Gills left breathless by rampant U’s

Colchester 3 – 0 Gillingham – Report and views by Dave Burch

It has been a great start to the New Year for supporters of Colchester United.

The U’s remain unbeaten in 2014 after a stealing a point against MK Dons at Stadium:MK and running riot over Gillingham at the Weston Homes Community Stadium this past Saturday.

The draw at MK was a real backs to the wall job. The Dons manager, Karl Robinson, was full of praise for the U’s defensive display and singled out Sam Walker, who was frankly brilliant.

Walker, who I recently named as my joint player of 2013, still has to work on his game, but the potential is there to see. Some of his saves are ridiculous and defy all the odds.

Sam Walker has been offered a permanent contract at Colchester © cu-fc.com

After the Gillingham fixture, Joe Dunne announced in his press conference, the intention of capturing Walker on a permanent deal from parent club Chelsea, commenting that the ball was now firmly in Walker’s court. Ever since Walker joined the club, he has become a firm fans favourite and I for one would love the giant ‘keeper to stay. I can even forgive him for being an Ipswich fan!

Back to the match, injury forced Joe Dunne into making two changes from the draw against the Dons. Dominic Vose replaced the injured Ryan Dickson and Clinton Morrison came in for Jabo Ibehre, who has been playing through the pain barrier in recent times.

There was a youthful look to the U’s subs bench with Mark Cousins being the oldest member at only 27! Freddie Sears was the second eldest at 24, whilst the relatively inexperienced Jordan Sanderson, Tosin Olufemi, Mason Spence, Macauley Bonne and Frankie Kent made up the rest of the substitutes bench. Alex Gilbey missed out through illness to add to the U’s woes.

Gillingham, in their shocking pink shirts, started the match in quick fashion and took the game straight to the U’s, without really offering much of a threat.

Colchester seemed to be a little startled by the speed of the Gillingham start and began to lump the ball aimlessly into the channels and to Clinton Morrison, which played straight into the hands of the visiting team.

I began to think it was going to be one of those days, but after ten or so minutes, the U’s calmed down and passed the ball between the back line, making Gillingham work hard to try to win the ball back.

The U’s started to keep possession well and I was frustrated to hear calls from the fans to “go forwards”. It can be quite painful to watch as we pass the ball around the back, but if the midfield moves about quick enough it can be a successful way of playing, as it pulls players out of position when chasing the ball down.

Stuart Nelson, often the scourge for the U’s was to have a busy day ahead of him © kentonline.co.uk

Funnily enough, a long ball from Tom Eastman created the first shot on target. The defender’s pass fell nicely to Luke Garbutt, who found Sanchez Watt on the edge of the box. Watt has never been afraid to have a shot, but on this occasion, his daisy cutter dribbled into the arms of Stuart Nelson.

The Gillingham ‘keeper had to be called upon once again a few minutes later, as the U’s again worked the ball forward and Craig Eastmond hit a low drive that bobbled across the surface and had to be pushed wide for a corner kick.

The U’s were really on top and playing some nice possession football. Gillingham however, despite sitting back, showed they could be a danger on the counter, as a long ball forward bounced nicely for Cody McDonald, who struck a powerful effort from twenty yards that fortunately flew wide of the target.

Craig Eastmond missed the best chance for the U’s in the first half © gazette-news.co.uk

On the half hour mark, I felt Colchester should have taken the lead. Some lovely build up play saw Luke Garbutt open his body up and unleash a powerful drive at goal that Nelson could only parry. The bouncing ball fell to Craig Eastmond, whose volley was completely miscued and flew horribly wide of the target, with the goal at his mercy.

Colchester had really found their rhythm and continued to search for the opening goal of the game. Stuart Nelson on the other hand, has always been an arch nemesis for the U’s and he had to be alert to keep out efforts from Luke Garbutt, Sanchez Watt and Dominic Vose.

The half ended with Colchester in full flow, yet there were still murmurs of discontent from the crowd, which surprised me. The U’s had retained possession really well and had pulled Gillingham’s midfield apart in the last fifteen minutes of the half.

The second half started at the same pace as the first half had ended. An early corner dropped nicely for Luke Garbutt, who hit a sweet effort that produced a routine save from Nelson.

Sanchez Watt slid in the opening goal of the game © gazette-news.co.uk

Moments later, the opening goal came in controversial fashion. Dominic Vose excellently held the ball up and released Brian Wilson into the penalty area. Wilson’s pass across goal diverted nicely into the path of Sanchez Watt, who slid the ball into the back of the net from twelve yards. The goal was controversial, as Marcus Bean appeared to be in an offside position when Watt made contact with the ball and motioned to shoot right in front of the goalkeeper’s line of vision. Peter Taylor complained about the goal in his post match comments and I imagine we would all have been livid if the boot was on the other foot.

