Colchester United 4 – 2 Notts County

Match Report by Dave Burch

Saturday 29 October 2011
Weston Homes Community Stadium, Colchester
Npower League 1

Attendance: 3,585

 

I was really not looking forward to the game against Notts County this weekend. Usually by the time the weekend comes around, I cannot wait for my footy fix, but I felt this weekend was going to be one of the toughest games of the season. The U’s home form this season has been patchy at best, whilst the Magpies have started the season really well and would be tough opponents to face.

After the dismal performance against Bournemouth in the week, I believed that this fixture was a must win game. It was in October last season, where John Ward finally changed things ironically against Notts County. The changes paid dividends with the U’s grabbing the victory, so I was desperately hoping we would revert to the 442 formation.

Line Ups

U’s

Williams

Wilson Okuonghae Heath Coker

Antonio Bond Wordsworth Henderson

Gillespie          Odejayi

Subs: James, Izzet, Vincent, Duguid, White.

Notts County

Nelson

Kelly Edwards Sodje Sheehan

Judge Bishop Ravenhill Hughes

Hughes          Hawley

First Half

Steven Gillespie came into the team for his first start of the season with Kemal Izzet dropping to the bench. The U’s were otherwise unchanged going into the game, with John Ward changing his formation for the first time this season.

The visitors kicked the game off and looked to keep possession of the ball from the start. The U’s had barely touched the ball in the opening three minutes until a ball forward to Kayode Odejayi saw the burly forward fouled by Sam Sodje. Andy Bond and Anthony Wordsworth stood over the ball and it was the former who arrowed a shot through the wall. It lacked the pace or power to really trouble Stuart Nelson in the County goal however.

Despite Notts County having the better of the possession it was the hosts that should have taken the lead in the fifth minute. Stuart Nelson put the ball out of play and had to dash back to his goal, Anthony Wordsworth charged towards goal and squared the ball to Steven Gillespie, who struck a weak left footed shot wide when it looked easier to score.

Moments later the U’s had another terrific chance to break the deadlock as Michail Antonio connected well with the ball to volley it goalwards, but Stuart Nelson was on hand to pull off a great save and tip the ball over the bar to safety.

Notts County had their first attempt at goal in the ninth minute as former U’s loanee Karl Hawley was given space to get a shot at goal, hitting the ball wide of the post.

Anthony Wordsworth was left frustrated as Nelson pulled off a number of saves © greenun24.co.uk

Anthony Wordsworth was the next U’s player to try his luck as he struck a rasping volley at the County goal, but again Stuart Nelson was the man on hand to make the save.

Colchester had another chance in the 16th minute of the game as Steven Gillespie won a free kick in a good position after he was fouled by Sam Sodje. Wordsworth stepped up and curled a perfect looking shot, but again Stuart Nelson showed cat like instincts to dive to his left and catch the ball in mid air to make the save.

The Magpies were struggling to deal with the U’s flowing moves forward, but did have a great opportunity to snatch the lead through Karl Hawley. The striker received the ball and should have done better with his shot as he smashed it over the U’s bar.

Steven Gillespie was substituted after 24 minutes when he pulled up with an injury and had to be replaced by Ashley Vincent.

Wordsworth again went close for the U’s, linking well with Ian Henderson and smashing a shot from range that looked destined for the net. Nelson again was on hand to just get his fingertips onto the ball to divert it over.

The chances for the hosts seemed to dry up and it looked like it was going to be one of those days for the U’s as numerous set pieces were cleared away with minimal effort and the Magpies began to get themselves back into the game.

As the half drew to a close it was the visitors who looked the more threatening with both Alan Judge and Karl Hawley seeing efforts at goal saved by Ben Williams.

The first half ended without further incident with the U’s wondering how on earth they could beat Stuart Nelson in the County goal

Second Half

There were more frustrations for the U’s within seconds of the restart as Antonio headed a ball cross field  pass from Ben Coker, straight into the path of Ian Henderson who somehow ballooned the ball into the crowd when the goal was at his mercy.

Wordsworth scored with a deflected effort. © gazette-news.co.uk

The U’s did manage to grab the lead in slightly fortuitous circumstances after Michail Antonio won a free kick just out side the penalty area. Anthony Wordsworth took the free kick and struck it straight through the wall taking a deflection to send it past Nelson and to give the U’s a deserved lead.

Notts County attempted to get back into the game and won a corner within minutes of the restart. The ball floated to the far post and Sam Sodje threw himself at it and sent a powerful diving header miles over the U’s cross bar from just six yards out.

Martin Allen decided to change things and replaced Alan Judge with Jude Stirling.

Sam Sodje scored the equaliser. © uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

The U’s were struck minutes after his introduction as Stirling looked to take a throw from a perceived non threatening position. The length of the throw seemed to shock the U’s defenders who watched on in awe as Sam Sodje rose like a salmon to plant an unstoppable header past Ben Williams for an unlikely equaliser.

Colchester came back into things firing on all cylinders and almost immediately re-took the lead as Wordsworth and Nelson continued their personal battle. Wordsworth launched a rocket of an effort towards the top corner of the net, but somehow Nelson took flight to push the ball over the bar, an absolutely fantastic save.

Ian Henderson was next to come close for the U’s as he was allowed a run on goal and hit a lovely curling effort which finally beat Nelson in the goal, but just went over the cross bar as the U’s continued to look to get their noses in front.

Antonio wheels away after scoring. © cu-fc.com

In the 65th minute the U’s did manage to re-take the lead again with a touch of fortune favouring the Essex side. Kayode Odejayi held the ball up well and looped it over Mike Edwards who slipped at the wrong moment allowing the powerful front man to run towards goal. He showed neat footwork to get past fellow Nigerian Sodje, however the centre back managed to get a last minute toe to the ball just as he was about to pull the trigger. The ball ran to Michail Antonio who saw his shot saved by Nelson, but not to be denied, the winger reacted quickest to the rebound to prod the ball into the empty net and send the home crowd into raptures.

Henderson scored with a super strike. © greenun24.co.uk

Five minutes later it was 3-1. Ben Williams long kick forward just evaded the jump of Henderson, but did find Michail Antonio who held the ball up fantastically and teed the ball back to Henderson who pulled the trigger from 25 yards and slammed an unstoppable shot past the despairing dive of Stuart Nelson.

The U’s magnificent 15 minute spell culminated with a fourth goal, just three minutes after the third. Ian Henderson was allowed time and space once again to amble forward into a similar position to where he had just scored. Instead of repeating his effort he slid through a sublime through pass that Kayode Odejayi ran on to. The striker rounded the stranded Stuart Nelson and calmly rolled the ball into the empty net.

County looked stunned, but showed resilience by trying to get a goal back. Lee Hughes was unfortunate to see his shot come back off the post as he got the better of the U’s defence for the first time in the match. Fortune was certainly favouring the U’s as the ball ricocheted back into the waiting arms of Ben Williams.

The Magpies were having all the possession in the latter stages and got a goal back in injury time as Jeff Hughes snaked into the box and saw the tamest of shots deflect off of Matt Heath and into the net.

The final whistle soon sounded with the U’s picking up only their third home win of the season.

Match Facts

	Colchester	Notts County
Goals:	4	2
Possession:	59%	41%
Shots On Target:	11	5
Shots off Target:	5	7
Corners:	8	3
Fouls:	8	12
Most Fouls:	Odejayi (4)	Sodje (3)
Yellow Cards:	1	3
Red Cards:	0	0
Scorers:	Wordsworth (49), Antonio (66), Henderson (71), Odejayi (74)	Sodje (58), Heath O.G (90)

Summary

I am absolutely thrilled after this victory. I thought the U’s deserved all the points and in all honesty it could and should have been more.

John Ward got his tactics absolutely spot on by changing the formation and I was absolutely delighted to see him keep with the 442 formation when Gillespie went off. I was rather surprised to see him change things at the start as he has been rather stubborn and said in the press lately that he will stick to his guns.

Steven Gillespie's first start was cut short by injury. © cu-fc.com

I feel desperately sorry for Gillespie. He had proven his point on Tuesday night and earned a start this weekend. It is perhaps typical that 20 minutes into the game his injury jinx returns and he has had to be substituted. It makes me wonder whether John Ward will now look to utilise the loan window. It looked like a hamstring injury and I just hope he is not out for long.

I was really disappointed by Notts County. Their fans were expecting to steamroller us and to be honest, the way our home form has been, I was expecting it too. They could not get into the game and struggled with their passing at times and just struggled to get to grips with the U’s movement.

I felt we did get a lot of decisions from the referee at times, but there was quite a lot of clumsy fouls given away in dangerous positions and that would annoy me if I was a County fan.

I was expecting so much more from them. They did not get in our faces and try to stop us from playing like some of the sides who have visited the Weston Homes Community Stadium have done and it was nice to see a team actually come here to win and not defend for 90 minutes. Maybe you can look to the absence of Pearce at the back and Mahon in the midfield, but two men should not really have that much difference, as it was hard to see who had only won twice at home an languishing in the bottom half and who was flying high in the league.

Stuart Nelson figured in my preview as a man who saves his best for us and he did not disappoint. If it wasn’t for the former Brentford man it could have been a cricket score. He made some absolutely terrific saves to keep the U’s out in both halves.

Lee Hughes had a poor afternoon. © sportinglife.com

Another player I expected more from was the veteran Lee Hughes. He looked like he was trudging in mud for most of the match. He was constantly offside and although he showed positive movement, he just could not impose himself on the game. Another player that had a comical game was Sam Sodje. He was always a name opposition feared because of his no nonsense style of defending, but he seemed to forget how to defend this weekend. He was letting balls bounce in the box and generally had a nightmare despite powering in the equalising goal.

I think a lot of credit for County’s poor performance has to go to the U’s. They simply outclassed their opponents in all areas of the pitch. We dominated the midfield and just had so much time and space on the ball. With Martin Allen in charge that is quite a surprise as you always know you are going to come up against a hard working side. I think Allen would be quite disappointed, despite making comments that he felt his side were comfortable.

I really thought it was going to be one of those days in the first half, when nothing seemed to go in, with Nelson looking imperious. It is true to say the U’s had a massive touch of fortune for their first two goals, but the build up play throughout was simply superb. Some of our passing completely ripped the Magpies apart and the just could not get to grips with any of our forwards.

I definitely feel that Ward should keep grace with the 442 formation for home games. We looked so much more dangerous than we have in other games at home this season.

All in all, a bad day at the office for Notts County, but a good entertaining display from the U’s.

Player Ratings

Ben Williams – 6 - Only had a couple of saves to make in the game. I felt he could have come off his line to claim the first goal, but watching it back afterwards there was nothing much he could have done.

Brian Wilson – 7 - Dealt well with the overlapping runs down his side and looked to support the attack. Was not really tested.

Magnus Okuonghae – 7 - Was a tower of strength at the back. Got his head to the ball on most occassions and looked solid.

Matt Heath – 7 - Another solid performer and for the second season running kept Lee Hughes quiet.

Ben Coker – 7 - Like Wilson, dealt with the runs that came at him and went forward well. One of his easier afternoons.

Michail Antonio MoTM

Michail Antonio – 8 – Man of the Match - Fantastic display by the on loan Reading man. He seemed to appear all over the pitch. Won the free kick for the first, Scored the second and supplied Henderson the ammunition for his goal. County could not handle his pace, power or trickery.

Andy Bond – 7 - All action display by Bond. I am not his biggest fan, but felt he had a very good game. Full of energy and getting a foot in to tackle an opponent whenever possible. Did a lot of good tracking and seems to be improving with each game.

Anthony Wordsworth – 8 - Pulled the strings in midfield. Comfortable in possession and not afraid to get stuck in. Was always moving and has improved his work rate tremendously. Had a couple of cracking efforts at goal only to be kept out by Nelson. Deserved his goal.

Ian Henderson – 8 - Ran the channels well and seemed to enjoy the freedom of the middle. Missed a glorious chance just after half time, but scored a thunderbolt and provided Odejayi for the fourth. A great team performer.

Steven Gillespie – 6 - Was unfortunate to get injured. Worked well early on chasing opponents down and should have done better with his effort at goal.

Kayode Odejayi – 8 - Back to his best. Enjoyed the battle with Sodje and had a lot of joy being able to birng the ball down on his chest and using it. Complete opposite performance to Bournemouth and took his deserved goal really well.

Subs

Ashley Vincent – 7 - Always looked to run at his man and was full of running and trickery. He was wanted to be involved and seems to enjoy his role on the left wing.

Karl Duguid - Not enough time on the field.

Colchester United v Notts County

Match Preview by Dave Burch

Saturday 29 October 2011
Kick Off 15:00pm
Weston Homes Community Stadium, Colchester
Npower League 1

The U’s second home game in a week sees Notts County make the journey south to the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

It is the Nottinghamshire’s side second away game in a week and they will be looking to take advantage of Colchester’s recent poor home form.

County are currently in 6th place and have started the season well. They have won 8 games this season beating Tranmere, Bournemouth, Walsall, Rochdale and Hartlepool at home and Carlisle, Stevenage and Chesterfield away.

Interestingly they have only lost the same number of games as the U’s (four). They have lost to Charlton (H) and to Preston, MK Dons and Sheffield Wednesday (all A).

The U’s are certainly the draw specialists in the league having drawn seven times, whilst Notts County have only drawn three times drawing at home to Brentford and away at Exeter & to Bury on Tuesday night.

Former Faces

There has been a fair few players to don the stripes of both clubs in recent years with Notts County boasting four former U’s in their current squad.

Mike Edwards had a short spell in Essex © teamtalk.com

Mike Edwards started his career at Hull City rising through the ranks and spending nearly six years with the Humberside club and making 208 appearances in total. At the time of his departure in March 2003 he was Hull’s longest serving player at the tender age of 22.

He linked up with Colchester United on the day of his departure, penning a deal to stay with the Essex club until the end of the season. Edwards made just five appearances for the U’s and was released from his contract at the end of the season.

He moved back to Humberside in time for the 2003/20o4 season joining Grimsby Town on a year contract. Edwards made 36 appearances in total for the Mariners scoring once before joining Notts County at the end of the season on a free transfer.

He started the started the season well with the Magpies, but a cruciate knee injury in a cup match against West Ham United cut short his season and he made only 10 appearances for the Magpies in his debut season. He regained fitness in time for the 05/06 season and became a key member of the County side playing in an unfamiliar midfield role and later back to his natural defensive position.

He was the Player of the Year winner for the Magpies in the 06/07 season and soon became the club captain the season after which was cut short due to a broken leg. He has been an ever present in the Notts County side through the years and has made a total of 287 appearances for the club, scoring 21 times.

Chilvers in U's colours © cu-fc.com

Chelmsford born Liam “The Rock” Chilvers is currently on loan at Port Vale from Notts County. He is currently in his second spell with the Magpies and previously had three separate spells with the U’s.

He joined County on a three month loan deal from Arsenal in 2001 and played 11 times scoring once before returning to North London.

He spent the following season on loan to the Gunner’s Belgian feeder club Beveren to further his footballing education. His next move saw Chilvers move on loan to Colchester, initially joining the club on loan in January 2003 for the duration of the season representing the club six times.

He rejoined Colchester on loan the following season having turned down a permanent move to Northampton Town and became a popular figure making a total of 46 appearances.

Chilvers was released from his Arsenal contract in 2004 and was quickly snapped up by Phil Parkinson for his third spell with Colchester United. He earned his nickname “The Rock” during his spell with the U’s with his no nonsense defending and was one of the first names on the team sheet every week. He helped the Essex club to promotion in the 05/06 season scoring his third and final goal for the club in a win against Bournemouth which pushed the U’s closer to the Championship.

Despite the U’s best ever league finish and consequent promotion to the Championship for the first time, Chilvers was lured away from Layer Road in the summer of 2006, joining Preston North End on a free transfer. He made a total of 88 appearances in his third spell at Colchester and scored three goals.

Chilvers spent four years with Preston but a spate of injuries in his final season at Deepdale saw him released last summer. It was there that he linked up with Notts County for his second spell signing a two year deal.

He has had a slightly disappointing spell with the Magpies and has been told that he has no future at the club by manager Martin Allen. He has made a total of 27 games for the Magpies.

Both Stephen Hunt and Karl Hawley are the other players to have played for the U’s.

