Cambridge turned the formbook upside down with a 3-1 victory over second division high-fliers Reading at the Abbey Stadium.
The U's started brightly and only some excellent goalkeeping by Marcus Hahnemann kept the home side at bay until they finally broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute.
A perfect corner was flighted in by Shane Tudor and centre half Andy Duncan was left unmarked to powerfully head home.
The goal finally woke up Reading and it was their turn to exert some pressure with a couple of long-range efforts before Cambridge extended their lead against the run of play.
Man of the match Tudor was again the provider when his inviting low cross was met on the edge of the six-yard box by Dave Kitson who swept home his sixth goal of the season.
Alan Pardew rang the changes at half time and his Reading outfit struggled to adapt to the changes in the early stages of the second half.
The home side missed a couple of half-chances and fired some long-range efforts over the bar before they sent the Abbey faithful into raptures when they made it three in the 71st minute.
This time Dave Kitson turned provider for the excellent Tudor when good footwork enabled him to put in a perfect cross for the nippy winger to run on to and head home.
Reading almost got back into the game straight away when a cross-shot from Tony Rougier hit the post, but the rebound was blasted wastefully wide.
The away side finally gave their 300 strong following something to cheer about when they scored a consolation goal in the 89th minute. A deep cross was swung into the Cambridge penalty area and Matthew Upson was on hand to head home.
It could not dampen the spirits of the home fans though who went home happy after a superb performance by the U's