JAKE Buxton was left frustrated that the Brewers could not convert a flying start into a victory after Cambridge came back from two down to score four unanswered goals.
The Brewers manager was disappointed that the bright play of the opening quarter was betrayed again by defensive frailties.
He said: “We conceded from the first corner of the game and after the amount of time we have spent on set plays in training that’s very disappointing because of the work and effort that’s going on to try and stop that.
“There are some positives but ultimately we lose another game and concede four goals and I have told them it has to hurt as we can’t keep conceding four goals or we will never have an opportunity to win a game.
“It was an unbelievable start, on the front foot. We changed the formation and went 3-5-2 and we were fluent with the ball, dominated, created two good goals and were a constant threat.
“But then we stopped playing. We stopped moving it quickly and stopped doing what we were good at and what we were doing successfully.
“We gave them two goals in the first half to put them back in it. Kieran O’Hara hasn’t played a lot of football for a long time and he was a bit nervous and a bit rusty and that’s why we stuck him in tonight to try and ease him back into it.”
The Brewers were missing a string of senior players including Stephen Quinn, Michael Bostwick and Neal Eardley and there was further injury misery tonight with Lucas Akins and John-Joe O’Toole both coming off with knocks.
Buxton said: “Lucas rolled his ankle and John-Joe also had to come off. John Brayford has a few niggles as well so we will have to reassess and take stock and prepare for Plymouth.
“But I’m not going to use injuries as an excuse. There was enough quality and endeavour out there to get a result and that’s what disappoints me the most.”