The U’s took their development squad coached by Richard Hall to Non League side Hadleigh United in the first game of Pre Season.
It was a slightly disjointed display at times, that was not helped by the bobbly pitch or the blistering hot weather.
The game gave the U’s the chance to hand a trial to some new talent with two players from Watford, Anthony Cook from Chelmsford, Phil Roberts, formerly of Arsenal and James Musa, recently released by Fulham.
It was a decent display from the youngsters as they came away 2-0 winners with both the goals coming from trialists. Cook scored the first, reacting quickest to a deflected pass to nod powerfully past the ‘keeper and the second came from Alex Cazer in the final moments, as he waltzed through a tired defence and finished past the stranded goalie.
We showed some decent passing moves at times, but lacked that killer instinct in the final third. We have worked hard in finding youngsters who are comfortable with the ball at their feet, but too many times we were looking to walk the ball into the net, rather than looking to shoot. But for a first game of pre season you cannot be disappointed as it looked like we have some bright prospects there.
From the U’s young professionals I thought Jordan Sanderson looked neat and tidy and always wanted the ball. His passing was wayward at times but I felt he held the midfield well when he was on the pitch. Both Szmodics and Simmons looked industrious, but the pitch didn’t help them out and hindered them being able to make a stronger impact. Melaugh and Spence looked comfortable as wing backs and Frankie Kent didn’t put a foot wrong at the back either.
Shaun Phillips looked a very decent prospect, saving two one on ones and generally looked a very commanding presence at the back. Macaulay Bonne also looked rather promising when he came on in the second half. Bonne looks quite an unorthodox player, but has a very good touch and has a pretty good build to play centre forward, which bodes well for the future as Dunne likes a big man in attack.
Neither Nwachuku or Ladapo could really impose themselves in attack, but I think the lack of creativity in the final third didn’t help with that. Ladapo did have a great run and rounded the keeper, but saw the shot cleared off of the line. I think he has a natural knack of finding himself opportunities to score. He has decent movement, which is probably why we offered him a new deal as there is a clear prospect there.
In terms of the trialists, I’d have liked to have seen more of Roberts, but unfortunately he was injured after 15 minutes and replaced by Nwachuku. Musa looked rather comfortable, but did not have a whole lot to contend with. Cook looked really quite raw and has plenty of potential in my opinion. He was very pacy and rather skillful. His passing was a little bit off, but he looked like someone you could bring on and run at tiring defences. He had a good leap on him as showed with his goal and budget depending he would be worth a years contract in my opinion.
I was impressed with the Watford duo, Yearwood and Cazer. Yearwood was a holding midfielder who had a decent array of passing. Had a couple of shaky moments but was able to recover well. Cazer struggled to get involved at times, but looked very good with the ball at his feet. He completely bamboozled the defender and took his goal well. I think these two would be for the younger squad as they only looked 16-18 at most.
All in all, it was a good work out for the youngsters and a good chance for the fans in attendance to get a glimpse of the potential future U’s.
The Old Oak Tree 