Stephen Hunt moved to Meadow Lane after his release from the U's © skysports.com

Hunt joined the club following a trial after his release from Southampton. He will be best remembered for his debut in a U’s shirt against Chesterfield. Hunt entered the field as a substitute with 20 minutes left on the clock. He would only spend 59 seconds on the pitch though as he rashly crashed into an opponent and was given a straight red card. He scored his only goal for the club in the same season against Walsall in a 5-0 victory.

With the U’s successful push to the Championship in 2006, Hunt’s contract was not renewed with the full back leaving the club at the end of the season having only made 27 appearances in two seasons.

He linked up with County following his release from the U’s and has made a total of 136 appearances for the club scoring 6 times. He spent the end of last season on loan to Lincoln City, having only made a handful of appearances in League One and is currently surplus to requirements under Martin Allen.

Karl Hawley sprung to prominence at Carlisle United, where his goalscoring form earned him a move to Preston North End in 2007. Hawley was unable to continue his goalscoring exploits with the Lancashire club and struggled to get into the first team.

He was loaned to Colchester in 2009 and only made four appearances in a disappointing spell with the U’s. Following his release from Preston, Hawley joined the Magpies and has played 84 times in total scoring 7 times.

Johnnie Jackson in happier times with the U's © cu-fc.com

Other players to have played for both clubs include the popular midfielder Johnnie Jackson who was controversially sidelined by Paul Lambert and allowed to leave the club on a free transfer to Notts County just weeks before Lambert left the club.

Jackson was a fans favourite at the club and fell out of favour with Lambert after making 115 appearances for the club. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth to see how well Jacko is doing at Charlton! He only spent one season at Meadow Lane playing 30 times and scoring 3 times.

Journeyman forward Clive Platt has donned the stripes of both clubs as well as Kevin Rapley, Alan White, Mark Warren, Guy Branston, Dean Howell, Lewis Gobern, Paul Dyer, Ryan Jarvis and Aidan Davison.

Recent Meetings

Notts County 2 – 0 Colchester

Tuesday 15 February 2011, Meadow Lane

NPower League One

Attendance: 4,401

 

The U’s went down to Notts County in rain soaked conditions in Nottingham.

Colchester started the game brightly and should have taken the lead in the 5th minute. David Mooney was put through one on one with the ‘keeper, but his attempted lob from the edge of the eighteen yard box went narrowly wide of the post.

Minutes later Kayode Odejayi should have capitalised on a horrendous error at the back, as he was gifted the ball from a pass across the box. Stuart Nelson was out quickly though to make a save at the feet of the big striker.

The home side began to come back into the game and Colchester had Mark Cousins to thank after making a save from a headed opportunity and superb stop to deny the dangerous Craig Westcarr.

Craig Westcarr celebrating the opening goal. © nottscountyfc.co.uk

It did not take long for the Magpies to get their noses in front and it was that man Westcarr to get the goal. He linked well with Neal Bishop, who threaded the ball goal-wards for Westcarr to chase. The forward kept himself onside and won the foot-race with Cousins, knocking the ball past the stranded ‘keeper and putting the ball into an empty net.

Not long afterwards the U’s had a chance to pull even as Kayode Odejayi found himself alone in a shooting position, the burly forward was unable to keep his shot down though and it flew over the bar to the ironic cheers of the home crowd.

County continued to pressure and were denied a second goal 10 minutes before half time as Nathan Clarke made a great last ditch challenge in to deflect the ball for a corner.

Clarke was again involved from the resulting corner. As the ball flew into the box, the U’s ‘keeper came to collect the ball but could only flap at it, with the unfortunately Clarke being in the wrong place at the wrong time to divert the ball into his own net.

The U’s had a chance to reduce the arrears just before the half time whistle, however Anthony Wordsworth’s free kick from range floated harmlessly over the bar.

John Ward introduced Lloyd James and Kem Izzet at half time to give the U’s some extra creativity and steel in the centre of the park.

Colchester started the second half well with Mooney testing Nelson early doors.

The U’s battled to get back into the game and both Perkins and Izzet had shots on goal, but were unable to get the goal they craved.

County were dangerous in attack too and Mark Cousins had to be alert to push a Lee Hughes effort past his post.

John Ward’s side continued to press forward in the game, with Kayode Odejayi having the best chance but his chipped effort went wide.

The scores remained the same for the duration of the match with all three points staying in Nottingham.

Colchester United 2-1 Notts County

Saturday 23 October 2010, Weston Homes Community Stadium

NPower League One

Attendance: 3,811

 

Colchester battled back from a goal down to deny Notts County a win on their first ever visit to the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

The Magpies started the game the brighter and looked to push the U’s back. It did not take long for the first goal to come as slack defending allowed Craig Westcarr to turn and finish expertly by prodding the ball through the legs of Ben Williams.

Unfortunately that would be the last of the action for the speedy forward as he collided with a U’s man whilst shooting and had to be substituted.

Not to be deterred, the Magpies continued to fly forward and Ben Williams had to be alert to deny Ben Davies from doubling the visitors lead.

Both John Spicer and Karl Hawley had further opportunities to extend the lead for the away side, but the lacklustre U’s managed to hold on and survive.

Anthony Wordsworth had the first real threatening attempt for the home side as he hit a curling effort that required to be saved by Burch in the visiting goal.

With 10 minutes of the half remaining, John Ward submitted to the 442 chants of the home faithful and introduced Kayode Odejayi into the game in place of Wordsworth.

The change gave the U’s a better attacking impetus and the U’s finished the half the better side, but still could not get the elusive goal.

Colchester started the second half well with Burch saving well from Odejayi early on.

The U’s continued to charge forward in their search for an equaliser and Mooney came desperately close with a rasping effort past the post.

Kayode Odejayi grabbed a brace to give the U's the win. © cu-fc.com

With just 15 minutes left on the clock, the U’s finally got themselves into the game. A free kick was floated into the box and seemed to evade everyone bar Kayode Odejayi who was on hand to nod the ball into the net from six yards out.

County showed they were no pushovers and Jon Harley’s ferocious long range effort nearly gave them the lead, but only just cleared the cross bar.

In the 83rd minute the U’s completed their comeback with substitute Kayode Odejayi claiming his second goal of the game. Another set piece came into the box and was only partially cleared. Tom Williams floated the ball back into the danger zone and Rob Burch flapped and completely missed the ball allowing Kayode Odejayi to head the ball into the net at the back post.

Not satisfied with their lead, Colchester continued to pressure the County goal, but Burch made amends to deny David Perkins.

The game soon came to an end with John Ward taking the plaudits for changing the game with the introduction of Odejayi.

Team News

The U’s will be missing defender Pat Baldwin due to his broken toe. Mark Cousins is back in full training but will need game time before he can think about regaining the number one jersey. Steven Gillespie, Ashley Vincent and Lloyd James will be pushing for starts after making impressive cameo performances from the bench in the draw against Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Prediction

It is going to be a difficult game against a resurgent County side. The U’s have had a good record against sides managed by Martin Allen in the past but I feel he has matured as a manager since his Brentford days and it is not going to be easy.

You always know that a side managed by Allen are going to be well motivated and play a high tempo game. Looking at the County side that played against Bury mid week, there is not anyone in their side who you would stand up and say they are one of the best players in the league with the exception perhaps of the veteran Lee Hughes. That is not meant as an insult, but purely as a credit to the job Allen is doing with the Magpies. They have a good collective unit of players and have a decent substitute bench too.

Stuart Nelson seems to save his best for the U's © uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

One name that did catch my eye was Stuart Nelson the goalkeeper. He would have to be one of the most frustrating opponents I can remember standing on the terraces of Layer Road. He seemed to always reserve his best performances against Colchester making world class saves out of nowhere. I can remember the game against Brentford at Layer Road when both sides were pushing for promotion. Both Michael Turner (now at Sunderland) and Stuart Nelson saved the Bees from getting stuffed as they somehow held on to draw!

I watched Notts County on television the other week against Hartlepool. Whilst the Poolies were quite poor, Notts County did well to put them to the sword. Karl Hawley was quite impressive in the game scoring a brace and Gavin Mahon was the midfield general, pulling all the strings in the middle. Should Mahon recover from his injury it should be an interesting battle in the centre of the park against Kem Izzet.

Similar to the U’s, County like their full backs to get forward and should John Ward stick to his preferred 451/433 formation this could actually work to our favour as I would like to think Michail Antonio would be able to get in behind Alan Sheehan and beat him for pace with ease.

Bournemouth stopped the U’s playing on Tuesday and that was because of the way they played. They got in our faces and forced us to move the ball quicker, which inevitably meant that a lot of errors were made. This is one worry I have about playing the Magpies, as you know you are in for a battle against any side managed by Martin Allen.

John Ward has a big decision to make whether to start Gillespie. © givemefootball.com

I have a feeling that John Ward will keep the same starting line up as we saw on Tuesday. As much as I would like to see us play 442, I feel the formation we have been using will ensure that we can dominate the centre of the park and I think the players will be determined to make amends.

The teams we have played at home so far this season have been happy to sit back and hit us on the counter. I feel Notts County will come to win and that will leave them vulnerable at the back also.

I expect a decent game of football, but I feel the U’s defensive frailties will see them go down 2-1, with Hughes and Bishop to score for the visitors and Vincent to come off the bench and score for the U’s.

The Opposition View

Many thanks go to Chris Murphy from A Pie and Pint for answering the latest questions.

1. What were your hopes and expectations for the season and how are they panning out so far?

Well, to be honest with you my hopes for this season were avoid relegation. After last season’s close call, most fans expected this season to be a “steady the ship” type of season. Mid table mediocre was the best we could have hoped for. Most of us were glad that Martin Allen had been appointed, but nobody expected the rise that we have experienced. That leads to the second part of the question. So far we a third at time of writing and have performed well above our level. The team moral and togetherness is fantastic and we seem to be able to mix it with the best of them. Long may it continue!

2. Who should we look out for?

Dangerman - Lee Hughes © nottscountyfc.co.uk/

Another mixed answer I’m afraid. Lee Hughes is our obvious hitman. If playing he is a demon in front of goal and seems to have his mojo back after a slow season last year. Now the interesting bit. Both Ben Burgess and Karl Hawley were on there way out of the club at the end of this year. Both a waste of money and space for the past two years. With Martin Allens inspired leadership, they have both now come off the transfer market and are playing like two new signings! Watch out Big Ben is about.

3. What do you think of your Manager and Chairman/how the club is run?

Loveable Rogue - Martin Allen © uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Martin Allen has been sensational so far. A loveable rogue by all accounts, but we are playing as a team. Compare that to Paul Ince who came in and in one day told ¾ of the team they were too old and weren’t good enough to for this division!

Chairman wise…Ray Trew has paid off all our £10 million debt and we’re still alive. Enough said.

4. How would you describe your current style of football, and are you happy with it?

Very happy. Our mixture of passing and long ball, with every player aiming to get to the ball first is a real sea change from last seasons predictability.

5. What players from Col U are you aware of?

To be honest, not alot of your players are familiar to me. I know Michael Rose well and he looks a solid player whenever I’ve seen him. I would guess most fans know Gillespie. Always looks good and I think your prize asset.

 6. Have you visited the Weston Homes before and what is your opinion/experiences of the stadium?

Never visited your ground before so if all goes to plan this will be a first for me. (Depends on the wifes and kids permission!!!)

7. Where do you think Colchester will finish this season?

Looking at your recent run, I wouldn’t be too hopeful if I were you! Some may say we are only at the beginning of the season and it takes time. Actually we are 1/3 of the way there now so we’ll see. The Walsall and Chesterfield wins helped you a lot.

8. What do you think the score will be, and scorers (if any)?

Sorry, but I am going for a 3-0 win for Notts here. 2 for Lee Hughes and 1 for Ben Burgess.

9. Who will be in the top 6 at the end of the season and who do you expect to go up?

Well Notts obviously!

All the biggies such as Sheffies, Charlton, Hudders will be there or there abouts. Not sure if MK Dons can pull it together and push for a spot?

10. Who do you think will get relegated?

Wycombe, Yeovil and Bournemouth. I think Chesterfield can pull away from relegation if they get it together soon. Especially as they have Craig Westcarr firing on all cylinders (ex Notts!)

Ticket News

Tickets for this GRADE B game are now on sale and can be bought by visiting the Ticket Office or by calling 0845 437 9089. You can also buy online at www.colutickets.com.

Advance tickets are available to home fans ON THE DAY if you purchase them from the ColUTickets website (booking fee of £1). If you are unable to purchase tickets online, the Ticket Office will be selling at advance prices until the close of business Friday and normal prices will resume for match day sales from the ticket office windows.

Grade B price list.

Colchester United 1 – 1 AFC Bournemouth

Match Report by Dave Burch

Tuesday 25 October 2011
Weston Homes Community Stadium, Colchester
Npower League 1

Attendance: 3,444

The U’s have had some really poor results this season at home, but still have only lost the one game so far to Charlton.

Tonight gave the U’s the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a Bournemouth side that are languishing near the bottom of the table.

I have been suffering from manflu all week and picked myself off my death bed to go to the game and I was hoping the U’s would make me feel a bit better pre match!

Line Ups

U’s

Williams

Wilson Okuonghae Heath Coker

Bond Izzet Wordsworth

Antonio                                       Henderson

Odejayi

Subs: Vincent, Gillespie, James, White, O’Toole

Bournemouth

Flahavan

Peters Zubar Barrett Cummings

Pugh Gregory Purches Malone

Fogden

 Thomas

Substitutes: Jalal, Sheringham, Carmichael, Symes, Fletcher

First Half

John Ward made one change to the starting eleven that lost to Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend with Tom Eastman being dropped altogether to make way for Magnus Okuonghae. Ashley Vincent made the substitute bench for the first time since his injury sustained against Wycombe back in August.

Wes Thomas nipped in to give the Cherries a very early advantage. © bournemouthecho.co.uk

The match was barely a minute old when Wes Thomas made the most of the U’s sloppy start as he turned Mangus Okuonghae and struck a terrific shot past the despairing dive of Ben Williams. It was again another early goal to be scored under a minute against the U’s after Yeovil did exactly the same in the last home fixture.

Colchester were able to take the next kick off without too much issue, but it was the visitors who were looking the brighter side. They had the next chance with 14 minutes on the clock after Matt Heath fouled Wes Fogden. Stephen Purches took the free kick but the ball was put wide.

Wes Thomas was the dangerman up front for the Cherries and he should have doubled the lead after 20 minutes as he was left alone at the far post and could only direct a very weak header straight into the grateful grasp of Ben Williams.

The U’s registered their first shot of the game moments later, as neat build up play on the right found Anthony Wordsworth able to shoot right footed at goal. His effort was poor and dribbled past the post however.

Colchester were trying to get back into the game, but the dogged determination of the visitors in chasing down every pass was restricting the U’s of playing at the back with no real forward movement. Neither side were having a great deal of possession and the rainsoaked conditions were not helping either team.

The U’s were getting a few set pieces in an around the Bournemouth box, but could not capitalise on any of Wordsworth’s deliveries with Michail Antonio heading wide of the post and Matt Heath nodding the ball into a dangerous position but no players was there to help the ball home.

As half time approached the U’s could easily have snatched an equaliser in injury time when Anthony Wordsworth threaded a beautiful through ball for Ian Henderson to get onto. Henderson tried the spectacular with the outside of his right foot and Darryl Flahavan was on hand to push the ball away to ensure the hardworking Cherries went into half time a goal to the good.

Second Half

The Cherries started the second half as they did the first and Wes Thomas was again guilty of missing the target from just a few yards out. Marc Pugh turned Ben Coker inside out and produced the perfect cross for Thomas to simply nod into a gaping goal, but he somehow put the ball into the side netting.

Bournemouth continued to pressure early in the half and Scott Malone’s shot proved too hot to handle for Williams as he pathetically palmed it infront of him, straight back into the dangerzone, but thankfully the bounce of the ball meant that the waiting Wes Thomas was unable to get a clean head on the ball and Williams was able to grab the ball in the air.

John Ward had clearly had enough and in the 53rd minute made the change that the fans had been chanting for, by finally bringing Steven Gillespie into the fray and also introducing Ashley Vincent for the ineffective Ian Henderson.