The goal had completely lifted the U’s and Dunne’s men continued to push forward in search of furthering their lead. Another scintillating through pass from the excellent Vose, put Wilson into the Gills box once again, and this time the full back elected to shoot and saw his dinked effort cleared off the line.

Gillingham were looking like they were on the ropes and waiting for a killer blow, but did manage to fashion a chance of their own from a corner, however Danny Kedwell’s free header was put over the bar.

Straight down the other end, the U’s broke once again and Vose danced his way into the box and struck a powerful effort that Nelson instinctively pushed away for a corner.

The busy Nelson had to be alert once again moments later, diving to save Luke Garbutt’s low free kick down at his post, collecting the ball at the second attempt.

Peter Taylor looked to add to the Gills attacking options and introduced Watford loan signing Connor Smith for Bradley Dack and the enormous Adebayo Akinfenwa entered the fray, replacing former U’s favourite Craig Fagan, who received a nice applause by the home fans.

The move gave the U’s even more freedom in the centre of the park and Dunne’s men mercilessly attacked the Gills, but still could not find that vital second goal. Garbutt put a free kick over the bar and Clinton Morrison missed a great chance inside the penalty area, blasting the ball over the bar.

Sanchez Watt was the next to go close for the U’s as he broke away on the counter attack. Watt waltzed his way through the Gills half, twisting and turning Leon Legge, before seeing a weakly struck shot arrow just wide of the target.

Clinton Morrison celebrates scoring his first home goal in over a year © cu-fc.com

Colchester finally added a second goal, seconds after Dominic Vose made way for Tosin Olufemi, receiving a deserved round of applause from the fans. Luke Garbutt saw his fizzed free kick across the face of goal, headed as far as the corner of the eighteen-yard box, where Sanchez Watt controlled the ball and drilled it towards goal. The wily fox in the box, Clinton Morrison reacted quickest, adding the deftest of touches to bamboozle Nelson and reeled away in complete delight as the ball hit the net.

Morrison made way for Macauley Bonne moments later and Freddie Sears made his long awaited return, replacing Sanchez Watt.

It was only in the 90th minute did the Gills actually attempt to play football and Sam Walker was called into action for the first time, saving a Myles Weston effort, which was hit straight into his midriff.

Freddie Sears wrapped up the game with the third goal © expressandstar.com

Colchester wrapped up a fine display in the final minute of stoppage time, when Sears, allowed the freedom of the pitch by the Gills defence, cut inside and unleashed a powerful effort from twenty yards out, that cannoned off the post and into the net.

The final whistle blew moments later, much to the jubilation of the fans, who had witnessed one of the best attacking displays of the season so far.

Attendance: 3819

Line Ups

Colchester: Sam Walker, Brian Wilson, Magnus Okuonghae, Tom Eastman, Luke Garbutt, David Wright,  Craig Eastmond, Marcus Bean, Sanchez Watt (Freddie Sears 88), Dominic Vose (Tosin Olufemi 86), Clinton Morrison (Macauley Bonne 88).

Subs not used: Mark Cousins, Jordan Sanderson, Mason Spence, Frankie Kent.

Gillingham: Stuart Nelson, Joe Martin, Adam Barrett, Leon Legge, Michael Harriman, Bradley Dack (Connor Smith 64), Jake Hessenthaler (Myles Weston 74), Steven Gregory, Craig Fagan (Adebayo Akinfenwa 64), Danny Kedwell, Cody McDonald.

Subs not used: George Howard, Amine Linganzi, Callum Davies, Jack Marriott.

Match Stats

	Colchester United	Gillingham
Goals	3	0
Scorers & Times	Watt (49), Morrison (87), Sears (90+4)	N/A
Shots on Target	14	2
Shots off Target	10	4
Corners Won	7	1
Offside	1	5
Fouls Conceded	3	12
Yellow Cards	1 (Bean)	1 (Martin)
Red Cards	N/A	N/A
Possesion %	67%	33%

 

Many thanks to Matt Hudson at Colchester United for allowing me to upload the official match highlights to the blog.

My Pennies Worth

Joe Dunne won the tactical battle against former England U21 manager Peter Taylor © eadt.co.uk

Well it does not get much better than that does it. Joe Dunne deserves a lot of credit for the win and I am going to eat some humble pie for claiming that the formation was not working at home. That performance just goes to show what Colchester are capable of when our best players are fit.

