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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. Both the clubs are 42 miles apart.

The first derby took place on 22 March 1956 and has since been played 54 competitive matches with Peterborough winning 25 to Cambridge United's 16. Both clubs have played two friendlies and one memorial match.

The Cambridgeshire derby is one of 23 requited rivalries in English football.[1]

History

Chart of yearly table positions for Cambridge United and Peterborough United in the Football League

The first league meeting between Peterborough United and Cambridge United took place in Fourth Division on 10 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 most recent derby took place on 24 February 2024.

Head-to-head

Statistics

As of 24 February 2024[5][6][7]
Major Competitions
Competition Played Cambridge wins Draws Peterborough wins Cambridge goals Peterborough goals
League 34 11 9 14 41 48
FA Cup 2 1 0 1 2 2
Football League Trophy 10 3 2 5 13 15
Total 46 15 11 20 56 65
Minor/Regional Competitions
Cambridgeshire Pro Cup 1 0 0 1 2 4
Hunts' Premier Cup 4 1 1 2 5 8
Shipp Cup 3 0 1 2 4 6
Total 8 1 2 5 11 18
Friendly/Memorial Match
Friendly 2 0 1 1 6 9
Memorial Match 1 0 1 0 0 0
Total 3 0 2 1 6 9
Overall Total 57 16 15 26 73 92

League

# Season Date Competition Home Team Result Away Team Stadium Att. H2H
1 1970–71 10 October 1970 Division 4 Cambridge 1–1 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 7,575 0
2 17 April 1971 Peterborough 2–3 Cambridge London Road 5,068 +1
3 1971–72 9 March 1972 Division 4 Peterborough 2–0 Cambridge London Road 4,947 0
4 19 April 1972 Cambridge 2–5 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 4,248 +1
5 1972–73 23 September 1972 Division 4 Cambridge 3–1 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 4,378 0
6 26 December 1972 Peterborough 1–1 Cambridge London Road 7,290 0
7 1977–78 5 November 1977 Division 3 Peterborough 2–0 Cambridge London Road 7,308 +1
8 2 January 1973 Cambridge 1–0 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 10,998 0
9 1985–86 26 October 1985 Division 4 Cambridge 3–1 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 3,234 +1
10 22 March 1986 Peterborough 0–0 Cambridge London Road 2,984 +1
11 1986–87 22 November 1986 Division 4 Cambridge 1–1 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 3,498 +1
12 4 April 1987 Peterborough 2–1 Cambridge London Road 4,713 0
13 1987–88 28 August 1987 Division 4 Peterborough 1–0 Cambridge London Road 4,623 +1
14 1 January 1988 Cambridge 1–3 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 3,975 +2
15 1988–89 3 January 1989 Division 4 Peterborough 1–5 Cambridge London Road 4,662 +1
16 25 March 1989 Cambridge 2–1 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 4,215 0
17 1989–90 17 December 1989 Division 4 Cambridge 3–2 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 4,811 +1
18 21 April 1990 Peterborough 1–2 Cambridge London Road 9,257 +2
19 1992–93 16 March 1993 Division 1 Cambridge 2–2 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 8,077 +2
20 10 April 1993 Peterborough 1–0 Cambridge London Road 10,235 +1
21 1994–95 21 December 1994 Division 2 Peterborough 2–2 Cambridge London Road 7,412 +1
22 8 April 1995 Cambridge 2–0 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 5,828 +2
23 1997–98 2 December 1997 Division 3 Peterborough 1–0 Cambridge London Road 10,791 +1
24 11 April 1998 Cambridge 1–0 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 5,445 +2
25 1998–99 10 November 1998 Division 3 Peterborough 2–1 Cambridge London Road 10,168 +1
26 24 April 1999 Cambridge 1–1 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 8,307 +1
27 2000–01 15 December 2000 Division 2 Cambridge 0–0 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 7,505 +1
28 31 March 2001 Peterborough 4–1 Cambridge London Road 10,086 0
29 2001–02 8 September 2001 Division 2 Peterborough 1–0 Cambridge London Road 8,656 +1
30 29 December 2001 Cambridge 0–0 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 5,665 +1
31 2022–23 29 October 2022 League One Peterborough 1–0 Cambridge London Road 12,766 +2
32 15 April 2023 Cambridge 2–0 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 7,711 +1
33 2023–24 11 November 2023 League One Peterborough 5–0 Cambridge London Road 11,645 +2
34 24 February 2024 Cambridge 0–1 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 7,710 +2

