BURTON Albion suffered another dose of the Cambridge blues at the Trade Recruitment Stadium on Saturday.
On the ground where they had to endure the heartache of a play-off semi-final defeat 10 months ago, Albion waved goodbye to the 17-game unbeaten run that has cemented their place at the forefront of this season's race for promotion to the Football League.
The Brewers could have few complaints about their fifth defeat of the Blue Square Premier campaign as the in-form U's gave them a taste of their own medicine.
So often this season, Albion have dug deep into reserves of energy and determination to come good in the second half of games.
But this time the tank was empty as in-form Cambridge stepped up a gear to run out comfortable winners.
Albion were never in the contest once Scott Rendell had given the U's the lead after a drab and goalless first half.
Robbie Willmott's cool finish in the 76th minute sealed the victory that lifted Cambridge into second place in the table.
A bleak afternoon for the Brewers was compounded eight minutes from the end when striker Martin Butler, making his full debut against his former club, was sent off for a late challenge on home keeper Danny Potter.
The one consolation for manager Roy McFarland and his men was that the football gods did not desert them entirely as Histon, the team who began the day in second place, also lost.
The Stutes' defeat away to Kettering Town was a welcome crumb of comfort to soften the blow of a rare lapse by the Brewers, but they will certainly need to raise their game again if they are to avoid a nerve-jangling scramble for points in the final weeks of the season.
After two appearances from the bench, Butler took over from Greg Pearson up front, while McFarland also made defensive changes.
Ryan Austin switched to right back to make way for Aaron Webster's return on the left after an injury lay-off, with Andy Corbett pushed forward at the expense of Marc Goodfellow on the right of midfield.
The U's had the first sight of goal in a low-key start but defender Wayne Hatswell could only head into the arms of Kevin Poole after climbing to meet a corner kick taken by former Albion midfielder Paul Carden.
Willmott also failed to make the most of a headed chance before Albion sprang to life to produce the first decent move in the 19th minute.
Austin's ball into the box was neatly laid back by Butler to skipper Michael Simpson, whose shot from 20 yards flew only a whisker wide of Danny Potter's right post.
It was a rare glimpse of some of the crispness that has eluded Albion on their recent travels but, much like their last outing at Woking, it was a tight and often uninspiring first half.
The U's struggled as much as Albion to spice up a contest that, in truth, was a first half mish-mash of misplaced passes and misdirected crosses.
Albion, in fairness, did have the semblance of another chance to break the dreary stalemate in the 35th minute.
Cambridge struggled to clear Austin's long throw from the right and, in the melee that followed, Keith Gilroy swivelled to have an eight-yard shot finger-tipped over by Potter.
Poole's only other test came in added time when he routinely turned a Jai Reason free kick over his crossbar.
Albion seemed half asleep at the start of the second half but escaped punishment when Rendell scuffed his shot inside the box before Courtney Pitt failed to hit the target with a 25-yard free kick.
The U's had visibly raised the tempo, with Carden using the ball wisely, and Albion were relieved that both Rendell and the overlapping Dan Gleeson squandered promising situations with poor crosses from the right.
With their passing still wayward, Albion simply could not get out of their own half and were suitably punished in the 55th minute.
Pitt's cross from the left took a deflection that looped the ball over Albion's defence and left Rendell to complete a simple tap-in from four yards.
Albion made their first change to try to create some much-needed impetus on the hour mark, with Pearson thrown on up front and Harrad switching to the right of midfield.
Cambridge threatened to extend their lead when Poole had to make a smart save at the feet of Rendell, whose follow-up shot was blocked by Jake Buxton.
Albion slowly began show signs of a recovery and Potter was forced to make his first save of the second half when Simpson fastened onto a partially cleared Harrad cross.
But it was all over for the Brewers when the U's produced a devastating counter-attack in the 76th minute.
Albion tracked back frantically, but Reason played the perfect through ball for Robbie Willmott to run clear and clip a low shot past the advancing Poole.
A forgettable afternoon for almost 400 travelling fans was completed when Butler was given his marching orders, perhaps harshly, for catching Potter as the striker stretched to reach a through ball from substitute Goodfellow.