The change lifted the side and the crowd and Vincent looked to get immediately involved cutting inside from the left to shoot right footed at goal. His shot took a deflection off of Purches and went out for a corner which floated over everyone and out for a throw.

Colchester were now beginning to find their rhythm, but were lacking in front of goal with both Michail Antonio and Anthony Wordsworth blasting over from 20 yards out.

Bournemouth were proving to be no pushovers despite their lowly league position and Wes Thomas was making a nuisance of himself in his lone front role. He had a shot well blocked by Matt Heath and out for a corner. From the resulting corner the Cherries thought they had doubled their lead, but a schoolboy error saw the goal chalked off. The U’s pushed their men to the edge of the 6 yard box, so that the short corner routine saw the corner taker flagged offside.

The frustrations grew for the U’s and in the 66th minute Kayode Odejayi had a terrific opportunity to level the scores as he managed to evade the Bournemouth defence to get on the end of a deep free kick, but his effort was very poor and flew into row Z.

John Ward reacted by making his final change of the game bringing Lloyd James on for Michail Antonio who was struggling to get into the game.

 James immediately wanted the ball and looked to spray the play, something the U’s had been failing to do.

Gillespie saw his cross turned in the net by Zubar for the equaliser. © uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Colchester managed to get the equaliser they had been pressing for in the 71st minute when Steven Gillespie picked the pocket of Warren Cummings, who failed to see the ball of out play, and put the ball across the face of the goal which defender Stephane Zubar slid into his own net whilst under pressure from Kayode Odejayi.

Just a minute after the goal the Cherries pushed forward to try and re-take the lead with a dangerous cross from Pugh being turned behind for a corner. The resulting corner saw former Southend man Adam Barrett get a chance to shoot, but he shinned his effort straight into the arms of Williams.

The U’s went straight up the other end and could have found a second goal as an Ashley Vincent throw found Anthony Wordsworth. He could not get much on to his shot and the ball floated harmlessly into the hands of Flahavan.

Ashley Vincent and Steven Gillespie were taking the game by the scruff of the neck with the former terrorising Zubar, but unable to do anything with the ball. Gillespie had similar luck as he breezed past Cummings and saw the big frame of Adam Barrett deflect his goal bound effort for a corner, which again came to nothing.

Bournemouth made their first changes of the match bringing on Charlie Sheringham and Michael Symes to replace Wes Fogden and Wes Thomas as they searched for a goal of their own.

Symes could have made an immediate impression, but he comically miss-kicked the ball and it rolled out of play for a goal kick.

It was Colchester who looking the more likely to get the winning goal however and it took a brave dive by Darryl Flahavan at the feet of Steven Gillespie to deny the U’s a second after a good ball across the face of the goal by Vincent.

The officials came to the wrath of the U’s following as the 90th minute approached as Jaime Peters clearly touched the ball back to Darryl Flahavan, but the fussy Jock Waugh could not have seen it and his assistant on the side line was not looking either.

Both sides were pressing for a winner and it was the visitors who had a decent chance at the death, as Symes headed a Pugh cross into the dangerzone, but no one was able to get on to the end of the ball and the U’s cleared their lines.

The final whistle soon came and the inevitable boos rang from the South stand as the U’s failed to win at home once again.

Match Facts

	Colchester	Bournemouth
Goals:	1	1
Possession:	42%	58%
Shots On Target:	5	5
Shots off Target:	6	4
Corners:	5	9
Fouls:	6	6
Most Fouls:	Okuonghae (2)	Thomas (2)
Yellow Cards:	2	2
Red Cards:	0	0
Scorers:	Zubar O.G (72)	Thomas (1)

Summary

I thought the U’s were lucky to get a point against Bournemouth. I felt we lacked any sort of spark or creativity. Our movement was poor and we just shot ourselves in the foot.

The goal in the opening few seconds was all our own fault. Wordsworth gifted possession to Bournemouth and Magnus Okuonghae got turned far too easily. It was a really good finish by Thomas, but he should never been allowed to get the chance in the first place.

We cannot seem to start games and are putting ourselves under unnecessary pressure. I am not the biggest fan of John Ward and I feel he is being far too stubborn in not starting games at home with a more attacking formation.

Bradbury had done his homework on the U's. © skysports.com

Lee Bradbury deserves a lot of credit for the way his team performed. He has injury problems to contend with at the moment and he set his team out to attack the U’s. Bournemouth played a high pressure game with two men on a U’s man at all times. I did feel that they began to run themselves into the ground midway through the first half though and it coincided with the U’s having a good spell just before half time.

The second half should have followed in the same manner but Wes Thomas failed to score and that was a turning point. The major turning point for me though was the substitutions of the U’s. Vincent on the flank immediately began to trouble Peters and Gillespie came on to partner Odejayi and give Barrett and Zubar something else to think about. Bournemouth had defended stoutly and were winning the midfield battle until Lloyd James came onto the pitch and started to pass the ball around much better than any other player had done. I did think taking Antonio off was a mistake, but he had not exactly contributed much to the game.

Bournemouth key man - Marc Pugh. © guardian.co.uk

I thought the key man for Bournemouth and probably the man of the match was Marc Pugh. He ripped Coker apart and was unlucky not to get an assist for a couple of goals. But like the match against Bury, the Cherries failure to put the ball in the net was punished. Pugh is one of those that did not depart the South Coast club in the summer, but if he continues to perform like he did against the U’s, then I can imagine there would be a number of suiters keeping an eye on him.

It was a battling point against a Bournemouth side that were far more impressive than the likes of Oldham, Yeovil and Walsall. With a bit more killer instinct they would have won the game and two mistakes by Cummings for the goal and then the corner taker for Fogden’s offside goal that cost the Cherries the points.

I am beginning to think the U’s are in for a long hard struggle this season and I am really fearing the next game this Saturday against Notts County!

Player Ratings

Ben Williams – 6 - Does not look comfortable with shots straight at him and makes the basic error of pushing the ball straight back into the dangerzone instead of to safety.

Brian Wilson – 6 - Tried getting forward and supporting in attack, was not tested all too much in defence.

Matt Heath – 7 - Won a lot in the air and was kept busy by the runs of Fogden and Thomas. He always had an error in his game though.

Magnus Okuonghae – 6 - Made a mistake with the first goal and did not look at all comfortable for a lot of the game.

Ben Coker – 5 - Got ripped to shreds by Pugh and struggled to get into the game.

Andy Bond – 6 - Tried to get involved but was put under pressure a lot and struggled to deal with it.

Kemal Izzet – 6 - Another one who struggled to get to grips with the high tempo play of the Bournemouth midfield.

Anthony Wordsworth – 6 - Threaded a nice pass through to Henderson and looked to try and get the U’s moving.

Michail Antonio – 6 - Had two men on him at all times and he just could not seem to get going.

Ian Henderson – 5 - Really could not get into the game and was wasteful at times. Run into a brickwall and is really struggling on the left side of midfield.

Kayode Odejayi – 5 - Barrett and Zubar did not give him a sniff and his misery was compounded by his miss and falling over at the end. It was one of those days where the ball just bobbled off him at every opportunity.

Subs:

Man of the Match - Steven Gillespie © cu-fc.com

Steven Gillespie – 8 – Man of the match - Showed determination and hunger to get himself into the game and really make a point to John Ward. Buzzed around and showed a lot of movement that had previously been lacking. Created the goal after not giving up a lot cause and must start the next game.

Ashley Vincent – 7 - Showed his pace and plenty of determination. Looked bright and along with Gillespie changed the U’s fortunes.

Lloyd James – 7 - I am not the biggest James fan, but he came on today and did exactly what was needed. He played short and simple passes and got the U’s moving.

Colchester United v Bournemouth

Match Preview by Dave Burch

Tuesday 25 October 2011
Kick Off 19:45pm
Weston Homes Community Stadium, Colchester
Npower League 1

Colchester return to home soil for the first league match under the floodlights this Tuesday night.

The U’s have been on their travels for the last two matches drawing 2-2 with Rochdale and losing 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday.

John Ward’s men have not had the best of starts at home this season with the U’s picking up more points on their travels than they have done at home.

Our visitors, Bournemouth have also had an indifferent start of the season and are currently in 21st place. They travel to the Weston Homes Community Stadium having fallen to a 2-1 home defeat to Bury.

The Cherries had a torrid start of the season suffering a 3-0 defeat away to Charlton. A marked improvement came in the second game with a 2-0 win v Sheffield Wednesday. They then went on a five game losing streak suffering defeats against Stevenage, Carlisle, Walsall, Notts County and Chesterfield. Since then they have gone on to win twice more (away to Orient & Exeter) , draw three times (Home to Rochdale and away to Tranmere and MK Dons) and lose twice more (Hartlepool & Bury at home).

Bournemouth did fair better than the U’s in the cup competitions progressing to the second round of the Carling Cup with a 5-0  first round victory over Dagenham and Redbridge, but that was as far as they were to progress after losing 4-1 to West Brom at home.

Wins against Hereford and Yeovil have seen the Cherries progress to the Quarter Finals of the JPT where they will face Brentford away.

Ex Southend defender Adam Barrett will be returning to the Weston Homes for the first time since his embarrassing slip in the mud gifted the U’s an early goal in the Essex Derby in the 2009/10 season and I am sure the U’s faithful will have a lot of fun reminding him of that evening in front of the Sky cameras!

Former Faces

There has not been a whole lot of players to have featured for both the U’s and the Cherries.

Mitchell Nelson in Bournemouth colours © afcb.co.uk

Defender Mitchell Nelson came though the youth ranks at Colchester and appeared to be destined for a professional career with the U’s. He was not offered a professional deal however and soon fell to the wayside of local football. He had unsuccessful trials at Brentford and Crewe before heading to the South Coast to trial with Bournemouth. He did enough to impress the Cherries and was signed on a free transfer in the summer or 2010. He has yet to make an appearance for Bournemouth and is currently on loan to Lincoln City.

Another player to have been at both Colchester and Bournemouth is midfield Marc Canham. Like Nelson, Canham came through the youth ranks at Layer Road and made his debut for the club coming on as a subsititute against Cardiff City. He only featured three more times for the U’s and was released at the end of the 02/03 season. He soon joined the Cherries on a one year deal, however he did not make appearences and was released at the end of the season. Canham went on to join Team Bath and sprung to prominence after they become the first university side to compete in the FA Cup since 1880!  He spent 5 years with Team Bath before heading to Hayes and Yeading where he spent one season before returning to Bath to play for Bath City.

Journeyman midfielder Warren “The Flying Pig” Aspinall had two spells with the Cherries, initially joining the club on loan from Portsmouth. He made 6 appearences and scored twice before going Swansea on another loan deal. In December 1993 he joined Bournemouth for a fee of £20,000 and spent two years at the club only making 32 appearences and scoring 8 goals. Spells with Carlisle and Brentford followed, with Aspinall playing in the Carlisle side that beat Colchester in the Auto Windscreen Shield final in 1997. In February 1999 he joined Colchester initially on loan and played 6 times before making the move permanent. He made a further 19 appearences scoring 5 times before swapping the blue and white stripes of the U’s for those of Brighton & Hove Albion where he finished his playing career.

Other former faces include Gareth Williams, Brian Gibbs, Dennis Longhorn, Trever Lee, Stuart Morgan, Keith Scott, Eddie Rowles, Charlie Woods and Bob Walker.

Recent Meetings

Colchester United 2-1 Bournemouth

Friday 14 January 2011, Weston Homes Community Stadium

NPower League One

Attendance: 3,445

 

This fixture last season was televised live by Sky, with Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe taking centre stage after telling the media that he will be making an announcement on his immediate future after the match. The Cherrie’s stalwart had been linked with the vacant Burnley post in the run-in to the match having held talks at Turf Moor in the week.

Rookie Ben Coker made his U’s debut after the departure of Marc Tierney to Norwich City. Pat Baldwin was also starting for the U’s as Paul Reid had also departed the club, joining Scunthorpe. It seemed quite evident early on that Coker was going to be the target with a number of balls being flung out wide for the experienced Lee Bradbury to try and win, however the debutant was holding firm.

The U’s made the better start of the two sides with Andy Bond seeing Jalal making a mess of a save and David Mooney clearing the cross bar as John Ward’s men looked to make a positive start.

Mooney had another chance to open the deadlock early on, as the Irishman kept himself onside and was denied by the onrushing Jalal in the Bournemouth goal.

The U’s best chance of the game came mid way through the first half with Anthony Wordsworth. The U’s man lined up a free kick and saw a beautifully connected effort beat Jalal, only to strike the post and spin away to safety.

The visitors began to get themselves back into the game and should have taken the lead as the half time interval approached. Liam Feeney crossed for Bradbury, but instead of shooting himself, he teed up Danny Ings who saw his effort blocked and cleared off the line by Ben Coker.

In to the second half, Andy Bond had a good opportunity to break the dead lock but could only head the ball straight at Jalal.

On 53 minutes the Cherries took the lead as substitute and man mountain Steve Fletcher reacted quickest to head a cross into the corner of the net.

It was a blow to the U’s who had dominated the first half and in response to visitors goal, John Ward made a double change with Lloyd James replacing Kem Izzet and Steven Gillespie came on for only his second appearance of the season replacing Ashley Vincent.

Steve Gillespie scored a double to win the game for the U's. © cu-fc.com

Gillespie tried to make an immediate impact and saw a shot blocked by Bartley and another effort fizz wide of the post.

The popular Liverpudian did not have long to wait for his first goal in U’s colours for over a year after a fantastic move saw Wordsworth delightfully pick out Ben Coker’s forward run. The full back put a speculative ball across the goal and that man Gillespie was on hand to tuck the ball home to level the scores.

The Essex side continued to push forward and got a second goal that their display had earned. A corner was floated into the box and cleared as far as Ben Coker. He put the ball back into the box, which Gillespie reacted quickest to, holding off a defender before delicately chipping the ball over Jalal and into the back of the net.

Bournemouth poured forward in their search for an equaliser, but the U’s held on the inflict defeat on the South coast side. The match was completely overshadowed after the game with the announcement that Eddie Howe had managed his last game for the Cherries and was indeed heading north for Burnley.

Bournemouth 1 – 2 Colchester

Saturday 30 October 2010, Dean Court

NPower League One

Attendance: 6,575

 

The U’s travelled to Dean Court for the first time since the 05/06 season when Scott Vernon scored the winning goal to put the Essex side within touching distance of promotion to the Championship.

The Cherries has been imperilous at home boasting one of the longest unbeaten home streaks in the league. They were flying high in the league and started the match the quickest.

Anton Robinson had the first chance of the match, taking advantage of Tom Williams’ error and sprinting towards the U’s goal. His shot was weak though, drilling it wide of the post.

Bournemouth were dominating the possession, however the pairing of Matt Heath and Paul Reid were holding firm and repelling any balls in to the box.

The first chance for the U’s fell to an unlikely source, with Kemal Izzet reacting quickest to shoot just wide.

Williams celebrating his strike © greenun24.co.uk

Although the hosts had been on top for the first 15 minutes, it was the visiting U’s that took the lead. Tom Williams lined up a free kick 35 yards from goal and instead of putting the ball in to the box, he smashed the ball goalwards and saw the ball take a fortunate deflection off a defender and fly into the corner of the net with Jalal left rooted to the spot.

The home side rallied to try and get an equalising goal, however the U’s defence were repelling every attack. Liam Feeney had a good chance to equalise just before half time, but he shot straight at Williams.

The U’s went into the interval with an unlikely lead.

The second half began in a similar pattern to the first, with the Cherries attacking the U’s goal without any joy. Any shots at goal were restricted to ones from range and none of them caused any danger to the U’s goal.

Colchester ws not showing too much attacking intent, however Ashley Vincent had a fantastic chance to double the U’s lead when he broke through the defence and found himself one on one with the keeper. His shot was poor though and straight at Jalal.

Bournemouth were throwing everything at the U’s, but were not threatening the U’s goal.

A classic counter attack saw the U’s double their lead through substitute Ian Henderson. Henderson swivelledback and forth brilliantly past his man before unleashing a thunderbolt of a shot, high into the net past Jalal.

A frantic end to the match ensued with Harry Arter missing the target with a headed effort.

Veteren striker and perennial thorn into the U’s side Steve Fletcher pulled a goal back for the home side with 3 minutes left to play as he rose highests to plant a firm header into the net.