Gillingham was not at the races that much is true. I was expecting them to be up for the game, following on from their excellent victory against Wolves. They just did not turn up and became the U’s first “double” of the season, following on from the U’s opening day victory at Priestfield.

Colchester completely dominated the midfield and I was surprised at just how sluggish Taylor’s side were. For most of the game, Gillingham was chasing shadows, giving Colchester so much time on the ball.

To a man, every one of the U’s players played their roles brilliantly. Both Magnus and Eastman dared to move into space in the midfield when time allowed and the former even decided to have a stint in attack in the first half!

David Wright – The undervalued man © eadt.co.uk

What I enjoyed most was the players seemed to be enjoying themselves out on the pitch. David Wright played his defensively role as he usually does. A lot of his work goes unnoticed, but his screening of the defence and general positioning is excellent. Whilst he may not be the cleverest with the ball at his feet, what he offers to the defensive side of our midfield is invaluable.

Marcus Bean and Craig Eastmond added to the energy in midfield, taking it in turns to play more advanced. Eastmond is the more creative of the two and he in particular enjoyed having the freedom of the midfield to use the ball well. Both of the midfielders made clever runs into the channels and really added to the display.

In attack, whilst there was not too much to do in terms of defending, both Wilson and Garbutt got forward brilliantly and really added something to the team. Both full backs linked brilliantly with the wingers and were unplayable at times. Garbutt looks so comfortable going forward and on the ball. He received the man of the match award from the club sponsors for his display and whilst I did not agree with them, it was definitely one of the on loan youngsters’ best performances at the club and I hope we can keep him on longer than a month.

Dominic Vose was my man of the match © cu-fc.com

Dominic Vose was my man of the match. The former West Ham youngster does everything so simply, yet beautifully at the same time. I would not really class Vose as a winger in the classic sense as he does not have the blistering acceleration like Sanchez Watt. I quite liked the look of our attack with Vose one side and Watt the other. With Sanchez, you know he is going to be direct, and will look to work his way into the box with pace and trickery. With Vose, you have a player who lets the ball do the work. He has a knack of waiting for the right moment to pick a pass and has the vision to accomplish this too. His ability to run with the ball and keep it is also first class. Sometimes he keeps the ball a little too long, but more often than not, he uses it wisely. He really is quite a find and I hope and pray that he signs the new contract until the end of the season as he is fast becoming my favourite player!

Clinton Morrison also had a good game. The system does not really suit him and long balls up to him will not work. He just gets on with the job in hand and he showed on Saturday, that whilst his legs are not what they were, his brain, touch and movement are still a different class. He really deserved his goal and you could see just how much it meant to him with his celebrations.

Overall, it was a very good performance and a vital three points. It was a second consecutive clean sheet and with more injuries subsiding, hopefully the U’s can build on this victory and get some much-needed consistency going.

The U’s Highs and Lows of 2013 – Part 2

A Year of Highs and Lows – Part Two

This is the second part of my views on the past year. I have found a bit of inspiration to blog my thoughts and I hope you all do not mind reading as I have once again gone a bit overboard and written a dissertation of this season so far!

Being a football fan really puts you through the emotions and in recent seasons, being a Colchester fan has served us with a lots of ups and downs. Going into the 2013/14 season, I can honestly say that it was the most excited I had felt about a season in a long time.

Under John Ward, things had gone rather stale. I do not think that Ward is a bad manager as he did exceptionally well to take the club to consecutive 10th place finishes in League One. Unfortunately for managers, there comes a time when players stop responding to the tactics and fall into a comfort zone. I feel this happened under Ward. I am also sceptical of some of Ward’s moves in the transfer market and his budget control, as it seems some players were on a fairly good wage for League One. One lasting legacy of Ward however, would come to fruition during the 2013/14 season, with youth products having to step into the first team.

With Dunne now approaching his first full season in charge of Colchester, he decided he was going to do things his way and took the team to his native Ireland early for pre season training. Due to the Financial Fair play rules, the U’s saw the budget cut slightly more, which made signing players even harder.

Early Ambition

Craig Eastmond was the first of the U’s new arrivals © cu-fc.com

I have to confess to being pleasantly surprised when it was announced that Craig Eastmond had signed on the dotted line. The former Arsenal youngster, was excellent during his three month loan spell last season. The signing really showed the U’s ambition to do well after the previous season’s great escape.

Dunne had to wait a while, but the signing of Sanchez Watt really captured everyone’s imagination. Season ticket sales were flying because of the signing of two really exciting players. Watt had also been on loan at the U’s and proved that he could be a match winner on his own.

