Steve Evans may have to re-assess what his Crawley side can achieve this season after Jamie Cook’s goal secured an impressive win at the Abbey Stadium.

Cook scored for the third successive game with their only effort on target in the first half but the visitors could have extended their advantage on several occasions after the break while they defended outstandingly all over the pitch to protect their lead.

Cambridge were keen to impress boss Martin Ling in his first home game in charge and started at a predictably furious pace.

But the defensive resilience Reds seem to have discovered since their opening day horror show at Mansfield was again evident.

Goalkeeper Simon Rayner stretched out a strong right hand to divert Mark Beesley’s angled drive round a post and Robbie Willmott hit the corner of post and bar with a free-kick from 30 yards in the 14th minute.

Beesley was not far away when he let fly from 20 yards two minutes later but Reds kept their shape, worked hard when they did not have the ball and Cambridge’s early fizz soon evaporated.

All the same, it was still a surprise when Crawley went ahead although there was no doubting the quality of the goal.

Willmott gave the ball away inside the Reds’ penalty area and when Ben Smith collected Karl Broadhurst’s defensive clearance he slipped a lovely pass between Cambridge’s two central defenders.

Cook timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and side-stepped goalkeeper Danny Potter before rolling the ball into an empty net.

It totally deflated the home side and their expectant fans and Rayner was virtually unemployed for the rest of the first half as Cambridge ran out of ideas.

The hosts roused themselves at the start of the second half with Willmott dragging his shot wide of a post after a clever diagonal run across the face of goal but as the game began to get stretched Crawley threatened more often on the counter-attack.

They nearly doubled their lead after 59 minutes when Cook’s pass allowed Charles Ademeno to show his pace down the right.

Ademeno left defender Darryl Coakley in his path to get in a well-struck shot which cannoned back off Potter’s left-hand upright.

A minute later Rayner was nearly surprised by Beesley’s snap shot which he managed to shovel around his near post for a forner but it was a rare moment of alarm for Reds’ keeper.

A delighted Evans said: “We won 5-0 here in the FA Trophy last season but we probably played better tonight.

“Defensively we were outstanding and always looked a threat."

Cambridge Utd: Potter, Gleeson, Coulson, Hatswell, Coakley (sub Tonkin 80), Parkinson (sub Pitt 66), Carden, Reason, Willmott, Beesley (sub Crow 66), Holroyd. Subs not used: McAuley, Ives.

Crawley Town: Rayner, Rusk, Giles, Broadhurst, Rents, Smith, Hutchinson, Cogan, Cook (sub Louis 90), Ademeno (sub Forrest 82), Killeen. Subs not used: Jordan, Malcolm, Powell.

Referee: David Coote (Newark).

Attendance: 2733 (59 Crawley).