The U’s did not let the goal get to them and went up the other end and had a penalty shout turned down in injury time, when Ian Henderson went down under a tackle when he was through on goal.

Full time soon came and the U’s had ended the Cherries magnificent winning run at home with a backs against the wall performance.

	Colchester wins	Draws	Bournemouth wins
League	22	16	18
Cup	1	0	0
League Cup	1	0	1
FA Cup	2	3	2
Total	26	19	21

Team News

Magnus Okuonghae completes his suspension and will give John Ward a nice selection headache with Tom Eastman performing admirally on his debut alongside Matt Heath. Ashley Vincent could be in contention for a place on the bench after not making the matchday sixteen at Hillsborough. Mark Cousins and Pat Baldwin remain the only absentees, with Cousins still out with a shoulder injury and Pat Baldwin’s toe injury keeping him out longer than first hoped for.

Prediction

The U’s and Bournemouth are both rather similar sides who have had differing fortunes in recent years. The games between the two sides are usually fairly entertaining games and you know what to expect from Bournemouth as ever since Sean O’Driscoll left the club for Doncaster they have continued the policy of playing attractive football and that was the case last season with both games being entertaining affairs.

There are a few notable absentees in the Cherries squad from last season with Hollands and Wiggins going to Charlton, Ings and Bartley following Eddie Howe to Burnley and Liam Feeney also leaving the club heading to Millwall. It reminds me of when the U’s reached the dizzy heights of the Championship and had a marvellous first season and then lost the vast majority of the first team players for the second season which in my opinion contributed to the clubs subsequent relegation to League 1.

Bournmouth will be no push overs though. They have made some interesting signings with the experienced ex Southend duo Flahavan and Barrett who will both be wanting to get one over the U’s.

Wes Thomas will be hoping for another goal. © afcb.co.uk

Wesley Thomas has come in on loan from Crawley Town and has scored four goals in 8 games and he, alongside Michael Symes will be dangerous. The pair seem to have linked up well with each other and it is something the U’s will need to be aware of.

Marc Pugh and Harry Arter are two players that were at the club last season and they are both capable of chipping in with the goals, so it will be an interesting affair. Steve Fletcher is a name which always sends a shudder down my spine as he seems to always score against us. Even if he is on the pitch for only a couple of minutes you can guarantee he’ll grab a goal.

A certain Teddy Sheringham could well be in the stands for the encounter as his son Charlie has recently signed for the Cherries from non league Dartford.

It is going to be an interesting encounter and it will be interesting to see how Bournemouth will line up as it looks as though they played a 442 formation at home to Bury, however have lined up with the 433/451 formation in their recent away games v MK Dons and Tranmere Rovers – both games in which they have come away with a draw.

The U’s will line up with their usual 433/451 formation and I really wish Ward would change this for home games as once Odejayi is too often left on his own and it will be interesting to see the dual between him and Adam Barrett. The midfield will once again be key and I fully expect Bond, Izzet and Wordsworth to remain in the centre. I expect Ward to make just the defensive change with Magnus Okuonghae coming into the side and possibly Eastman dropping out.

The U’s really need to start picking up victories from their home games, however I feel this game will be a draw 1-1 with Wordsworth scoring for the U’s and it is written in the script for Barrett to score for the Cherries.

Making amends? Adam Barrett falling over in his last visit to Colchester. © echo-news.co.uk

The Opposition View

Thanks go to David Braley for answering the questions for the latest match with Bournmouth.

1. What were your hopes and expectations for the season and how are they panning out so far?

Hoped for mid table after last seasons success but it’s not looking good so far. Although we seem to be picking up a few results recently.

2.Who should we look out for?

Fletcher, Nathan Bryne if he plays is another one

3. What do you think of your Manager and Chairman/how the club is run?

Mitchell is ruining the club, no real secret I think the worst decision was to get rid of the youth coach who had bought through all the amazing talents such as Pitman, Vokes and Ings.

4.How would you describe your current style of football, and are you happy with it?

Only seen us a few times this season due to being away from Bournemouth but the attacking, attractive football of last season has disappeared

5. What players from Col U are you aware of?

Okuonghae, Gillespie, Izzet, Bond, Duguid

6. Have you visited the Weston Homes before and what is your opinion/experiences of the stadium?

Nope, but tuesday will be my first visit!

7. Where do you think Colchester will finish this season?

9th maybe. Don’t think they’ve quite got the quality to make the playoffs

8. What do you think the score will be, and scorers (if any)?

I reckon it’ll be a draw but hopeful for a Bournemouth win! Fletcher to score for us.

9. Who will be in the top 6 at the end of the season and who do you expect to go up?

Charlton, one of the Sheffield teams and MK Dons to go up. Reckon Huddersfield will be up there as well, they seem to have carried on the good form from last season.

10. Who do you think will get relegated?

Exeter, Yeovil and Rochdale

Ticket News

Tickets for this GRADE C game are now on sale and can be bought by visiting the Ticket Office or by calling 0845 437 9089. You can also buy online at www.colutickets.com.

Advance tickets are available to home fans ON THE DAY if you purchase them from the ColUTickets website (booking fee of £1). If you are unable to purchase tickets online, the Ticket Office will be selling at advance prices until the close of business Friday and normal prices will resume for match day sales from the ticket office windows.

Prices for Bournemouth

Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Colchester United

Match Report by Dave Burch

Saturday 22 October 2011
Hillsborough, Sheffield
Npower League 1

Attendance: 17,634

The U’s took to the road for the second consecutive week as they travelled to Sheffield Wednesday who are undefeated on their own turf so far this season.

Colchester have had a good record at Hillsborough in recent years and have been pretty resolute on their travels, however when I woke up on Saturday morning I had a feeling that this was a bridge too far.

Luckily I was warned of the closure to the M11 north bound, so I missed the majority of the traffic by going the A14/A1 route.

Hillsborough is a ground I was looking forward to going to once again. It is steeped in history and tragedy at the same time, but has a real charm about it. For an old ground it has a lot of character and when the Wednesdayites get behind their team the noise is fantastic.

It made me wonder just how on earth clubs the size of both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United have fallen so far down the league pyramid when there are Premier League clubs who get similar gates for their home games too.

Line Ups

Sheffield Wednesday

Bywater

Buxton Jones Batth Johnson

O’Connor Semedo Lines Marshall

Madine       O’Grady

Subs: Johnson, Lowe, Palmer, Bennett, O’Donnell

U’s

Williams

Wilson Eastman Heath Coker

Bond Izzet Wordsworth

Antonio                                     Henderson

                                                                                                                                                                         Odejayi

Subs: Duguid, White, James, O’Toole, Gillespie.

First Half

John Ward was forced into making a change to the side that was held to a 2-2 draw with Rochdale last weekend, with the suspended Magnus Okuonghae being replaced by Tom Eastman, who was recalled from his loan at Crawley Town to make his debut for the U’s. Matt Heath was deemed fit enough to start the game despite not training for most of the week.

The game kicked off with the U’s looking good in possession and looking to take the game to the illustrious hosts. The half was only 15 seconds old when Anthony Wordsworth picked out Ian Henderson with a lovely pass, but the wide man lifted his left footed shot over the cross bar.

The U’s continued to pressure and Michail Antonio flashed a lovely cross across the face of the goal and again Ian Henderson was on the end of it, but he was unable to get any direction on his diving header and the ball went wide of the post.

There was claims for a penalty early in the game when Andy Bond appealed for a hand ball against Jose Semedo, but the referee deemed it as accidental and the play continued much the frustration of the U’s.

Colchester continued to look comfortable in possession and had another great opportunity to break the deadlock in the 10th minute. Good build up play involving a number of passes saw the ball being teed up for Brian Wilson to shoot, but again the U’s were wasteful as Wilson sent his powerful effort over the cross bar.

Michail Antonio was causing problems early on. ©gazette-news.co.uk

Michail Antonio was causing havoc on the right side of midfield and he was sent crashing to ground by a simply awful challenge by Rob Jones. The referee again frustrated the U’s as he failed to book the giant centre back. The free kick was poor from Wordsworth as it hit the wall and was cleared away from danger.

Minutes later the Owls registered their first shot of the game as the in form goal machine, Gary Madine, was allowed to turn in the box and shoot straight at Ben Williams. It was an early warning of the threat Wednesday possess.

The hosts began to grow in confidence and were seeing a lot of the ball, trying to get winger Ben Marshall involved in the game.

Colchester nearly shot themselves in the foot with 20 minutes on the clock when Kemal Izzet was caught out in possession and Jose Semedo took advantage and launched a powerful shot, which fortunately for the U’s fizzed harmlessly over the bar. However the Wednesday crowd were in full voice behind their team and the pressure was being cranked up a notch.

Wednesday went close again minutes later as Chris Lines was allowed the freedom of the U’s half to move forward, however his curled effort again went over the cross bar.

Ben Marshall was beginning to get in to the game more and more and was testing Brian Wilson with his direct running into the U’s box, he was unable to get any of his shots on target with one going wide and the other being blocked. Marshall was not just a threat with his running, but also with his long throws in to the box.

In the 30th minute it was one of those throws which saw Gary Madine climb highest to nod the ball into the net. A sharp blast of the referee’s whistle brought the celebrations to a halt however, with Matt Heath being adjudged to have been fouled as the ball was in the air.

Wednesday were the stronger side and looking more likely to go into the interval with the lead and forcing a number of set pieces that required the U’s to clear. One of those clearances inadvertently set up Michail Antonio to some how get on the end of the ball and shoot straight at Stephen Bywater.

The Owls continued to press forward for the opener and came desperately close as Chris Lines saw his low, curled free kick excellently pushed away by Ben Williams.

Perhaps the best chance of the half came against the run of play, when in the 42nd minute, Anthony Wordsworth sent over a corner kick which found Ian Henderson free in the box, but amazingly the wide man put his header wide with the goal gaping.

An entertaining first half ended without incident with the scores level.

Second Half

Gary Megson made a change to his side for the second half with Jermaine Johnson being introduced for James O’Connor.

The U’s came out of the second half looking confident and the U’s dangerman Michail Antonio had the first sight of goal in the second half, but he pulled his shot wide of Bywater’s post.

The Owls soon upped the tempo and Ben Marshall waltzed into the box and his shot had to be saved by Williams and put behind for a corner. From the resulting corner came a comical goal mouth scramble with the ball ping ponging up and down and Madine was unlucky to see an effort rebound off the cross bar and some how the U’s survived the scare.

 

Rob Jones put the Owls ahead. ©thestar.co.uk

It did not take long afterwards for the Owls to take the lead though. Gary Madine was allowed to turn and fire a rasping effort at goal and Ben Williams was unable to make a clean save. The ball fell kindly to the massive centre back Rob Jones who was on hand to wallop the ball home past the dive of Williams. The goal had been coming and it was a deserved lead for the home side.

Colchester tried to not let the goal get their spirits down, but the quality of Wednesday was beginning to show and it could have been worse for the U’s minutes after the opener as Chris O’Grady brought a save out of Williams.

The U’s were looking increasingly desperate and once Michail Antonio went down after a kick to the calf from Reda Johnson, the creativity was lacking and Antonio was guilty over mis-hitting a couple of crosses for goal kicks.

Gillespie was sent into the action in the place of Antonio, however it was the home side that were the more effective in attack.

Reda Johnson bundled home the second. ©thestar.co.uk

It was 2-0 in the 69th minute as the U’s were caught cold once again. A free kick in to the box by Chris Lines found Gary Madine, who swivelled and put an effort across goal which found Reda Johnson to bundle home.

The U’s were well and truly rattled and were beginning to have no answer to the constant bombardment from the hosts as they searched for more goals. The best chance fell to substitute Jermaine Johnson who was causing all sorts of problems for Brian Wilson. Somehow the Jamaican managed to swivell and smash the ball miles wide when he was only yards out from goal.

Colchester had one opportunity to get a goal back late on with Steven Gillespie, however the striker was unable to test Bywater and was better off squaring the ball to Henderson who was better placed to shoot.

Wednesday played the clock down professionally with the home crowd cheering each pass as the U’s struggled to gain any sort of forward momentum.

The referee’s whistle brought an end to the game and the Owl’s winning streak at home continued, despite the U’s best efforts.

Match Facts

	Sheffield Wednesday	Colchester
Goals:	2	0
Possession:	49%	51%
Shots On Target:	10	2
Shots off Target:	9	5
Corners:	3	3
Fouls:	11	13
Most Fouls:	Johnson (3)	Heath (4)
Yellow Cards:	1	2
Red Cards:	0	0
Scorers:	Jones (59), Johnson (70)	0

Summary

To be blunt, the U’s were simply outclassed in the second half and just could not match the power and energy levels of the Wednesday side. You cannot really complain about the result too much.

It could have been different in the first half had one of the U’s early chances gone in. Its about taking your chances and the U’s did not do enough in front of goal.

I cannot quite put my finger on the U’s performances of late. We seem to come out of the blocks with all guns blazing, but in the second half we come out looking a different side.

You have to give the Owl’s credit though. They have a team of big players and they play to their strengths effectively. Whilst not the prettiest side to watch, each player works hard and you could see that there was plenty of confidence running through the side. Whilst possessing plenty of power through the side, the Owls showed some capability of spreading the play and they effectively tore the U’s apart in the second half.

Top Performer - Gary Madine. ©eurosport.co.uk

Whilst Madine did not score, he worked so hard for the team. He did not look the most comfortable player with the ball at his feet, but he certainly knows where the net is and a goal was all that was missing from his display. O’Grady is another player who is very hard working and he looks to be an effective foil for Madine.

In the preview the U’s fans learned about Marshall and Semedo. Marshall was kept quiet for the first half hour, but he looked a dangerous threat when given space. He did not look exceptionally quick, but he has quick feet and always looked to cut inside on his right foot to get a shot in. Semedo I was not so impressed by, whilst he seemed to have ability on the ball, he also seemed to me to be one of those players opposition fans love to hate, a niggly battler in midfield doing the ugly role in midfield.

I thought Reda Johnson was quite a niggly player too. He kicked Michail Antonio at every opportunity and whilst being an opposition fan it is not nice to see, it certainly seemed to do the trick as it obviously upset Antonio and effected how he played. I thought John Ward should have switched Antonio to the other flank a long time before he eventually did.

I thought the two centre backs had a fairly comfortable afternoon. Odejayi looked to get involved early on and drew quite a few fouls against both me, but he really struggled to make an impact and the majority of the time the pairing of Jones and Batth had him comfortably in their pockets.

The U’s should not be too downhearted about the result as it is obvious Wednesday were a different quality. It is not every game that an opposition side will leave Hillsborough with the possession percentage in their favour, so the U’s can certaintly take some positives from the game . I do think that Wednesday will be up there at the end of the season, but I still maintain that Charlton are the team to beat this season.

Player Ratings

Ben Williams – 6 - Made a good save to deny Lines from the free kick but I felt that he may have done better with Madine’s initial effort in the run up to the first goal.

Brian Wilson – 6 - Made some good runs in the first half and coped well with Marshall. But really struggled to get to grips with Jermaine Johnson and was lucky not to get himself sent off. Rightly Substituted.

Tom Eastman - Man of the Match - ©cu-fc.com

Tom Eastman – 8 – Man of the Match – Won virtually everything in the air and looked assured in position. Barely put a foot wrong and seemed to take everything in his stride. I think we have a very good prospect on our hands with Tom.

Matt Heath – 7 - I am not convinced of his fitness, but he gave a hardworking performance. Like Eastman was powerful in the air, but always seems to have an error in his game which almost cost us.

Ben Coker – 6 - I don’t really remember him doing much other than getting booked, which looked unlucky considering he had been fouled prior to hauling down Marshall.

Andy Bond – 6 – A decent display from Bondy. He looks in a good run of form at the minute and was getting stuck in a lot more than he usually does.

Kemal Izzet – 6 – Was his usual busy self getting stuck in and causing a nuisance. Almost gifted Wednesday with an opportunity in the first half, but did not do much wrong.

Anthony Wordsworth – 6 - Played some lovely passes and showed a couple of great touches in the first half, but seemed to become slightly anonymous in the second half.