The re-signing of Jabo Ibehre was also a big coup for the club. Ibehre is a strange player in a lot of ways. One game he is utterly unplayable and the next he will struggle and you’d wonder how he made a professional. One thing is for sure, Colchester played a hell of a lot better with Ibehre in the side than without him.

Ryan Dickson completed the transfer business for Colchester. The former Plymouth, Brentford and Southampton full back had always impressed me before and looked a decent during a trial in pre season.

Of the outgoings, loyal servant John White was offered pittance to remain at the U’s in order for the club to be able to sign the likes of Eastmond and Watt. It was particularly sad as White was in his testimonial year and I felt he had a lot to offer still. People say he had a nosebleed as soon as he got into the oppositions half, however he has six assists this season for Southend and that is one more than Brian Wilson, the U’s top assist maker. It was disappointing to see White join Southend, but he was immediately appointed captain and had been an ever present member of their side, so it is hard to begrudge him the move.

Another outgoing that would come later, was the departure of another loyal servant and club legend Kemal Izzet. With a lack of playing time, Izzet departed the club by mutual consent and has rather surprisingly signed for non league side Needham Market.

Sam Walker rejoined the club for his second loan spell © sellsgoalkeeperproducts.com

Pre season was rather interesting and the draw against Tottenham in front of a near capacity crowd was also a plus point. Sam Walker returned to the club on loan from Chelsea on the same day as the Spurs game. The popular goalkeeper became a fans favourite after joining the club in January and was given a warm welcome when he took to the field. The annoying thing about pre season was losing to Ipswich Town and the manner that we conceded goals was also frustrating. Another low point was the injury to Craig Eastmond at Heybridge. A shocking tackle on the U’s new man looked like he could be out for a while, but fortunately he’d be fit for the opening game.

The Season Starts – Early Joy and Cup Woe

Onwards to the opening day of the season, the U’s started the season with a short trip to Kent to face Gillingham. The newly promoted Gills I expected to be very tough opponents and being a Martin Allen side, you would know they would be direct and physical opponents. They had signed strike duo Adebayo Akinfenwa and former Witham and Norwich striker Cody McDonald prior to the seasons start and I really feared we may struggle for a result. Let us not forget that Gillingham are a much, much bigger club than Colchester too (sic).

The build up to the game was spent in a dilapidated pub, full of U’s fans in fine voice. I can remember speaking to the Swedish Branch guys and not feeling overly confident of our chances, especially as it started raining and the away end at Priestfield is open. By kick off however, the pitch was lashed in brilliant sunshine. Joe Dunne got a lovely reception from the Gillingham faithful as he walked on the pitch just prior to the match starting.

An even first half saw the best chance fall to Gillingham, when Kedwell’s speculative effort from 25 yards brought out a magnificent flying save from Walker.

Into the second half, you just felt that the Gills had run out of ideas, as they struggled to break the U’s down. Colchester, who had been happy to soak up the pressure began to start creating chances and were looking the better side.

I thought we had blown the chance for victory when substitute Alex Gilbey missed two headed chances, however as the board was about to go up for injury time, the young midfielder released Drey Wright on the wing with a gorgeous through pass. Wright twisted Leon Legge inside out and had the alertness to pick out the rampaging Andy Bond, who stroked the ball past the stranded Gills goalkeeper.  It was a great moment and the first three points of the season were sown up. It took until the end of September to win a match last season, so it was fantastic to grab win so early in the campaign.

Andy Bond celebrates putting the U’s ahead at Priestfield © greenun24.co.uk

Peterborough came to town for the Carling Cup first round and soon wiped the smile from everyone’s faces. The Posh completely outplayed Colchester, who deployed a diamond formation to stop the Peterborough midfield from dominating. It just did not work and despite a well worked move from Morrison to allow Ibehre to equalise after 46 minutes, the Posh savagely tore the U’s apart and won 5-1.

At the time, people shrugged at the defeat and called it a one off. The feeling was that Peterborough were the best attacking side in the league and would do that to a number of sides. I remember thinking a little differently. I had a horrible feeling we were going to struggle to break teams down and defensively we looked very vulnerable. The way our heads went down quickly was all too reminiscent of last season and whilst I did not expect us to win, the manner of the defeat shocked me.

We had a chance to put things right in the next fixture against Port Vale, another newly promoted side. Colchester passed the Valiants off the park in the first half. Some of the slick attacking football was an absolute joy to watch. The U’s were creating chance after chance, however a combination of Chris Neal in the Port Vale goal, greediness and poor finishing looked to be costing the U’s dearly as they failed to make the breakthrough.

