Louis Appere scores on his debut as Cambridge beat Cheltenham

Cambridge beat Cheltenham 1-0 to make a winning start to life back in League Two.

The hosts dominated the chances and struck the decisive blow through debutant striker Louis Appere.

Dom Ball missed the first big chance after 15 minutes, heading a Sullay Kaikai free-kick wide from a dangerous position.

Debuting U’s keeper Jake Eastwood made an important save nine minutes later, pushing away George Miller’s shot after the forward had got the better of Kelland Watts.

Five minutes before half-time Ben Knight almost marked his first Cambridge appearance with a goal, a free-kick that went over the wall and narrowly wide.

Knight set up Kaikai twice in the first five minutes after the restart, with Kaikai firing just off target and then being denied by a superb goal-line block by Darragh Power.

Cambridge’s pressure finally paid off after 59 minutes when Liam Bennett’s centre from the right found Kaikai, whose effort was saved by Joe Day but fell to Appere to fire home the rebound.