Michail Antonio – 7 - Was full of running and industry, but seemed to struggle against Johnson after receiving a couple of kicks in the first half. Seemed to be target of heavier challenges and struggled in the second half.

Ian Henderson – 6 - Had some great chances to score and again did not see a lot of the ball. Switched to the right in the second half and seemed to have a bit more joy, but the U’s lacked the forward thinking in second half.

Kayode Odejayi – 6 - Lacked support up front and lost his battle with the two Wednesday centre backs. Just could not get involved.

Subs:

Steven Gillespie – 6 - Again played a lot deeper and not off the shoulder of the defender where he would be most effective.

John-Joe O’Toole - No time to really make any impact.

John White - As above.

Sheffield Wednesday v Colchester United

Match Preview by Dan Roberts and Research by Dave Burch

Saturday 22 October 2011
Kick Off 3.00pm
Hillsborough, Sheffield
Npower League 1

For the second consecutive weekend, the U’s travel north for this weekends npower League 1 clash with Sheffield Wednesday. The U’s will want to avoid a repeat of their last trip to Sheffield when they went down 3-0 at Sheffield United in September.

Both clubs come into the game off the back of creditable 2-2 draws away from home. The U’s went 2-0 up at Rochdale before Magnus Okuonghae was sent-off, leaving the U’s to battle for over an hour with ten men. Dale pulled a goal back just before half-time and after losing Matt Heath through injury, the U’s were forced to battle on with a make-shift back four. Despite creating chances of their own, Gary Jones equalised for Rochdale at the death. It was the same result as Wednesday travelled to bitter rivals United for the steel city derby. Early goals saw Wednesday two-down but two goals in the last ten-minutes of the game saw the spoils shared.

Former Players

There has not been too many players to have donned the famous Blue and White stripes of Sheffield Wednesday and Colchester United.

Sheffield Wednesday do have two former U’s in their ranks at the moment with Danny Batth spending a season loan with the U’s making 18 appearences with his only goal coming against Oldham Athletic. This is Batth’s second spell at Sheffield Wednesday having made 10 appearences last season having signed a loan deal to the end of the season in March.

David Prutton in the stripes of the U's. © skysports.com

Journeyman Prutton joined the U’s initially on loan to ensure he could make his debut against MK Dons in which he scored a beautiful long range strike. He signed a deal with the U’s until the end of the season and scored twice more in 18 appearences. At the end of the season Prutton departed the club to sign for Swindon Town. He spent one season with the Robins who suffered the agony of relegation before joining Wednesday on a free transfer this summer. He has made 10 league and cup appearences so far this season and has scored once.

"Dave" whilst at Wednesday © bbc.co.uk

Congolese striker Guylain N’Dumbu-N’Sungu was brought to England initially on loan from French club Amiens by Wednesday. He made 32 appearences in total in his maiden season in English football scoring 10 goals. His form was enough to see him move on a permanent transfer in July 2004.  He was unable to replicate his form in his second season in Yorkshire and scored once in 11 games before being shipped on loan to Preston between September and November where he failed to score in 6 games. He was released by Wednesday and was immediately signed by Colchester manager Phil Parkinson on a short term contract. The U’s faithful love an exotic name and soon lovingly nicknamed him “Dave” however his performances on the pitch left a lot to be desired. He only scored once from about a yard out against Bournemouth before being released. His only other successful spell came with Darlington, where he was banging in goals left, right and centre which produced a move to Cardiff. His move to Wales ended up being disastrous and Dave once again fell down the divisions and has not been heard of since Darlington’s demise in 2008.

Steve Whitton is another former player of both clubs. Whitts joined Wednesday for a fee of £275,000 from Birmingham City in March 1989 and made a total 35 appearences scoring 8 times before leaving Yorkshire for Ipswich in January 1991 costing the Tractor Boys £150,000. It was from Ipswich that Whitton joined the U’s for the twilight years of his career in 1994 for £10k. He spent 8 years and made over 100 appearences for the U’s and took the managers reigns in 1999 after his playing career had ended. Whitton had an uphill task trying to keep the U’s in the then Divison 2 and succeeded on a minimal budget. He was sacked in 2003 after a run of defeats and replaced by Phil Parkinson.

Other players to play for both includes Irishman Graham Barrett who spent time on loan at both clubs, burly defender Guy Branston, Australian centre back Con Blatsis joined both clubs on non contract terms before disappearing to Turkey!

Recent Meetings

SheffieldWednesday 2-1 Colchester

Saturday, 2 April 2011, Hillsborough
Npower League One

Attendance: 15,663

 

Neil Mellor sealed the game for Wednesday. © swfc.co.uk

A late Steven Gillespie goal was all the U’s had to show for their efforts on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Sheffield. The U’s had started the brighter of both sides and were putting Wednesday under a lot of pressure, however, a goal in each half from Neil Mellor gave the U’s too big a task. To rub salt into the wounds, the U’s lost David Perkins to a hamstring injury late on.

Colchester 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday

Saturday, 14 August 2010, Weston Homes Community Stadium

Npower League One

Attendance: 6,011

Andy Bond scored a screamer to open the scoring. © givemefootball.com

Andy Bond scored what would prove to be the U’s goal of the season as the U’s shared the spoils with one of the divisions early promotion contenders. The U’s will have felt that they created enough chances to have won the game, but were forced to accept a draw after Neil Mellor pounced on a loose ball in the box with just eight minutes of the game remaining. 

	Wednesday wins	Draws	Colchester wins
League	5	5	8
Total	5	5	8

Team News

Tom Eastman has returned to the club from Crawley. © greenun24.co.uk

The U’s could be left without any regular centre-halfs for their trip to Sheffield. Magnus Okuonghae is suspended, Pat Baldwin is struggling with a toe-injury and Matt Heath is a doubt after picking up an ankle injury at Rochdale. Tom Aldred could make his U’s debut after completing 90-minutes for the reserves and Tom Eastman has been recalled from his loan spell at Crawley Town. Tom Bender is unavailable with a head injury.

Ashley Vincent is nearing first-team action after playing 90-minutes in the reserve game against Southend, a game he scored in, but is unlikely to be involved this weekend. Goalkeeper Mark Cousins is still struggling with a shoulder injury although he may have a difficult job reclaiming the ‘keepers shirt off of Ben Williams.

Prediction

Last Saturday was a throw-back to the Colchester United of old, where the odds were against them, the team had the backing of a small, but loyal following, and the team gave everything they had on the pitch. As well as this, we also saw the kind of flowing, passing football which hasn’t quite been on show at the WHCS, despite the players best efforts. I think playing away from home suits the U’s, and they seem to enjoy it.

The problem with this weekend is that the U’s travel to one of the biggest clubs in the division without a regular, first-team centre-back. None of the centre-backs available to the U’s are above the age of 21 and neither have had any prolonged spell of first-team football.

Wednesday will be on a high after their dramatic comeback at United and will be looking to put on a show at home. Unfortunately, I can’t see the U’s winning this due to circumstance above anything, however, I do expect the U’s to get a hatful of goals when they entertain Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Prediction: Wednesday 3-1 U’s

The Opposition View

I had a great response from the Wednesday fans on the  Owls Talk forum and have decided to pick the best answers to feature this week.

1. What are your hopes and expectations for the season?

Spondon Owl – I expected us (hoped) for automatic promotion based solely on GMs ability as a manager, he has proved at most places he has managed that he is an exceptional manager. I am pleased with our current squad and we seem to be on track to achieve automatic promotion.

Morrisontobelieve – Promotion, it has to be, a club of this size shouldn’t be at this level, we accept we are on merit mind. We are doing ok at the moment, we’ve picked up a lot in the last month.

TrickyTrev – I’d hoped for a top two finish, expected a top 6 finish, we’re currently in third just two points off top so about right.

BRADDAZ – My hopes and expectations were promotion, either through the play offs or via the automatic route. We have started well, but importantly we are getting better. Lost one game in ten and looking very strong throughout the entire team. I do now think we will be promoted.

Hawkeye - promotion, either via playoffs or automatically. id have accepted a play off spot and not going up though.

2. Who should we look out for?

Marshall, Madine & Semedo are the men to watch on Saturday.

Spondon Owl – Ben Marshall, his attacking flair and skill worry even the best defences in this league, couple that with his long throws/ set pieces and we have a real potent attacking threat.

Morrisontobelieve - It’d be easy to say Madine purely cos he has 11 in his last 10 league games but Jose Semedo is our lynchpin, protects the back four and dominates midfield.

BRADDAZ - We have quite a few. Madine is the obvious one, a very good young natural goalscorer. Marshall is another who is a winger on loan from Stoke, seriously too good for this level, can beat a man easily, got a cracking cross on him left or right. The key man to our team is Jose Semedo, he just dominates midfields, another player too good for this level.

Handball_!! -The goal machine is getting all the headlines but Ben Marshall is playing very well at the moment, most effective winger I’ve seen at Hillsborough for a long time and supply line for the goal machine.

3. What do you think of your Manager and Chairman/ how the club is run?

Gary Megson is turning things around this season.

Theowlsman – Can’t be faulted, either of them. After many years of mis-management, the club is being run professionally again.

Hawkeye - would take too long to answer this properly, but a million times better than what we had. club is being run exactly as it should, but there are serious areas that need further funding and work. Mandaric is a hero, and a chairman who you would trust. Megson is the man to take us up and forward, even if his methods arent to everyones taste.

BRADDAZ – Never doubted Megson, he’s got everything pretty much spot on since he arrived at the club. I don’t think he’s got a signing wrong yet and he’s installed a spirit and determination that every fan likes to see from their team. Add that to the obvious quality we have, then we have an excellent chance of promotion.

As for Milan Mandaric. He’s a legend. Simple as.

TrickyTrev - I wasn’t too sure about Megson at first but slowly but surely I’m beginning to warm to him. Also as for Milan Manadaric, he saved our club so no complaints there. He’s also allowed Megson put together a very competitive squad for this division.

Morrisontobelieve – Personally the jury is still out on Megson at present but he is winning me round very quickly As for Milan, what can we say? without him I shudder to think where we’d be.

SWFC 4 lyfe – Megson is a great manager and is passionate about us. Mandaric is running the club well and signing some quality players without spending too much.

Spondon Owl -As stated i have the upmost respect for the job both GM and MM are doing. They have turned my club around and have re-invigorated the fanbase to such an extent that i actually think for the first time in years we actually look forward to watching the games. We can play attractive on the deck football but have the strength and character to mix it up when required; something underrated in football circles in my opinion.

U's man to watch - Anthony Wordsworth. © greenun24.co.uk

4. What players from Col U are you aware of?

Theowlsman – Ben Williams, Steven Gillespie, Odejayi, John-Joe O’Toole because he looks like David Prutton.

BRADDAZ – Wordsworth – Always seemed a pretty decent player from the little i’ve seen of him. He’s good on FIFA too!

TrickyTrev –  Odejayi, hopefully we won’t see a repeat of his FA Cup heroics for Barnsley against Chelsea this Saturday.

SWFC 4 lyfe – Henderson and Wordsworth.

Morrisontobelieve – Andy Bond is a good player with a decent hit on him and the lad Antonio has been amongst the goals.

5. What is your perception of Colchester United as a club?

TrickyTrev - A decent sized club has natural level is League 1/ Championship. I remember a few years ago you had a decent Championship side but it seems that after a few decent players left, things have slid a little.

Morrisontobelieve – A right pain in the arse at Hillsborough, you are always a good bet for a result up here and it irritates me.

BRADDAZ – I think you’re playing at about your right level and i don’t mean that disrespectfully. You had a very good spell a few years ago, with Cureton, Iwelumo, Halford etc. and that was a good side. It’s always nice to see the “smaller” clubs do well. Having visited your new stadium last season, i wasn’t greatly impressed, but then again i very rarely am with the new stadiums built nowadays. I wish you well though as i have nothing against you. (apart from when we meet obviously).

Handball_!! I like them because they play in blue and white stripes.

TheWednesdayBoys – Nice small club with a decend stadium apart form it being in the middle of no where.

Theowlsman – Well run, solid outfit, with a good team spirit and a chance of reaching the play offs.

6. Where do you think Colchester will finish this season?

Theowlsman – 8th

Hawkeye – outside the bottom four – safe from relegation, will not trouble the play off spots though.

TheWednesdayBoys – Comfortable mid table. At least.

SWFC 4 Lyfe – 8th-12th.

7. What do you think the score will be, and scorers (if any)?

Spondon Owl - 3 (Madine, Marshall, “super” Jose Semedo) -1 (Odejayi (bound to be isn’t it)).

Morrisontobelieve – 2-1 Wednesday – Madine, Johnson (J) for us and Antonio for us – A very difficult game on the back of the derby and we know you lot always give it a go

SWFC 4 Lyfe – 3-0 Wednesday Madine x2 Marshall.

TrickyTrev – Got to go with Wednesday I’m affraid, 2-0 (O’Grady and Madine)… with my blue and white specs firmly on!!!

BRADDAZ – Owls 3 – 1 Colchester – Madine, O’Grady & Jones – Odejayi

Handball_!! – We’ll get 3, Madine 2, COG 1. you may get 1, I don’t know.

TheWednesdayBoys – 2-0 Wednesday, Madine and Marshall.

Hawkeye - 2-0 especially with your defensive issues. think at hillsborough you will struggle, at yours it will be a lot tighter.

Theowlsman - Sorry, but I think we’ll win, we are very strong at home at the moment. Possibly 2-0. Madine and O’Grady.

8. Who will be in the top 6 at the end of the season and who do you expect to go up?

Theowlsman -Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield, Charlton, Preston, Notts County, Brentford – Wednesday, Huddersfield, and Charlton to go up

Handball_!! I think the current top 6 will probably be the top 6 at the end of the season.

BRADDAZ -

1 – Huddersfield
2 – Wednesday
—————————–
3 – Preston
4 – Charlton
5 – MK Dons
6 – Notts County
——————————
7 – Sheff Utd

TrickyTrev – Top 6 I’ll go with Charlton, Wednesday, Huddersfield, Preston, MK Dons, Notts County (before Sunday I’d have gone with Sheff Utd but thought they were absolute gash and lucky to get a point against us.) – As for promotion I’ll go with Charlton, Huddersfield and Wednesday (fingers firmly crossed).

SWFC 4 Lyfe - 1. Wednesday 2. Huddersfield 3. Preston 4. MK Dons 5. Tranmere 6. Charlton – Charlton to go up in the play offs.

Morrisontobelieve – Tough one – Wednesday, Huddersfield, Charlton, Preston, MK Dons and Notts Co, tough to say who will go up but i’ll back us and Hudders with PNE through the play offs.

9. Who do you think will get relegated?

Spondon Owl – Exeter, Yoevil, Bournemouth and Rochdale.

Morissontobelieve – Wycombe, Yeovil, Orient and Chesterfield.

SWFC 4 lyfe – Exeter, Yeovil, Chesterfield, Bournemouth.

TrickyTrev - Chesterfield, Exeter, Leyton Orient and Bournemouth.

BRADDAZ – Hopefully Cheatvil (Yeovil Town), Exeter, Chesterfield, Wycombe.

Hawkeye – exeter, cheatvil, wycome, rochdale.

Theowlsman – Wycombe, Yeovil, Stevenage, and Sheffield United.

10. Where is there to drink for away fans?

Morrisontobelieve – The New Barrack, White Horse or the Horse and Jockey.

TrickyTrev – Anywhere in town and I’ve also seen away fans in the Rawson Spring on Hillsborough corner before and they’ve never had any trouble.

Ticket News

Adults £20
Concessions (U18’s, Over 65’s) £13

Disabled supporters should contact Wednesday direct. Tickets will be on sale on the day of the game with no price increase.

Rochdale 2-2 Colchester United

Match Report by Dave Burch

Saturday 15 October 2011
Spotland, Rochdale
Npower League 1

Attendance: 2,226

I enjoyed my trip to Rochdale last season and I was looking forward to visiting Spotland again as it is one of those grounds where you can make a bit of noise.

Despite being up fairly early, it was a straight forward drive up to the North West and we arrived in good time to have a look around the ground and venture to the local pub. The sun was shining, the prices were decent and the locals were really hospitable and happy to chat, just the way football should be.

I had heard lots of things about the fish and chip shop behind the away end and I was tempted to purchase them myself, but decided to get something in the ground. I am reliably informed that they were very good however!