Gavin Massey’s solitary strike made sure of the points against the Valiants © cu-fc.com

Colchester struggled to replicate their first half form in the second period and it took a rather scrappy goal to give the U’s the lead. Jabo Ibehre excellently spun Liam Chilvers and shot towards goal. Neal could only parry the ball into the path of Gavin Massey on the edge of the six yard box and the winger made no mistake in putting the ball into the net.

Colchester had some bad news in the week after the Vale game, when it was announced that we had failed to meet the requirements for Category 2 status for the Elite Player Performance Plan. This was a massive blow for the future of the club producing young talents. The U’s have many promising youngsters coming through and we could lose them to the circling vultures for virtual peanuts. I felt at the time that all we had worked on off the pitch was unravelling before our eyes.

Back on the pitch, two wins from two looked promising ahead of a visit to Sheffield United, a ground of heavy defeats in more recent times for the U’s. This time however was different as the U’s matched the former Premier League side and shocked them with an exquisite counter attack. Dunne, wishing his team to be able to counter sides, left attacking players on the half way line for Sheff Utd set pieces. In one such instance the U’s broke through with Sanchez Watt and he freed Freddie Sears to calmly slide the ball into the net.

The Blades had started the season slowly and the fans were soon on their back. They were going to have a huge slice of luck just before half time, when a speculative Harry Maguire effort, was completely misjudged by Sam Walker and the ball embarrassingly squirmed into the net, much to the shock of everyone in the ground. The U’s held firm in the second half to pick up a point and it showed the U’s were working well as a unit that the only goal came from an error. It was rather disappointing at the time, but it was hard to moan about Walker after his heroics last season.

Colchester continued their unbeaten streak in the next fixture against the early whipping boys Carlisle, where Tosin Olufemi was to make his first league start for the club against the struggling Cumbrians. The visitors took a shock early lead when Matty Robson let fly with a shot from range and it somehow comfortably beat Walker at his near post. The message boards were full of people commenting how many goals we would score, so to be down after four minutes and deservedly so, came as a surprise.

Sears’ late goal rescued a draw for the U’s © cu-fc.com

The U’s toiled for much of the game, but a late Freddie Sears strike kept Colchester’s unbeaten record going. I began to feel that we may have a season of struggle ahead as we did not seem to be able to break teams down and we were lacking bodies in the box to put pressure on opposition defenders.

Injury Crisis and The First Defeat

Early pace-setters Leyton Orient continued their winning run as they inflicted the first league defeat on the U’s, with a 2-1 victory in the next game. I was quite impressed by the togetherness the O’s had and thought they was a rather workman like team. They reminded me of Colchester when we won promotion to the Championship with their mixed style of play. I was also impressed by their 442 formation, which obviously works for them, as not many sides adopt the slightly out dated style of football, preferring more modern styles such as the popular 433/4231 line up. Whilst they did not outplay the U’s, they had enough nous to see us off. It was a little concerning, as once again we had not really threatened the O’s goal enough.

A shocking 4-1 defeat to Dagenham and a red card to Magnus Okuonghae in the JPT added to the U’s woes. There was worse to come in the next fixture as the U’s travelled to Northampton’s Sixfields to face Coventry City.

Long term injury victim Sanchez Watt would be out of action until Boxing Day © gazette-news.co.uk

It was then that most fans discovered that the club were facing a huge injury crisis. Freddie Sears and Gavin Massey had limped off against Orient and Sanchez Watt was also suffering from an injury. Ryan Dickson was suffering from a mystery illness, whilst Magnus Okuonghae was suspended. A depleted U’s side were played off the park by a rampant Coventry side. It was no surprise really, as Mason Spence had to replace Dickson after only 20 minutes to add even less experience to a patched up defence. Colchester ended the game with four teenagers on the pitch and it began to feel like the problems of last season were going to reoccur.

Dunne strengthened the squad ahead of the Bradford contest, with Everton left back, Luke Garbutt, and Preston winger Jeffrey Monakana joining on loan. An error ridden Tom Eastman gifted Bradford an early lead, as his second miskicked clearance fell kindly for Nahki Wells. The highly rated Bermudian wasted no time in twisting past David Wright and putting the ball into the net past Walker.

Amazingly, a resilient U’s got themselves back into the game and became the first side to score at Bradford’s Valley Parade (still refuse to call it by its crappy sponsored name). A long Walker kick was expertly controlled by Eastmond and he had the vision to release Monakana down the right flank. The U’s new signing, twisted and turned his way into the box and unleashed a scorching effort that went into the top corner. It is still my goal of the season so far.

