IAN Evatt admitted Wanderers had played into Cambridge’s hands by inviting late pressure and conceding an 89th minute equaliser.

Sulley Kaikai produced a fine header from Danny Andrew’s cross to level the game for the 10-man U’s, who had Jubril Okedina sent off earlier in the second half for a push on George Johnston.

After Aaron Collins put them ahead, Wanderers failed to make their numerical advantage tell further and found themselves pinned back under a stream of long throws, free kicks and corners in the late stages.

“It is two points dropped, no two ways about that,” Evatt reflected after the final whistle. “It was always going to be a difficult game but we had done the hard yards to get ahead, the sending off obviously helping. But then the only way they are going to score is a set play, and we concede far too many. We are giving sloppy fouls away, not dealing with balls that we should do the simple things and put them back in behind. we were trying to take unnecessary risks, dribble or take too many touches, which leads to long throws. I am disappointed not to see the game out.

“We had the game and it is never easy at this ground. We had the game in the palm of our hands but through a lack of game management we have gifted them a chance to get a draw and when they score so late there is not enough time to recover and get ahead again.”

Wanderers should have been heading for a second straight win after Collins put them ahead with his seventh goal of the campaign.

But with the second-half substitutes offering little in the later stages, Cambridge were given some incentive with a series of late set pieces that eventually led to Kaikai’s excellent leveller.

Evatt said: “We had control of the game, away from home, in a difficult place. I don’t think they caused us many issues apart from the set plays. We had some opportunities that we snatched at and rushed in the final third, we weren’t composed enough with our finishing or last pass.

“Second half was better and we had the red card. We should have seen the game out, it wasn’t about us scoring more it was about making sure they didn’t score and the only way they were going to do that was from a set play.

“The way we managed the game in the last 10 minutes, we allowed the crowd to wobble us, we allowed the atmosphere to make us make poor decisions. We gave sloppy, silly fouls away where we could have just stayed on our feet and seen what they were trying to do.

“And then we had to defend the balls on the box. You can’t always rely on the back three to keep on defending, we’d just conceded too many of them, and then eventually you will get punished.”