I got a meat and potato pie inside the ground and I have to say it was good and was actually edible unlike the pies at the WHCS!

Spotland is one of the traditional little grounds and a perfect example of having a seated area for those that want to sit and a terrace for people who like to stand and try to create an atmosphere. Unfortunately the way football is nowadays, terracing is becoming less and less of a feature. I must admit I much more prefer standing on a terrace!

Line Ups

Rochdale

Kean

Darby Trotman  Holness Balkenstein

Adams  Jones Tutte  Akpa-Akpro

Grimes  Barnes-Homer

Subs: Benali, Twaddle, Barry-Murphy, Kennedy, Lucas.

U’s

Williams

Wilson    Okuonghae     Heath     Coker

     Bond    Izzet     Wordsworth

Antonio                                              Henderson

Odejayi

Subs: Gillespie, White, Duguid, O’Toole, White

First Half

The U’s made one change to the side that was held by Yeovil last week, with Pat Baldwin’s toe injury keeping him out of this weekend’s encounter. He was replaced by Matt Heath to line up alongside Magnus Okuonghae at the back.

The game got off at a good pace as the U’s looked to keep the ball and get on top in the early stages of the game and forced an early corner which was cleared.

Henderson kept up his scoring record v Rochdale. © cu-fc.com

In the 3rd minute the U’s were given a free kick from a good 25 yards out. Ian Henderson stepped up to take the set piece and sent a low driven effort into the box, which seemed to deceive everyone including Jake Kean in the Rochdale goal as it flew past him and into the back of the net.

It was the perfect start for the U’s and it could have been even better just minutes later when Anthony Wordsworth floated a shot just over the bar.

Michail Antonio, fresh from penning a new loan deal, was causing all sorts of problems for Pim Balkenstein and saw a cross just evade a U’s man and cleared for a corner.

The home side were rocked, but did muster a chance of their own as Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro headed tamely wide after good word by Nicky Adams.

Kayode Odejayi scored his 4th goal of the season. © skysports.com

Colchester were imperilous and took a deserved two goal lead in the 14th minute. Antonio twisted and turned down the right and indvertently teed up Brian Wilson to send a low cross into the box which found Kayode Odejayi unmarked to steer the ball into the net from six yards.

The U’s were having all the play and Rochdale looked a side lacking in confidence and were unable to see any of the ball.

John Ward had an injury concern midway through the first half as Matt Heath came out of a challenge second best. He did re-enter the field of play, however he did not look very comfortable and his movement was restricted.

In the 28th minute a defensive mix up saw Magnus Okuonghae tangle with Akpa-Akpro as he raced towards the U’s goal and gave the referee no choice than to send the burly centre back off. It was the first red card Okuonghae had received in U’s colours and he looked visibly angry with himself, launching a ball over the stand before making his way down the tunnel.

The red card woke up the Rochdale crowd and the U’s reacted by bringing full back John White off the bench replacing the unfortunate Ian Henderson to partner Heath in the centre of defence.

Rochdale were beginning to find their feet against the 10 men of the U’s, but a distinct lack of creativity saw the U’s able to repel any attack with minimal effort.

Although the U’s were down to 10 men, they still showed willingness to go forward and Anthony Wordsworth again went close for the U’s. He linked up nicely with Andy Bond and sent a shot just over the bar.

Marcus Holness pulled one back before half time. © teamtalk.com

The U’s were dealt a blow just before half time when the Dale got their selves back into the game. A free kick was curled into the box and cleared by Kayode Odejayi. The ball fell to the feet of Nicky Adams. His delightful cross found the unmarked Marcus Holness, who powered an unstoppable header past Ben Williams in the U’s goal.

The goal did not seem to shake the U’s however as they ended the first half strongly, with Michail Antonio turning Balkenstein inside and out and sending a powerful cross into the box which Kean had to beat away.

Second Half

John Ward was forced into a second change minutes into the second half when Matt Heath could no longer continue and was replaced by the veteran Karl Duguid. With no centre backs on the bench, right back Brian Wilson was forced to come into the centre, meaning the U’s had a defence consisting of four full backs and no one over six foot!

Steve Eyre made his first change of the game replacing the ineffective Barnes-Homer with Ahmed Benali.

As expected, the home side had the majority of the ball, but a stubborn makeshift defence held firm to deny the host’s attacks. Rochdale, despite their numerical advantage was unable to get any shots in on the U’s goal and left their selves open to the counter attacks.

Colchester took advantage of the gaps at the back and almost forced a third as Michail Antonio gratefully received Andy Bond’s beautiful diagonal pass, however his shot went fizzing just over the bar with Kean beaten.

At the other end the U’s were showing determination to keep Rochdale out and Kemal Izzet went the extra mile taking the full force of Gary Jones’ shot in the unmentionables. The poor midfielder required medical attention after the blow much to the dismay of the home crowd who booed Izzet off the pitch.

The U’s could have been in further trouble midway through the half as Akpa-Akpro dramatically went down on the edge of the box, with the referee David Webb waving play on.

The U’s cleared their lines and Kayode Odejayi took advantage of the appealing Rochdale players as he used his pace and power to burst into the Rochdale box, however he lifted an awful shot over the bar.

Despite being down to 10 men the U’s were a threat going forward, but could have easily have squandered their lead with 15 minutes left to play as Neal Trotman was given the freedom to shoot in the penalty box, however his effort was poor and dribbled wide.

The U’s had 3 decent opportunities to wrap the match up on their forays forward. Anthony Wordsworth got his angles all wrong and smashed the ball over, whilst Kayode Odejayi again burst into the box, but again lacked the composure infront of goal and put the ball wide. The other opportunity fell to Ben Coker who made a lungbusting run in to the Rochdale half and hit a powerful effort which looked destined for the goal, however Kean was there to push the ball to safety.

Rochdale began to make pile on the pressure, however a stubborn U’s defence were ensuring that the host’s were restricted to long shots with both Andrew Tutte and Gary Jones sending shots high over the cross bar.

Gary Jones struck a dramatic late equaliser. © fansnetwork.co.uk

In a last act of desperation, Neal Trotman was sent forward and he caused an immediate impact as he rose for a header and the U’s failed to clear their lines. As the ball was put back into the danger zone both Wilson and White went and missed the ball, allowing both Trotman and Akpa-Akpro in. Somehow the duo managed to collide and fall over with the ball still in the U’s penalty area. John White seemed to lose vision of the ball as he tried to clear his lines and Gary Jones nipped in to fire an unlikely equaliser to send Spotland into raptures.

Amazingly, Rochdale seemed keen to sit back after this instead of going for a winner and the final whistle brought an end to the game.

Match Facts

	Rochdale	Colchester
Goals:	2	2
Possession:	55%	45%
Shots On Target:	3	3
Shots off Target:	5	6
Corners:	6	4
Fouls:	9	10
Most Fouls:	Jones (2)	Coker (2)
Yellow Cards:	1	1
Red Cards:	0	1 Okuonghae (28)
Scorers:	Holness (43) Jones (88)	Henderson (3) Odejayi (14)

Summary

I feel really disappointed, yet delighted all at once. I am disappointed we could not hang on in there, but on the other hand to play 60 minutes with 10 men and 45 minutes with no recognised centre back really was a real manful effort.

I really like the way John Ward is trying to play football and it completely blew Rochdale out of the water. I truly believe had we completed the 90 minutes with 11 men, we’d have won the game with ease.

I thought Rochdale looked a very poor outfit, bereft of confidence and not a patch on the side I saw last season. Keith Hill had Rochdale playing super high tempo football and was one of the best sides to visit the Weston Homes Community Stadium. They did not allow us any time on the ball and was in our faces all the time. This game was the opposite. We were given so much time to knock the ball around and whoever had the idea of playing Balkenstein at left back must be mad. He had a terrible game against Antonio and just seemed to have no answer to his runs. He was a typical centre back out of position.

Ashley Grimes was disappointing. © teamtalk.com

I was looking forward to watching Ashley Grimes play as he was linked with the U’s in the summer. He showed plenty of good movement, but he struggled to assert himself against Heath and Magnus. I would be disappointed if I was Dale fans, as he could not assert himself against White and Wilson either. Every time the ball came in the air he barely tried to jump and just seemed to let his head get down.

Rochdale showed good resilience to come back from two down and really have Gary Jones to thank. He was head and shoulders the best player in the side and he fought tooth and nail for the side, whilst the others seemed to look on. I think Rochdale could struggle this year unfortunately as there are much better sides than Colchester who will be able to find the net with more ease and have the ability to defend. The Dale lacked quality going forward and could be in for a long hard season.

Dodgy referee David Wedd. © carlisleunited.co.uk

Now on to a moan or two. The referee Mr David Webb was very poor. He did not allow the game to flow and gave some baffling decisions against both sides. He got the red card spot on and there was no denying that Okuonghae had denied a definite goalscoring opportunity. However in the run up to Rochdale’s first goal, the free kick he gave should have been to the U’s. The Rochdale player launched himself over the top of Izzet who could not go anywhere or do anything because the man was all over his back. Yet Rochdale got the free kick and the rest is history.

Every time Odejayi went up to head the ball he was held back constantly by Holness and despite his appeals the ref was giving nothing. Yet he was giving fouls against both sides that looked like there was very little in them.

Akpa-Akpro can count himself fortunate to have stayed on the pitch too. Moments after his booking he left his foot in way too high and caught the shin of Wordsworth. It was a definite booking and should have been a second booking and red card. Yet the ref just looked on gormlessly. He was one of the poorest officials I have seen for a while!

Another moan had to be John Ward not coming over to the fans when they had sung near enough non stop for ninety minutes. A little gratitude would have been nice for the travelling following.

Player Ratings

I am going to give each player a 10 rating as was the courage the team showed in the face of adversity. It was never going to be easy with four full backs in defence and down to 10 men, but each player bust a gut in getting back and helping out.

John White performed heroically at the back for 60 minutes. © skysports.com

I was really impressed by White and Wilson at the back, they really gave it their all and stood up to their task well.

In midfield Izzet, Bond and Wordsworth gave it their all. Duguid came in and gave us a little bit of added steel and was his at his wily best at times. Coker got forward to provide an outlet when required. Antonio ran himself into the ground and was shattered when he came off. The same for Odejayi who got through a hell of a lot of work and stuck to his task admirally.

Each player looked devastated at the end as they came to applaud the travelling fans.

Rochdale v Colchester United

Match Preview by Dave Burch

Saturday 15 October 2011
Kick Off 3.00pm
Spotland, Rochdale
Npower League 1

The U’s travel North once again this weekend as they take on Rochdale at Spotland.

I really enjoyed my trip to Rochdale last season and I hope that we come back to Colchester with a similar result. Spotland is one of those stadiums where the away fans are able to create quite a good atmosphere, however I cannot see too many Colchester supporters going this time round with Sheffield Wednesday away next week.

The U’s have fared better on their travels this season with the only real disappointment coming with the 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United. We seem to be a tougher nut to crack than we were last season and it will be interesting to see how we do against a Rochdale side that have been a bit of a mixed bag so far.

The Dale have been a little inconsistent this season and it certainly could not have helped having a new manager coming in with new ideas taking time to have an effect and having to make new signings to replace the departing players. Rochdale are currently 17th in the league and have picked up 12 points so far this season. They have won 3 times in the league, drew 3 times and lost 6.

The U’s have fared a little better with 4 wins, 5 draws and only 3 defeats and are currently in 11th place.

Former Players

There have only been a handful of players to have played for both in recent years.

Rochdale currently boast two ex U’s in their ranks with winger Simon Hackney joining the Dale after his release from the U’s this summer and Neal Trotman spent time on loan with the U’s and was also a new summer signing for Steve Eyre’s side.

Simon Hackney during his U's spell. © skysports.com

Hackney started his career in the non league pyramid with Woodley Sports before being spotted by Carlisle United. He signed for the Cumbrians on a free transfer in 2005 and went on to make a total of 139 league and cup appearances scoring 17 goals before coming to the attention of Paul Lambert at Colchester. Lambert paid a fee believed to be £120k for Hackney and he immediately impressed the U’s faithful with his early performances. Unfortunately injuries and a change of managers hampered Hackney’s time in Essex and he was never really given a chance to recapture his best. He only made 41 appearances in total over his two seasons here and he scored 3 times. Whilst with the U’s he also had a couple of loan spells with Morecambe and Oxford.

With his release this summer Hackney joined Rochdale, however his injury jinx has come back to haunt him and he has yet to play this season.

Neal Trotman started his career in the North West with Oldham and such was his promised, Preston splashed the cash, paying £500,000 to take him to Deepdale. It was whilst he was with the Lilywhites that he signed for Colchester United on a one month loan. He played 6 times for the U’s before returning to Preston. He also spent time on loan with Southampton, Huddersfield and his first club Oldham, before being released this summer having only made four appearances and scoring once in the league cup. He has made 10 appearances in total this season so far for the Dale.

David Perkins was a popular figure at Spotland. © rochdaleonline.co.uk

David Perkins is very well known to both sets of fans. “Perks” started his career with Morecambe where he spent 6 years making 199 appearances scoring just once. In January 2007 he signed for Rochdale for a nominal fee and became a big fans favourite with the Spotland faithful with his all action displays. He was a key player in the Dale’s play off campaign in the 07/08 season and scored a belter against Darlington, before seeing red later in the game, meaning that he would miss the play off final against Stockport at Wembley. Rochdale lost the game 3-2 despite being going ahead in the game.

In the summer of 2008 Rochdale accepted Colchester’s six figure bid for the peroxide blonde midfielder who accepted terms to move South with the U’s after making 63 appearances in total with the Dale scoring 6 times. Perkins’ career at Colchester was hit and miss, with him featuring regularly under Geraint Williams and Paul Lambert, however he soon fell out of favour with Aidy Boothroyd and it looked as if his career at the U’s was over. He had loan spells at both Chesterfield and Stockport before returning to the U’s in the summer of 2010. John Ward was the new man in charge at Colchester and he gave Perkins a new lease of life with the U’s, where he picked up the player of the year trophy before leaving Essex for Barnsley on a free transfer this summer. He made 91 league and cup appearances scoring 8 times.

Clive Platt in his U's days. © Givemefootball.com

Big Clive Platt had a long spell in the North West with the Dale, initially joining the club on loan from Walsall in August 1999. He impressed enough for a then club record of £100,000 to be paid to capture his services permanently. Including his loan spell, he made 194 appearances with the Dale and scored 37 goals.

He moved to Notts County in the summer of 2003 signing a monthly contract and spending one season at Meadow Lane where he scored 6 times in 25 appearances. In January 2005 he signed a permanent contract with Peterborough where he spent a year, leaving for MK Dons in January 2005.

Platt came to prominence under Martin Allen’s leadership of the Dons linking up with Izale McLeod to form a formidable partnership in League 2. He made a total 113 appearence in two years with the Dons scoring 29 times. His good form did not go unnoticed and Colchester United shelled out £300,000 to take the big man to Essex. He enjoyed 3 years with the U’s scoring 27 times including his debut against Sheffield United in the Championship and made a total 134 appearances. He followed Aidy Boothroyd to Coventry last summer, signing for an undisclosed fee.

Ernie Cooksey is another player to have been with both clubs, with the tragic midfielder coming through the youth ranks at the U’s and being released without making any appearances. He had a spell in the non league pyramid before being snapped up by Iain Dowie at Oldham. After his release from the Latics, Cooksey joined Rochdale, where he enjoyed his best football making 100 appearances and scoring 8 times in his 3 years at Spotland. He later joined Boston from the Dale and returned to Essex to play for Grays. It was at Grays where Cooksey learned that a malignant melanoma had returned and he tragically lost his battle against the cancer on 3rd July 2008.

Other players to have represented both are Guy Branston, Phil Hadland, Dean Howell and Winston White.

Recent Meetings

Rochdale 1-2 Colchester

Saturday, 21 August 2010, Spotland
Npower League One

Attendance: 3,016

 

The U’s travelled to Spotland for the first time since the 97/98 season to face a Rochdale side who had escaped the fourth tier of English football for the first time in 36 years.

The encounter was the third league match for both sides with Colchester going into the game having drawn to both Exeter away and with Sheffield Wednesday at home, whilst the Dale were also unbeaten having also drawn both their matches at home to Hartlepool and away to eventual runaway champions Brighton.