Goal scoring had been a problem for the U’s so far this season and they had failed to score two in a match prior to the Bradford game. Jabo Ibehre was the man to change that as he scored the U’s second. The striker brilliantly dummied Eastmond’s through pass and raced clear on goal. His finish was perfect and Colchester were leading at half time.

A deft header from Wells brought the Bantams back into the game as the U’s were being forced back more and more. Colchester were still dangerous on the counter and came the closest to grabbing a winner when substitute Gavin Massey slammed a curling shot against the post.

Daniel Pappoe was sent off in injury time, but the U’s held firm for another valuable point. Maybe Colchester did have a backbone after all!

More injuries would strike in the coming weeks, with Tom Eastman suffering from an ankle injury and he was replaced by Matt Taylor joining on loan from Bradford.

The U’s played out consecutive entertaining 1-1 draws in their next two fixtures against Crawley and Bristol City. It was becoming clear that goal scoring problems were hindering Colchester. Ibehre missed an absolute sitter against Crawley and it would have put us 2-0 up and I believe we would have gone on to win the game had we scored, but it just was not to be. The most promising aspect of the season so far was that we were actually grabbing points, where in the 2012/13 season we were losing these games. This could only do us well, but I just feel that this league is a better one than last year and winning games is of the utmost importance.

Dark Clouds Descend – The Winless Run Continues

Home games are the bread and butter for the club and so far the U’s were struggling to win at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

Wolves were the next team in town and Colchester folded like a pack of cards in the highest gate of the season so far. The U’s gave Kenny Jackett’s side so much time, space and respect. It was not the sort of performance I expected from a Joe Dunne side. Yes, we had injury problems and we did start the game well. However, after Leigh Griffiths opening goal from the penalty spot, the U’s spirit completely deflated and went on to lose 3-0.

It was this game that I started to feel even more worried about the U’s prospects this season. It sounds a weird comment to make seeing the players Wolves have at their disposal, but I remember other illustrious sides coming to Colchester and we would let them know they was in a game.

Whilst the U’s sat in the relative comfort of 14th place, five points ahead of Crewe in 21st position, we needed a win to start propelling ourselves up the table. We had only lost three games at the time, which was one of the best records in the league outside the top four sides. We had also drawn five times, which was only beaten by Shrewsbury and Bristol City. It was frustrating, because where we expected to be mid table, the fact we were taking the lead against sides and unable to hold on was becoming frustrating.

Sammie Szmodics was thrust into first team action as the injury crisis deepened © cu-fc.com

We were not being helped by the injury crisis of course and the U’s had given youngster Sammie Szmodics his first taste of action after his promising displays for the youth team. It was a promising aspect that at least off the pitch we were seeing signs that we are progressing as a club capable of producing some bright talents for the future.

As the injury problems subsided slightly, the Walsall game gave us the chance to end the run of games without a win and after an early Freddie Sears strike, it looked like it could happen. Walsall had completely outplayed Colchester with some fantastic possession football and were hugely unfortunate not to score after striking the woodwork on a number of occasions.

They got their reward in the 6th minute of injury time when a silly foul, which if I am being honest did not look like much, saw a free kick lined up about 25 yards from goal. Everyone in the ground knew what was going to happen. It was just written in the stars as Andy Taylor stepped up and smashed the ball into the top corner.

Boos rang out around the stadium as another tepid performance saw us fail to win again. A draw was a good result in all honesty, but again being outplayed at home and not really showing much attacking instinct was starting to frustrate everyone and they were letting their feelings known.

The fans frustration and anger was to reach it’s highest at Brentford a week later. Colchester had been lucky to not be behind when Marcello Trotta somehow missed from six yards in the first half. Brentford had not won in a few weeks and their fans were getting on their backs. The U’s sensed the win was there for the taking and when Magnus Okuonghae nodded the U’s into the lead, for a brief moment you felt this was it.

That was until the 76th minute when Trotta made amends for his earlier miss and scored an equaliser. A fifteen minute collapse saw the Bees notch twice more to run out 3-1 winners and condemn the U’s to just their fourth league defeat, however the club had gone ten wins without tasting victory.

Popular defender Matt Taylor returned to Bradford after the expiration of his loan deal © cu-fc.com

With the news that Jabo Ibehre would miss the Shrewsbury fixture on a wet Tuesday night, Elliott Lee joined the club on loan from West Ham and went straight into the squad. Also travelling on the coach to Shropshire was another youth prospect, Macauley Bonne, who found himself on the bench. The U’s were also unable to extend the loan of Matt Taylor and with Tom Eastman still injured, Colchester had to play David Wright at the heart of defence with Magnus Okuonghae.

