for Cambridge United before going on to manage both clubs. In September 2017, a statue of Turner was unveiled outside London Road.[3]
The drought of competitive derbies ended with an EFL Trophy match played in Cambridge on 7 November 2017. Before the game, a smoke grenade was set off in a pub near Abbey Stadium. The pub was evacuated but reopened 85 minutes later with no injuries reported.[4] Cambridge's 2020 victory on penalties in the EFL Trophy group stage was their first over Peterborough in any competition since 1998, in what was the Football League Third Division.
Since Peterborough's relegation following the 2021–22 season, both clubs now compete in EFL League One. The next derby will take place on 12 September 2023.
All-time results
League
|
|
Cup
| Date | Venue | Score | Competition | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 November 1984 | Abbey Stadium | 0–2 | FA Cup first round | |
| 23 January 1985 | London Road Stadium | 2–1 | EFL Trophy first round first leg | 2,095 |
| 5 February 1985 | Abbey Stadium | 2–0 | EFL Trophy first round second leg | 1,740 |
| 1 December 1987 | London Road Stadium | 3–0 | EFL Trophy preliminary round group | 1,200 |
| 29 November 1988 | Abbey Stadium | 2–2 | EFL Trophy preliminary round group | 1,296 |
| 6 November 1990 | London Road Stadium | 0–2 | EFL Trophy preliminary round group | 3,279 |
| 7 November 2017 | Abbey Stadium | 0–2 | EFL Trophy group stage | 3,138 |
| 12 November 2019 | London Road Stadium | 2–1 | EFL Trophy group stage | 3,425 |
| 10 November 2020 | Abbey Stadium | 1–1[lower-alpha 1] | EFL Trophy group stage | 0[lower-alpha 2] |
| Peterborough wins | Draws | Cambridge wins |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2 | 2 |
Statistics
Statistics correct as of match played on 12 November 2019.[5]
| at Cambridge Utd | at Peterborough | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competition | Played | Cambridge Utd win | Draw | Peterborough win | Cambridge Utd goals | Peterborough goals | Played | Cambridge Utd win | Draw | Peterborough win | Cambridge Utd goals | Peterborough goals |
| League | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 23 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| EFL Trophy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Associate Members' Cup | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Hunts Premier Cup | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cambridgeshire Professional Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Friendly | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Total | 25 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 39 | 39 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 28 | 35 |
Notes
- Cambridge United won 3–1 on penalties.
- Behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
References
- "RIVALRY UNCOVERED! THE RESULTS OF THE LARGEST EVER SURVEY INTO CLUB RIVALRIES" (PDF). 20 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- "Rival fans unite to honour manager". BBC News. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "Ex-footballer's £80,000 statue unveiled". BBC News. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- Brown, Raymond (8 November 2017). "Smoke bomb let off in pub as Cambridge United and Peterborough fans clash". cambridgenews. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- "Bet on Peterborough vs Cambridge U | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 13 November 2019.