County suffered their first defeat in nine visits to Milton Road on Saturday, and with just one point from their last five games the message is clear.

They face a hard slog to avoid relegation, and unless John Cornforth is able to strengthen his threadbare squad with some experienced signings, the chances are they will lose that battle.

The youngsters have served extremely well, but they need leadership on the pitch, and that comes from having confident, experienced characters around them.

There was no disgrace in losing to a side whose ambitions are at the other end of the table, and County were impressive in the first half, creating enough chances to give them a stronger hold on the game.

But if you don't score when you are on top, strong and experienced teams like Cambridge will make you pay for it, and that is exactly what happened.

County dragged the home side around the pitch before the break with some delightful movement, but their problem was they could not get the ball past the huge frame of their former 'keeper, Duncan Roberts, in the home goal.

The big man gave a towering performance and his best save came in the space of a few minutes as half- time approached.

In the 37th minute he dived full length to Parry's stinging drive from Jamie Moralee, who was some 25 yards out, and John Phillips reacted first to the rebound, but Roberts spread himself to block the follow-up as the striker hurried his effort.

The 19-year-old, who must learn to show composure when he is in scoring positions, had earlier blazed over the bar from just inside the box when Scott Morgan headed Lee Phillips' free kick into his path.

Roberts showed great anticipation to block a Nathan Davies shot with his feet after 39 minutes, and also denied Jason Bowen immediately after the double save from Moralee and Phillips.

Andrew Delve in County's goal had a relatively relaxed first 45 minutes, though Cambridge's Rob Miller squandered a good chance after 22 when he placed his shot just wide of the post.

Cambridge lost their top scorer, Dave Sadler, who pulled a muscle in the pre-match warm-up, but they were well served by Robbie Simpson, who punished Andrew Thomas by turning the centre-back to fire home on the hour.

Roberts again saved from Moralee three minutes later, and it was game over when home centre-half Matt Langston escaped the attention of Morgan to head home a Jon Stevenson corner in the 71st minute.

Cambridge: Roberts, Dell, Chaffey, Fuff, Langston, J Simpson, Williams (Fiddes 75), R Simpson, Stevenson, Robinson, Summerscales. Scorers - R Simpson, Langston. Caution - Williams, 74, foul. Newport County: Delve, L Phillips (Hooper 88), Morgan, Davies, Thomas, D Jones, G Jones, Griffiths 80, Williams, Moralee, J Phillips (O'Sullivan 68), Owen. Subs not used: Passmore, Evans. Cautions: Morgan, 78, dissent, Thomas, 89, foul. Referee: Glenn Hambling (Norwich). Attendance: 430.