Colchester got off to the worst possible start, as the Shrews scored with consummate ease after just three minutes. It had taken ages to get to Shrewsbury with heavy traffic on the M6 and at this point I was beginning to feel rather cheesed off. I have to be honest in thinking what a load of turd.

Freddie Sears pulled up with an obvious hamstring injury after half hour and by then I just felt like going home. We were being absolutely outplayed by Shrewsbury and making them look like Brazil. I honestly do not expect the U’s to be world beaters, but it would have been nice for us to resemble a football team. The first half had been an absolute shambles until all of a sudden, just before half time the gloom was lifted. A very rare U’s attack saw Clinton Morrison hold up the ball and release it to Marcus Bean on the edge of the box. The former Brentford man hit a daisy cutter that somehow eluded the grasp of Chris Weale and Colchester were level undeservedly.

Joe Dunne must have put a rocket up the backside of each player because the second half saw us serve up some quality football and completely dominate the home side. The only problem was in the final third. Whilst we were actually able to break Shrewsbury down, in front of goal we looked hopeless and Craig Eastmond’s air kick when unmarked at far post summed up our finishing. The game ended 1-1 and it was another valiant point, but the loss of David Wright to yet another hamstring injury for a U’s player just before the end soured things slightly, especially as Peterborough were up next.

Victory At Last and a Change of Luck

With the 5-1 Carling Cup defeat fresh in the memory, the message boards were full of negativity with how many goals the Posh were going to score. Cian Bolger joined the club on loan from Bolton in the run up to the match and was to go straight into the side.

Football is a funny old game and a superb Colchester display, for me probably the best this season given the circumstances, saw the U’s finally end the eleven game run without a win.

The U’s played like they did against Carlisle on the final day of last season. Dogged determination and with real fire in their bellies. We did not let Peterborough settle and were giving them no respect at all. Craig Eastmond missed a couple of fine chances for the U’s, one hitting the bar, whilst Sam Walker kept the U’s in it with a great save to deny Tommy Rowe.

The game changing moment came early in the second half when Lee Tomlin was adjudged to have kicked out at Craig Eastmond off the ball, and on his assistant’s advice, referee Stuart Attwell showed the Posh man a straight red card.

Joe Dunne then made what I thought was a peculiar move at the time, replacing the excellent Clinton Morrison for Macauley Bonne. The U’s youngster had been scoring left, right and centre for the youth team had only tasted a couple of minutes of professional football, replacing the stricken David Wright at Shrewsbury. It was his 18th birthday and what a way to top it off! A beautiful cross into the box from Luke Garbutt, saw Bonne meet the ball with his head and it flew into the net beyond Olejnik to send the U’s fans into absolute delirium.

Macca Bonne wheels away in delight after scoring his first professional goal on his 18th birthday © cu-fc.com

The screw seemed to have turned for the U’s. Posh struggled in front of goal and had a massive penalty appeal rejected by Attwell. It looked like it was going to be our day, even after Eastmond had broke on the counter and laid in Szmodics for his miss, it just felt we had this game in the bag. Although saying that, I think every U’s fans’ heart sunk when Posh were awarded an injury time free kick on the edge of the box. It appeared to take forever for the ball to be floated into the box and when Tyrone Barnett headed it across the face of the goal I had to close my eyes. The frenzied roar of the crowd indicated the danger had passed and moments later Attwell blew the whistle to give the U’s a huge boost.

Last season, a draw against Shrewsbury turned our fortunes around for the worse. Could a draw this season work the opposite way and be a catalyst for a change of luck? We certainly had a few lucky decisions go our way against Posh and in the next game against Rotherham the U’s again rode their luck.

Back in Rotherham, it started well enough, when early into the game an interesting corner routine saw Marcus Bean score with a diving header. Cian Bolger had a fantastic game against Peterborough, but had a complete nightmare up against former Braintree and Southend centre forward Alex Revell in South Yorkshire. Bolger was at fault for both the Millers goals and looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

Elliot Lee’s last gasp header earned the U’s an unlikely point © whufc.com

Colchester toiled and had Sam Walker to thank for a couple of really good saves to stop the home side from further extending their lead. Into the second half, the U’s struggle to create anything and saw Luke Garbutt spurn their best chance, shooting wide when well placed. It looked as if it was game over until the final minute of injury time, when a succession of headers saw Elliot Lee score his first goal off the crossbar. Rotherham appealed to the referee, but the linesman had put his flag up straight away. As soon as I saw it, it was obvious it was over the line.

