Nathan Jones doesn’t hold back as he slams his young side as Charlton lose to Cambridge in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup.
The League Two side managed to upset Championship opposition with a 3-1 win, and had led 2-0 within 30 minutes thanks to goals from James Brophy and Kylian Kouassi.
Charlton’s Ibrahim Fullah pulled one back before half-time, but Zak Bradshaw restored the two-goal lead in the 55th minute.
And to make matters worse for the visitors, they finished with 10 men after Karoy Anderson’s red card in added time for a high boot.
Jones said, per News Shopper: “I thought we were way, way off,” he said. “I don’t use any adjectives that are disrespectful but we were way off our level. We got out-battled, out-fought. They [Cambridge] didn’t have to do much.”
“I just didn’t see any fight in the energy. Normally, we out-work, out-press, out-run teams. Tonight, I can’t remember us doing that.
“I don’t think anyone took it [the opportunity to play]. Maybe [Ibby] Fullah, because he had one or two bits of real quality, but the rest of them, no.
“Look, it’s a makeshift team, it’s not in rhythm, we changed certain things, we want people to get minutes, so that’s a bit on me, but I expect us to be better. With the quality we had out there, I expect us to really affect the game.”
“They have to [take lessons from the game], otherwise they won’t have careers. It wasn’t just the young ones. We had a young left wing-back, two young centre-backs, and a young right wing-back. We had Karoy [Anderson], who’s still young.
“So it’s [the team was] young, but there’s a lot of experience there too […] We probably had six players there that played and will play a hell of a lot of Championship games for us, so that’s the disappointing thing.”
He said, per the club website: “It’s a mixture of embarrassment and real disappointment. We know we were stretched defensively tonight with the changes we made, but I still expected us to do the basics well: to compete, to outwork the opposition. That’s part of our culture here and we didn’t do it. We got schooled.
“We gave away poor goals. The press wasn’t right, we allowed runners off the back, and our marking in the box wasn’t good enough. Those are things we usually pride ourselves on, and tonight we didn’t do them. In the Championship we’ve gone three games without conceding a chance and here we conceded three in one night. That shows where we’re at in terms of depth, and it’s something we have to address.
“Ibrahim’s goal was excellent, and there were bright sparks when lads like Henry Rylah and Keenan Gough came on. We finished the game with almost a full academy side apart from Tanto [Olaofe]. For Ollie Hobden and Keenan it was a proud moment making their debuts. But at the end of the day, playing in the first team is about winning games, and tonight we didn’t deserve anything.
“The Championship is a totally different level and we’ll make changes back again,” he said. “But we’ll need to be considerably better than we were tonight, in fact, I expect us to be. I can’t remember the last time one of my teams was outrun and outbattled like that. It’s a learning curve for the younger lads, and also for the senior ones who were out there. We’ve got to learn quickly.”
On the Move Match Review – Ep5
Cambridge 3-1 Charlton
A new image for #camUTD and smiles at The Abbey as Brophy, Kouassi and Bradshaw punish Nathan Jones’ 11-change side.
League is priority but valuable minutes for young #CAFC prospects.
Reporting for @5liveSport 🎙️📻 pic.twitter.com/s1arjxHQEP
— Sanny Rudravajhala (@Sanny_Rudra) August 26, 2025
Cambridge United head coach Neil Harris told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire:
“Cup football is all about getting through. Playing well, playing badly, however you win you just have to get through and we’ve done that.
“In the meantime we’ve played extremely well, scored some really good goals, and I thought were the better team against a very strong Championship outfit.
“You expect teams to make changes at this stage of the season, it’s only natural. For me it’s about making sure everyone knows their roles and that when people step in they showcase themselves to the best of their ability.
“You can’t argue that any player who stepped in tonight or was on that pitch tonight didn’t show real quality.”
Nathan Jones doesn’t hold back as he slams his young side as Charlton lose to Cambridge, here’s how fans reacted…
@Nicolakiely3: I think maybe the first team play as he says or try to but he didn’t play the first team, he mixed it up and it wasn’t right. Why no first team players on the bench? You’re relying on the academy players and players who don’t play together usually to do the same job
@FULLERK88: Honest and open. League is priority and this was reflected in the starting 11 and bench. He wanted to test some of the young defenders. Mitchell is not ready. This game showed that. Front two didn’t make a case for start on Saturday and the few other senior players were poor
@HarryNixon11: Every interview he has i convince myself we are never getting beat again
@AlCAFC1905: Maybe a message to the board, we need a couple more players.
@Alex_CAFC47: I’m glad he’s pissed off. #cafc
@Charlton_Fan: The red card changed the game. By far the better team up until that point
@BigBadBraz: Could have at least warned us you weren’t going to make the effort. I’d have saved the petrol money & ticket fee to watch on the telly instead. Dreadful.
@jack784693: NJ is to blame at the end of the day selecting a shocking team. Hobden and zach mitchell embarrassing tonight reason for conceding the 3 goals.
@GJordanCAFC: That’s on Jones. Away fans deserve an apology
@artylondon: I know the management didn’t prioritise this game and by the end of the game it was all the kids. But there were enough players in that first half that we’ve signed or have been in our first team for a decent amount of time. Players that should be pushing. And they were all crap.
@Gardy010: Feel for the fans that have travelled up for that, piss poor regardless of the changes.
@LewCAFC: Deary me what was he thinking. 11 changes fair enough but bar Gills it was an U21s defence against a men’s attack with our third choice keeper behind them. And no backup firepower on the bench. At least Ibby Fullah showed his talent again. Think we’re all disappointed with that
@StevenBritchfo1: I hope Cambridge get a top 6 prem money spinner in the next round…. Then Jones might regret playing all them kids
@DanTheManMedic: Disrespectful to Charlton fans! We arent a big club to rest players! We want to have runs in the cup! These professionals play every day of the week! Piss poor, and as for the seniors who should be proving themselves, no wonder it was so easy to sign them!