Cup

# Season Date Competition Round Home Team Result Away Team Stadium Att.
1 1955–56 22 March 1956 Hunts' Premier Cup First round Cambridge 1–5 Peterborough Abbey Stadium
2 1959–60 5 November 1959 Hunts' Premier Cup Semi-finals Peterborough 1–1 Cambridge London Road 3,632
3 19 April 1959 Semi-finals replay Cambridge 2–0 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 2,600
4 1969–70 5 November 1969 Hunts' Premier Cup Final Cambridge 1–2 Peterborough Abbey Stadium
5 1975–76 9 August 1975 Shipp Cup Group stages Peterborough 3–3 Cambridge London Road 2,000
6 1976–77 4 July 1976 Shipp Cup Group stages Peterborough 1–0 Cambridge London Road 3,443
7 1977–78 5 August 1977 Shipp Cup Group stages Peterborough 2–1 Cambridge London Road 1,877
8 1980–81 6 August 1980 Cambridgeshire Pro. Cup Cambridge 2–4 Peterborough Abbey Stadium
9 1984–85 17 November 1984 FA Cup First round Cambridge 0–2 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 5,641
10 23 January 1985 EFL Trophy First round (1st leg) Peterborough 2–1 Cambridge London Road 2,095
11 5 February 1985 First round (2nd leg) Cambridge 2–0 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 1,740
12 1985–86 21 January 1986 EFL Trophy Group stage Cambridge 4–1 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 2,253
13 1987–88 1 December 1987 EFL Trophy Group stage Peterborough 3–0 Cambridge London Road 1,247
14 1988–89 29 November 1988 EFL Trophy Group stage Cambridge 2–2 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 1,296
15 1990–91 6 November 1990 EFL Trophy Group stage Peterborough 0–2 Cambridge London Road 3,279
16 1994–95 3 December 1994 FA Cup Second round Peterborough 0–2 Cambridge London Road 9,576
17 2017–18 7 November 2017 EFL Trophy Group stage Cambridge 0–2 Peterborough Abbey Stadium 3,138
18 2019–20 12 November 2019 EFL Trophy Group stage Peterborough 2–1 Cambridge London Road 3,425
19 2020–21 10 November 2020 EFL Trophy Group stage Cambridge 1–1[a] Peterborough Abbey Stadium 0[b]
20 2023–24 12 September 2023 EFL Trophy Group stage Peterborough 2–0 Cambridge London Road 3,687
  1. ^ Cambridge United won 3–1 on penalty shoot-out.
  2. ^ Played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Records

  • Friendly matches are not included in the following records unless otherwise noted.

Results

Biggest wins (5+ goals)

Winning margin Result Date Competition
5 Peterborough 5–0 Cambridge 11 November 2023 2023–24 League One

Most total goals in a match

Goals Result Date Competition
7 Cambridge 2–5 Peterborough 19 April 1972 1971–72 Fourth Division
6 Cambridge 1–5 Peterborough 22 March 1956 1955–56 Hunts' Premier Cup
Peterborough 3–3 Cambridge 9 August 1975 1975–76 Shipp Cup
Cambridge 2–4 Peterborough 6 August 1980 1980–81 Cambridgeshire Professional Cup
Peterborough 1–5 Cambridge 3 January 1989 1988–89 Fourth Division
5 Peterborough 2–3 Cambridge 17 April 1971 1970–71 Fourth Division
Cambridge 4–1 Peterborough 21 January 1986 1985–86 EFL Trophy
Cambridge 3–2 Peterborough 17 December 1989 1989–90 Fourth Division
Peterborough 4–1 Cambridge 31 March 2001 2000–01 Second Division
Peterborough 5–1 Cambridge 11 November 2023 2023–24 League One

Longest runs

Most consecutive wins
Games Club Period
5 Cambridge 3 January 1989 – 6 November 1990
4 Peterborough 4 January 1987 – 1 January 1999
Most consecutive draws
Games Period
3 24 April 1999 – 15 December 2000
Most consecutive matches without a draw
Games Period
10 4 July 1976 – 21 January 1986
Longest undefeated runs
Games Club Period
12 Peterborough 10 November 1998 – 29 October 2022
Most consecutive matches without conceding a goal
Games Club Period
4 Peterborough 8 September 2001 – 7 November 2011
3 Peterborough 12 September 2023 – 24 February 2024
Most consecutive games scoring
Games Club Period
12 Peterborough 2 Febraury 1963 – 5 November 1977
8 Cambridge 1 January 1988 – 16 March 1993
7 Cambridge 22 March 1956 – 17 April 1971

References

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "Rival fans unite to honour manager". BBC News. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Ex-footballer's £80,000 statue unveiled". BBC News. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  4. ^ Brown, Raymond (8 November 2017). "Smoke bomb let off in pub as Cambridge United and Peterborough fans clash". cambridgenews. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Peterborough United football club: record v Cambridge United". Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Results". Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Bet on Peterborough vs Cambridge U | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
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