The early stages of the match were evenly contested as neither side were able to get a foothold in the game.

Rochdale were starting to see a bit more of the ball, but it was the U’s that threatened first when Ian Henderson saw a shot deflected wide for a corner after good work by Marc Tierney.

Moments later, Anthony Elding had the linesman’s flag spare his blushes as he somehow managed to miss an open goal. The home side were looking a threat on the break and were moving the ball around much better than the U’s, however the defensive duo of Okuonghae and Reid were standing up to the task of repelling each attack.

Although the U’s were on the back-foot, they still looked dangerous in attack and David Mooney spurned a good headed chance and Ian Henderson waltzed through a slack defence and through on goal,  gloriously chipping the ball over the onrushing Josh Lillis, only to see the ball strike the cross bar and cleared by a defender.

Andy Bond celebrating his goal at Spotland. © cu-fc.com

The U’s began to take control of the game and Lillis was on hand to stop Henderson once again, parrying the wide-man’s drilled effort at goal.

Minutes later the pressure finally got to the home side as the U’s grabbed a deserved goal. Andy Bond let fly from 25 yards and the ball took a wicked deflection of a defender, flying into the back of the net, leaving Lillis stranded.

The Essex side came close to doubling their lead before half time as both Bond and Henderson went close.

Current England U21 international Craig Dawson levelled for the Dale.© clicklancashire.com

Into the second half, the Dale came out of the blocks the quickest and soon levelled the scores through Craig Dawson. Colchester failed to clear a corner routine and the big centre half was on hand to volley through a forest of bodies and into the back of the net.

The game was turning into an entertaining affair with both sides producing end to end football. Anthony Elding curled a shot over the bar and Mooney also produced another save from Lillis in the Dale goal.

Rochdale was looking more likely to grab the goal as the game wore on, however they were frustrated by a stubborn U’s defence.

It looked like the game was going to end with the points shared, however in the 84th minute the U’s countered and snatched the lead. Mooney showed tremendous hold up play before slotting through a perfectly weighted pass for Ian Henderson to run onto. The wide man made no mistake this time round as he again chipped the oncoming Lillis, however this time the ball rolled into in to the net to put the away fans into raptures.

The U’s were professional in running the clock down and could have furthered their lead in the last minute when Lee Beevers let fly from the edge of the box, only to be denied by another save from Lillis. The game soon ended with the U’s chalking up their first victory of the season.

Colchester 1-0 Rochdale

Saturday,9 April 2011, Weston Homes Community Stadium
Npower League One

Attendance: 4,025

 

The U’s put a dent in the Dale’s play-off hunt and ended their 6 game unbeaten run after stealing victory to complete a league double over the North West side, who were making their first ever visit to the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

It was the in form visitors that started the match the brightest and they had the first opportunity of the match when Matty Done let fly from range, however his effort did not trouble the U’s goal and sailed over the bar.

Rochdale were finding a lot of space and should have taken the lead after 10 minutes, when the tricky Chris O’Grady somehow managed to put a header wide when he was well placed.

Colchester was unable to get into the game and were struggling to deal with Rochdale’s quick movement and when the U’s did get forward the duo of Holness and Dawson were equal to anything thrown their way.

For all their possession the Dale were unable to find a goal with Ben Williams keeping out O’Grady and the veteran midfielder Gary Jones saw another effort fly inches wide of the post.

The game was level at half time, however minutes into the second half Steven Gillespie had the ball in the net for the U’s, only to see the linesman’s flag stop short any celebrations.

Kayode Odejayi was introduced into the fray for the U’s and his contribution began to make dividends as the U’s had an outlet up-front to hold the ball.

John Ward’s men had made the better start to the second half, however it was the visitors who had the best chance to take the lead after Nicky Adams broke away into the U’s area, but his shot was dragged wide much to the relief of the home crowd.

Steven Gillespie was left frustrated minutes later after he capitalised on a Holness mistake, only to see fon Williams in the Dale goal react well to keep his effort out.

Ian Henderson after scoring his late winner. © cu-fc.com

The U’s were having the better of the second half and both Wilson and Gillespie went close for the U’s, but the scores still remained level.

As the game was coming to its conclusion, Ian Henderson managed to connect with Brian Wilson’s aimless ball into the box and somehow diverted it into the net past the ‘keeper and the despairing lunge of a defender.

	Colchester wins	Draws	Rochdale wins
League	18	15	9
FA Cup	1	1	0
Total	19	16	9

Team News

Pat Baldwin is an injury doubt for the U’s after sustaining a toe injury, but other than that the U’s are expect to name the same side that drew against Yeovil, despite Steven Gillespie’s call for more game time backed up with a hat trick in the reserves against Crawley. Ashley Vincent played in the same game, but he is still short of match sharpness and is not expected to be included in the match day sixteen. Mark Cousins is still recovering from his shoulder injury and there has been no word on when he is expected to return.

Prediction

The U’s have been fairly decent to watch this season on the road. John Ward has kept to his attacking principles so far this season with the U’s only failing to score twice this season against Charlton and Sheffield United. The only trouble with the way the U’s play is that it means we are very open on the flanks and concede a lot of goals too.

The Dale have managed to score in every game at home except a goalless draw against Carlisle, however like the U’s, they have only had two clean sheets in the league so the game does promise a couple of goals.

Again I think the midfield will be key. Anthony Wordsworth has been pulling the strings in the midfield for the U’s and I would say that both he and Kem Izzet are key components in the centre of the park. The man to complete the midfield trio is more than likely to be Andy Bond who for me had his best game in a U’s shirt last weekend against Yeovil. John-Joe O’Toole I suspect will be on the bench, but I feel he gives us that extra bit of bite and quality in the centre, so it will be interesting to see what Ward will do.

Another decision Ward will need to make is whether to keep Ian Henderson in the side. He has looked a shade of the player that finished last season on the left hand side of midfield and I would either switch him back to his more natural right, or I would bring in Steven Gillespie for his first league start of the season. The only trouble with this though, is that Gilly is not really a winger and whilst we are unbeaten it maybe beneficial to keep the same side.

Top goalscorer: Ashley Grimes © skysports.com

The opponents Rochdale will not be easy to defeat.  They have made a whole host of changes to their squad in the summer and with David Ball having just been recalled by his parent club Peterborough after scoring 4 times for the Dale, one man to look out for is Ashley Grimes, whom the U’s tried to sign in the summer transfer window. He is a goal sniffer and leads the goalscoring tally at Spotland with 5 goals. The midfield trio of Gary Jones, Jason Kennedy and Nicky Adams had an interesting battle with the U’s last season so it will be interesting to see how we counter their threat at the weekend. Jones never seems to age and in both games last season I felt he pulled the strings for the Dale, so keeping an eye out on him will be key. I notice they have Andrew Tutte in their side too. He was a key player for Yeovil last season and he is another one we need to look out for.

I think this game has a draw all over it and I am going to plump with a 2-2 draw with Wordsworth and Odejayi scoring for the U’s and Jones and Grimes for the Dale.

The Opposition View

Our opposition view this week is brought to you by Rochdale fan Sarah, better known as Girl On A Terrace for those of you with Twitter. Sarah is a fellow blogger and you can read/subscribe to her excellent blog here: Girl On a Terrace.

1. What are your hopes and expectations for the season and how are they panning out?

Well, we had originally hoped that we would continue our good work from last season after we finished just outside the play off spots in our first season back in League One. However, that was all pretty much dashed when Keith Hill and David Flitcroft left for Barnsley and took a lot of our backroom staff and two best players with him! We had to re-think everything and lower our expectations, and now I’d say we’d be very happy with a mid-table finish. I don’t think we’ll be battling relegation at the end of the season, I think there are too many other clubs that are struggling more than we are. We’ve had a bit of a hit and miss start to be honest; a new management team, backroom staff and a lot of new players take a while to settle in.

 

 

 2. Who should we look out for?

key man: Midfield heartbeat and captain Gary Jones © theposh.com

Looking at our team, we’ve some cracking players throughout the pitch. At the back, loanee Stephen Darby from Liverpool has been absolutely solid so far this season and is a class above the rest of our defenders. In midfield captain fantastic Gary Jones keeps order, he’s Rochdale through and through and is at 34 years old having some of his best ever seasons for us – he gets the ball down, calms play and moves the ball through the midfield. If he plays, Andrew Tutte is a nippy attacking midfielder who will cause all kinds of problems for your defenders. Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro has flourished in the team since Chris O’Grady left and is notching up the goals, as is Ashley Grimes who is a tough one to play against and knows where the net is.

 

 3. What do you think of your Manager and Chairman/ how the club is run?

We’re lucky to have a fantastic Chairman and board at Rochdale. In fact, our Chairman is also a Rochdale fan. I have never once doubted them and put my trust in them 100% to run the club in the right way. We’re kept informed of anything we need to know and when we are it’s explained in detail to us, which is appreciated. They also work with our supporters trust too. Right now it’s hard to say what we think of our manager, Steve Eyre hasn’t held a first team managerial role before and to take over from Keith Hill is a big task, so we need to give him time to work things out and get the team how he wants it. Some fans are getting on his back already, which is a real shame.

Steve Eyre: The new man in charge at Spotland. © mcfc.com

 

 4. What players from Col U are you aware of?

Although he’s not with you any more, I always associate David Perkins with Colchester! But current players, one name that always stands out is Michael Rose from his Stockport County days who I believed signed for you in the summer. Steven Gillespie is another name I’m aware of too and could cause us problems.

 

 5. What is your perception of Colchester United as a club?

I don’t really have much of an opinion to be honest! We don’t for most the clubs in League One at the moment because we’ve not played a lot of them for a number of years, so we’re still getting to know the clubs, teams and fans. I talk to a couple of people associated with the club and Colchester fans on Twitter thought and seem like a good bunch, so no reason to have any negative opinions.

 6. Where do you think Colchester will finish this season?

League One is tough this season; there are so many big clubs in it and those that have spent a lot that makes it’s very hard for others to even gain a foothold at the top. I’m going to pop for just outside the play offs or into mid-table.

 

 7. What do you think the score will be, and scorers (if any)?

Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro: Amongst the goals this weekend? © sportinglife.com

I’d love to say we’d take 3 points but I’m not sure. I’m going for a score draw at 2-2 with Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and Ashley Grimes netting for us.

 

 8. Who will be in the top 6 at the end of the season and who do you expect to go up?

 Top 6 in no particular order….Charlton, Huddersfield, Sheffield United, Preston, Brentford, Hartlepool. Those to go up is tough…I’m going to say Charlton and Preston for automatics and Sheffield United through the play offs. 

 

9. Who do you think will get relegated? 

 Probably those who sit in the relegation positions now – Exeter, Leyton Orient, Yeovil and Wycombe….I also think Walsall could fall down there too.

 

10. Where is there to drink for away fans?
Away fans love coming to Spotland mainly because we have everything around the ground. Every pub welcomes away supporters, The Church pub is right by the away stand and tends to popular because it’s so close – decent amount of room inside and also a beer garden too – you’re very welcome to join Rochdale fans in there. There’s also the Dale Bar which is on the car park at the main entrance to the club, this is pretty big and away fans also welcome in there. There’s also The Cemetery a bit further away towards the motorway.

Ticket News

For those fans heading to Rochdale, visiting supporters will be accommodated in the Willbutts Lane Stand (Westrose Leisure Stand) and prices are as follows:-

Adults £20
Concessions & Seniors (65+) £14
Young person (19 and under) £14
Junior (16 and under) £14
7 & Under Free of charge (ticket must be collected from ticket office)

∗ YOUNG PERSONS (19 & UNDER) MUST PURCHASE A TICKET FROM THE TICKET OFFICE AND PROVIDE PHOTOGRAPHIC ID, WHICH INCLUDES THEIR DATE OF BIRTH (i.e. passport, full or provisional driving licence).

FAMILY TICKET
1 Adult & 1 Junior £25
Additional Adult £18 (Max 2 Adults)
Additional Junior £7 (Max 3 Juniors per adult)

∗Supporters are to purchase family tickets from the ticket office before going to the turnstiles.

Disabled Supporters
- Wheelchair Users are charged the concession price (£14) with the carer being free of charge.
- Ambulant Disabled are charged the appropriate rate for their ticket however, should they need a full time carer to accompany them, the carer is admitted free of charge.

Proof of carer status or higher band of disability is required.

Colchester United 2 – 2 Yeovil Town

Match Report by Dave Burch

Saturday 8 October 2011
Weston Homes Community Stadium, Colchester
Npower League 1

Attendance: 3,521

Colchester should go into the game full of confidence on the back of two victories and clean sheets in a row.

I was really looking forward to this game after the game against Chesterfield last week. It is a great chance to push on up the table and get the confidence flowing through the side.

The attendance against Walsall in the last home game was quite disappointing, so hopefully there would be a better turn up for this weekend.

Line Ups

U’s

Williams

Wilson Baldwin Okuonghae Coker

Bond Izzet Wordsworth

     Antonio                                   Henderson

Odejayi

Subs: James, O’Toole, Duguid, Heath, Gillespie.

Yeovil

Steer

Ehmer N’Gala Huntingdon Jones

Ayling Wotton Upson

Massey                                Johnson

MacLean

Subs: Agard, O’Brien, Haynes-Brown, Stewart, Gibson

First Half

On loan Watford man Gavin Massey gave the visitors a dream start. ©watfordobserver.co.uk

It was a nightmare start for the U’s with the game being only 40 seconds old when Oli Johnson’s shot deflected off a U’s man and straight to Gavin Massey who gratefully passed the ball past Ben Williams and in to the back of the net.

The U’s were not to be shaken by the start and began to play the percentage football which has been on show this season, however the U’s were unable to get any early sights of goal with Wordsworth mis-hittin an early attempt which dumbfounded Odejayi, who was unable to get anything on to the ball as it squirmed past him.

Odejayi almost equalised in comical fashion after Ian Henderson’s effort at goal was parried by Jed Steer in the Yeovil goal and deflected off the big frontman and onto the post.

Colchester were playing the much better football as the visitors appeared to have no problem sitting back and soaking up the U’s pressure. Michail Antonio was once again the man to watch as he troubled the Glovers defence with his lightning runs on the right flank, however the U’s were unable to create anything clear cut.

Andy Bond equalised for the U's ©essexcountystandard.co.uk

The U’s did get back into the game on 38 minutes when Andy Bond launched a shot from over 35 yards, which took a deflection off a Yeovil defender and flew past Steer in the goal. It was a deserved equaliser for the U’s who had been well on top since going behind.

It could have been better for the U’s on the verge of half time, when good work on the right saw the ball fall to Ben Coker from just inside the area, however the full back’s effort was hit wide as the U’s went into the half time break with all the momentum.

Second Half

John Ward’s men came out the blocks the quickest in the second half as once again the Glovers seemingly having no attacking intent.

Anthony Wordsworth had the first real chance for the U’s in the second half, but Jed Steer was equal to his effort in pulling of a save.

Ben Coker's brilliant cross was put in the net by a Yeovil defender. ©greenun24.co.uk

Minutes later, the pressure finally resulted in another freak goal for the U’s. Ben Coker’s beautifully lofted pass into the box just evaded Wordsworth, but it did find Michail Antonio who seemed to get the slightest of touches to the ball which ricocheted off the shoulder of a defender and into the top of the net.

For all the U’s attacking intent for the first hour, the visitors stunned the home crowd into silence with only their second attack of the match. Max Ehmer’s speculative shot from the edge of the penalty area was fumbled by Ben Williams straight into the path of Gavin Massey, who calmly stroked the ball into the net to draw the Glovers level.

The visitors began to grow in confidence, but were unable to get much joy in the final third of the pitch. The U’s were also struggling to create anything and John Ward introduced Steven Gillespie with twenty minutes to play.

Gillespie had the ball in the net in the 84th minute, but much to the frustrations of the home crowd, the goal was disallowed with the referee believing that the striker had committed a foul on the ‘keeper.

Just a minute later, Gillespie unleashed a terrific shot on goal which had Steer beaten, however the ball flashed just wide of the post. The U’s were throwing bodies forward but it was not looking like it would be their day.

In the dying moments of the game a corner was taken short to Brian Wilson, who saw his driven effort fall to Magnus Okuonghae on the edge of the six box. With the goal gaping the defender smashed his effort over the bar.

The action did not end there, with the visitors having a final flurry of attacks at the U’s goal. Substitute Kieran Agard rose highest in the U’s box and was unfortunate to see his header strike the cross bar.

The full time whistle came and most of the U’s fans applauded their team off the pitch in an entertaining game of football. However there was a section of boo’s which cannot be helping the players at the moment when they are playing well.

Match Stats

	Colchester	Yeovil
Goals:	2	2
Possession:	54%	46%
Shots On Target:	7	2
Shots off Target:	6	1
Corners:	11	1
Fouls:	5	9
Most Fouls:	Baldwin (2)	Jones (2)
Yellow Cards:	2	4
Red Cards:	0	0
Scorers:	Bond (38), O.G (54)	Massey (1, 63)

Summary

I thought it was a good display from the U’s. There was plenty of attacking intent and with Gillespie coming off the bench, Ward went for the win and unfortunately we just could not find that goal to kill the game off.

I could not believe the boo’s at the end and this cannot be doing anything for the confidence of the players. They got booed against Walsall for winning and on Saturday it was not as if they played badly. We are just missing that spark in the final third to kill games off.

Yeovil were a weird team to watch. I thought after going 1-0 up that they would continue to hit the U’s on the counter or keep attacking as the U’s defence gets caught out far too often. But they were just happy to sit on their lead. You have to credit them to be able to soak up all the pressure in the first half. The U’s goal was a little fortunate with Bond’s effort taking the deflection off the defender and past the keeper. I thought it was a shot out of frustration because you do not often see a shot from that far out fly in.

The Glovers showed a lot more intent in the last 20 minutes and could well have snatched a victory had Agard’s header not struck the bar. I would have been a little disappointed that my team sat back for so long if I was a Yeovil fan. I really think they could have snatched all the points if they had attacked us. I guess there was not a whole lot of confidence going into the match as they were bottom of the table, but a better team than Colchester would really take advantage of Yeovil if they sit back and do not attempt to come out of their own half as was showed in the first half on Saturday.

Whilst I am disappointed to only grab a point, we could well have been reflecting on a defeat. Our home form is extremely worrying at the moment and it makes me wonder if the players find it difficult to play at home with the crowd getting on their back at the end.

Player Ratings

Williams – 5 - Only had two things to do all match and that was picking the ball out of his net. I felt he got his bodyshape wrong for the first and the second should have been bread and butter.

Wilson  – 7 - Seems to have grown into games and did not have to defend. Sometimes appeared to be the right midfielder and supported in attack well.

Baldwin – 6 - Was not overly troubled and did what he had to do. Made a bit of a hash of his challenge in the build up to the first goal.

Okuonghae – 6 - One of the quietest afternoons he’ll have for a while and should have scored at the end.

Coker – 7 - Like Wilson, was allowed the freedom of the left and put in his best display of the season. Great cross at the end.

Andy Bond - Man of the Match - ©cu-fc.com

Bond – 8 – Man of the Match. Was allowed to roam about the midfield and scored a good long range strike. He always made himself available for a pass and got forward as often as possible.

Izzet – 7 - Buzzed around as usual, but did not have much play to break up. Passing was good and did not put a foot wrong all afternoon.

Wordsworth – 7 - Was not as effective as recently, but always a creative figure in the centre and another who did not put a foot wrong.

Henderson – 6 - Does not look comfortable on the left and I feel his performances are suffering from it. Was not able to make much of an impact.

Antonio – 8 - Dangerous with his running and always a threat down the right. He has a good delivery in the box, but we lack the bodies in there to make the difference.

Odejayi – 7 - Battled well and was unlucky to see the deflected shot hit him and strike the post. Gives his all for the cause and needs a goal to keep him going.

Sub:

Gillespie – 6 - Not sure what position he was supposed to be playing, but is better off the last shoulder of the defender. Unlucky to see his goal chalked off and went close with a powerful curling effort.

Colchester United v Yeovil Town

Match Report by Dave Burch

Saturday 8 October 2011
Kick Off 3.00pm
Weston Homes Community Stadium, Colchester
Npower League 1

Introduction

The U’s return to home soil this weekend on the back of a 1-0 victory at Chesterfield, making it two consecutive victories and clean sheets in a row.

Our opposition in the upcoming fixture is Yeovil Town. The Glovers have been struggling lately, losing their last 3 matches, however two of those games have come away to Scunthorpe and at home to Sheffield Wednesday, who you could say are two of the stronger sides in the division.

Yeovil have had a fairly tough start to this season having to face having had to play Brentford, MK Dons, Sheffield United, Preston, Sheffield Wednesday and Scunthorpe, all of which resulted in losses.

The Glovers are currently 21st in League One and have yet to win on their travels so far this season. They have won twice, drew twice and lost seven so far this season, defeating Oldham 2-0 and Wycombe 1-0 at Huish Park and holding both Walsall and Tranmere at The Bescott and Prenton Park respectively.

This weekend is the Family Football Festival. Please look at the bottom for more details in how to get involved!

Former Players

There have been a handful of players to have worn both the stripes of the U’s and Yeovil.

Michael Rose in action for the Glover © ytfc.net

Current U’s defender Michael Rose joined the Glovers on a free transfer Hereford in 2004. It was Rose’s first crack of league football and he made 48 appearances in total in two seasons at Huish Park. Whilst at Yeovil, Rose spent time on loan at both Scunthorpe and Cheltenham Town, before agreeing to move to Stockport on a free transfer in 2006. He became a terrace favourite at Edgeley Park, putting in all action performances and showing his ability from set pieces. His performances earned him a loan move to Norwich City, however with the Canaries promotion to the Championship he was deemed surplus to requirements and instead Rose joined Swindon Town. His time at Swindon was not the most enjoyable one with the Wiltshire side suffering the heartache of relegation. Although only one year in to his contract, Rose requested to leave the Robins on a free transfer and from there he linked up with John Ward at the U’s. He has had a difficult start to life at the Weston Homes and has since been dropped from the side.

Curtis Haynes-Brown came through the youth ranks at Colchester United, but did not do enough to earn a professional contract. The young defender joined local side Sudbury Town where several impressive performances lead to a move to Lowestoft Town in 2010. Haynes-Brown was a key performer for Lowestoft and his displays lead to football league clubs taking notice. He had a trial with Crewe Alexandra, however a contract was not forthcoming. He then trialled with Yeovil and seemingly did enough to earn a contract and he has played 6 times this season, being sent off against Sheffield United.

Adam Virgo also spent time at both clubs. © givemefootball.com

Adam Virgo had a loan spell with the U’s whilst they were in the Championship. He was initially signed as a forward and scored against Burnley, but he was soon thrust back into his natural position of centre back. He seemed to be a different player away from home with one game against Southampton sticking out in my mind, where he headed everything bar the proverbial kitchen sink. His displays at home left a lot to be desired as some of his displays were rather laughable. After leaving Celtic on a free transfer, Virgo re-joined Brighton where he had earned hero status in his first spell. Once Gus Poyet took charge of the Seagulls there was no look in for Virgo and he was released at the end of his contract. From there he joined the Glovers where he spent one season where he made 36 appearances and scored 5 times.

Simon Betts joined the U’s in 1992 after being released from Ipswich. He became a crowd favourite at the U’s and was part of the promotion winning side in the 97/98 season. He left the U’s in 1999 after making 229 appearances in all competitions and scoring 11 goals. Betts moved on to Scarborough where he made 63 appearances before Yeovil paid £10,000 for his services in December 2000. He only made 16 appearances, scoring once for the Glovers before moving to his native North East to join Darlington.

Journeyman defender Efe Sodje played for the U’s 3 times on loan from Luton in March 2000, however the U’s did not sign him permanently and he went on to sign for Crewe. He joined the Glovers on a free transfer from Huddersfield in March 2005 and made 30 appearances scoring 3 times. He went on to join the U’s Essex rivals Southend on a free transfer from Yeovil.

Sam Williams was snapped up on loan by the U’s by Paul Lambert from Aston Villa. He only made 3 appearances in his month long loan spell and scored once before rejoining his parent club. Loan moves to both Walsall and Brentford followed and in 2009 he joined the Glovers on a free transfer after his release from Villa. He made 77 appearances in two season scoring 6 times before moving to Dagenham and Redbridge at the start of this season.

Ritchie Jones made 6 substitute appearances for the U’s in their maiden Championship campaign. He had a 6 month loan spell at Yeovil in 2007 only making 11 appearances in total.

Recent Meetings

Saturday, 30 April 2011

Yeovil 4-2 Colchester, Huish Park

Npower League One

Attendance: 3,797

 

The U’s poor away form continued in their last away game of the season, as a defensive horror show cost them dearly at Huish Park.

The game was only 15 minutes old when the home side took the lead through Craig Alcock. The U’s failed to clear a ball into the box and a ping pong battled ensued ad the ball fell kindly for Alcock to drive the ball home with his left foot.

Just seven minutes later it was 2-0 as Jonathan Obika took advantage of poor defending from Tommy Smith and the ball fell to Andrew Tutte, whose long range effort took a deflection off of a U’s man and flew into the net.

John Ward’s side were struggling to make any impact on the match and were marshalled well by a home side looking to give some cheer to the home support of their last home game.

Dean Bowditch came within inches of trebling the hosts lead, when his shot was touched onto the post by Ben Williams.

Against the run of play the U’s managed to get themselves back into the game in the 43rd minute when Dave Mooney put a perfect through-pass for Ashley Vincent to run on to and calmly slot underneath Henderson.

Dean Bowditch restored the two goal lead © thisissomerset.co.uk

The U’s joy did not last long though, as just one minute later the home side regained their two goal advantage, when the U’s defence again struggled to deal with a cross and Dean Bowditch was able to capitalise from close range to make it 3-1.

Colchester started the second half the stronger side as they poured forward in their attempt to reduce the deficit. Stephen Henderson in the Yeovil goal was not having any of it as he pulled of numerous saves to keep the U’s out.

Henderson was finally beaten in the 63rd minute as Dave Mooney swivelled past his man and fired a low shot in to the corner of the net to give the U’s some hope of a comeback.

Following suit from the U’s first goal, they were immediately struck on the counter, again a minute after scoring. More lax defending from the visitors allowed Andy Welsh to smash home a volley from another cross from the right hand side.

The U’s attempted to find a way back into the match with Dave Mooney seeing an effort strike the bar and Ashley Vincent had an effort cleared off the line.

Jonathan Obika had a terrific opportunity to further increase the hosts lead, however he saw his shot go wide when he was one on one with Ben Williams. Ashley Vincent also went close again for the U’s however Stephen Henderson again was there  to deny him as the Glovers held on to record their best result of the season.

Saturday, 11 December 2010

Colchester 0-0 Yeovil, Weston Homes Community Stadium

Npower League One

Attendance: 3,748

 

The U’s only game to go ahead in December because of the adverse weather conditions saw a rather forgettable match between the two sides.

The first half was an even affair with both sides struggling to get a foothold in the game.

Both sides were unable to create any clear cut chances early in the game with both Vincent for the U’s and Alcock for the Glovers being the main attacking threats.

Kayode Odejayi had the best chance of the game so far for the U’s, as he rose highest from a set piece, but could only head over the bar.

Yeovil also came close to opening the deadlock before half time when Nathan Smith saw his shot go inches wide of the post. The half time whistle came at the wrong time for the Glovers who were beginning to get on top of the game against a nervous looking home side.

The second half was very similar to the early stages of the first half, with both sides unable to create anything dangerous.

The U’s were able to get forward, however as soon as they got into the final third they seemed to go to pieces and gift possession back to Yeovil.

Colchester continued to pressure the visitors and came within a whisker of taking the lead when Odejayi’s lobbed shot was palmed onto the cross bar by John Sullivan in the Glovers goal.

This seemed to wake Yeovil up and they began to press forward, but like the U’s in the first half, they were lacking the attacking bodies to put any chances away.

Former U’s loanee Sam Williams really should have sealed the points for the visitors in the final moments of injury time after his follow up shot from Ben Williams brilliant save was put wide.

The game sparked a four game winless streak for the U’s who would not play again until 1st January 2011!

 

	Colchester wins	Draws	Yeovil wins
League	5	2	1
Cup	0	1	0
FA Cup	2	2	1
Total	7	5	2

Team News

Back from suspension John-Joe O'Toole. © cu-fc.com

Ashley Vincent is back in full training following his injury, but he is not expected to be included in the match day squad just yet. Michail Antonio limped off with an injury against Chesterfield in the last game. It is not expected to be serious and he will be included in the match day squad. John-Joe O’Toole returns to the squad after his 3 match suspension and is expected to start on the bench as John Ward will be keen to name an unchanged side for the third game in a row.

Mark Cousins is the U’s only injury worry at the moment, with the ‘keeper’s shoulder injury being worse than first expected and keeping him out for another few weeks.

Prediction

The U’s put in a convincing performance against Chesterfield and defended resolutely. The away day hoodoo of last season seems to have ended, however the U’s have not been overly convincing on home turf so far.

I think an early goal for the U’s could see a similar performance to the one against Oldham, but I expect that Yeovil will try and stem the U’s and hit us on the counter attack.

Ben Williams made a couple of good saves against Chesterfield, but did look a little shaky at times and this is a little bit of a worry as he is not fully fit after his virus in pre season. One thing I have noticed is that the Glovers do have the ability to get on the score sheet and this should make for an entertaining match.

I would quite like O’Toole to come back straight into the side with Izzet and Wordsworth, but I expect John Ward will keep the same team that has won the last two games. It is always best to keep faith with a winning side and hopefully they will not underestimate their opponents. With the way we play, I believe the midfield battle will be key to who wins the game. Our victories against both Oldham and Chesterfield have come because they have allowed us the get the ball down and play. I have seen that Yeovil also play a similar formation to us, so it should be interesting.

Looking at the Yeovil line up, they have plenty of pace in their side and their defence has been quite leaky in recent games. As we found against Barnet we struggle against anyone with pace, but I would like to think we have the ability to score against their defence.

I am going to plump for a 2-1 U’s victory with Henderson and Bond scoring for the U’s and Oli Johnson to get the reply for the visitors just so that all the U’s fans can shout out that he is another one that John Ward has missed out on.

The Opposition View

Many thanks go to Boxer on the Green Room II for answering our questions this week.

1. What were your hopes and expectations for the season and how are they panning out so far?
Was hoping that we’d be mid table at this point, but a couple of really poor performances and luck of the draw with teams we’ve played leaves us with hopes more than expectations for the coming season.

 

Key man: Ed Upson © ytfc.net

2. Who should we look out for?
Ed Upson’s been a standout player in a few performances so far, Agard and O’Brien have a lot of pace so should be watched.

 

3. What do you think of your Manager and Chairman/how the club is run?

Skivo’s the club legend and whilst he’s getting a lot of stick at the moment there’s still the Yeovil faithful that adore every word that comes from his mouth. Our chairman however – living proof of how underinvestment can hurt a club.

 

4. How would you describe your current style of football, and are you happy with it?
Hoofball – no, not at all.

 

5. What players from Col U are you aware of?
O’toole and Odejayi.

 

6. Have you visited the Weston Homes before and what is your opinion/experiences of the stadium?
Afraid not, will be making the trip this season though.

 

7. Where do you think Colchester will finish this season?

Just outside the playoffs.

 

8. What do you think the score will be, and scorers (if any)?

1-0 Yeovil, MacLean to score… You have no idea how hopeful and unrealistic this sounds though at the moment!

 

9. Who will be in the top 6 at the end of the season and who do you expect to go up?
Sheffield U, Wednesday, MK, Preston, Brentford, Huddersfield, and the first three up.

 

10. Who do you think will get relegated?
Bury Chesterfield Stevenage and Orient

Ticket News

Tickets for this GRADE C game are now on sale and can be bought by visiting the Ticket Office or by calling 0845 437 9089. You can also buy online at www.colutickets.com.

Advance tickets are available to home fans ON THE DAY if you purchase them from the ColUTickets website (booking fee of £1). If you are unable to purchase tickets online, the Ticket Office will be selling at advance prices until the close of business Friday and normal prices will resume for match day sales from the ticket office windows.

Pricing for Yeovil game.

Family Football Festival poster