Maybe our luck really was changing! We did not play well at all, but stole a point. It felt like a victory, much different to the Walsall game that felt like a defeat.

Continued Cup Failure

A big low point for me this season (and for the past couple of seasons) has been the lack of a cup run. We were soundly beaten by Peterborough in the League Cup, humiliated by the Daggers in the JPT and with a rather uninspiring tie against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, you just felt it was not going to be our year…Again.

We started off so poorly. The Blades got the opener through a Harry Maguire header and you just knew it was going to be a hard game. Magnus’ error for the Blades second goal just compounded the misery. Where has the magic of the cup gone? Well, whatever was said at half time seemed to work as Macauley Bonne pulled a goal back minutes into the second half and midway through the half a determined U’s side got back into the game with a lovely hit from Luke Garbutt. Game on!

The U’s luck eventually ran out, when the linesman gave a harsh handball decision against Okuonghae and Chris Porter’s penalty made it 3-2, knocking Dunne’s side out of the cup at the first hurdle. It was a frustrating way to lose, but the first half performance was our downfall.

Consistently Inconsistent

Our inconsistency was really beginning to annoy me. I cannot understand how we play so well one half and so dire the next. I also could not understand Dunne’s formation change for the first half against Sheffield United. It just killed us before we started. We had no shape and created nothing. It was a really appalling half and against Swindon the U’s woes would continue.

It was one of the worst performances of the season as we lost 2-1. Swindon played without a striker and looked to hit us on the counter attack with a huge degree of success, almost cutting the U’s apart at will. Colchester were worse than abysmal and the Robins deserved their victory. Magnus Okuonghae’s consolation goal was merely papering over the cracks.

Luke Garbutt struck late to steal a draw at Deepdale © gazette-news.co.uk

A trip to Preston saw another dire display. If it was not for Preston’s profligacy in front of goal we would have been on to a hiding. Fortunately we scored with our only shot on target through Luke Garbutt. It felt great that we had won a point against the odds, but it was bugging me about how badly we were playing. I guess the only positive point is that we were not losing many and working well as a defensive unit. I am sure we would all much prefer us gain points than none at all. If we had played an attacking game we would probably lose!

I think it is a fair comment to describe Colchester this season as consistently inconsistent. Against the MK Dons we completely dominated and came away with a 3-1 deserved victory through goals from Eastmond, Ibehre and Bonne. We played exactly how we did against Peterborough by closing the Dons down quickly and showing no respect. Joe Dunne has always admired the way MK play and he would have been delighted with the manner of the victory. The Dons were not at their best, but it was up to the U’s to punish them and we did so with aplomb.

Dom Vose has taken his chance and hopefully he can continue making a positive impact © cu-fc.com

It was many fans’ first look at the recently signed Dominic Vose and it appeared to me we have quite a player on our hands. Vose is quite a dynamic player with a low centre of gravity. His ability to twist and turn is terrific and he also appeared to have excellent vision. Sometimes players do not make the grade for reasons known only to them, but you have to give credit to both Dunne, for giving Vose the chance and also to the youngster for taking the chance with both hands and looking all the part.

Another great aspect so far this season was how the youth teamers have come into the first team and not really looked out of place. Dunne had little or no option to stick the likes of Olufemi, Szmodics and Bonne into the first team and none of them have let us down. I am a little bit concerned about the rapid progress of Bonne because natural goal scorers will not stay at a club like Colchester for long. He really does look the real deal and I cannot tell you how excited I am by the development of these youngsters coming through.

December – From Despair to Delight

I must confess to finding the last month extremely difficult and falling out of love with football. I travelled all the way to Tranmere to watch Colchester yet again not turn up and I know you stick with your team through thick and thin, but it was becoming hard to pay and watch the dross being served up. I’m fed up with Colchester continuously being second best and being unable to hit the target in games.

The 2-1 defeat to Tranmere at Prenton Park was followed by a 4-0 home thrashing to Notts County. The defeat was painful. The players just gave up. I commented above that players had stopped responding to John Ward. I felt this was occurring with Dunne and we had just stopped playing football. We do have our attacking players out injured, but we continually persist with a formation that is not working. The bottom side completely tore us apart and I understand that Dunne handed in his resignation, which Robbie Cowling turned this down.

Joe Dunne has had a rough ride with the U’s and most probably feels just as much as the fans © eadt.co.uk

I think it would be a great shame if Dunne was to go, as he has been a loyal servant to the club and is a legend. He continuously wears his heart on his sleeve and you know he has the the clubs best interests to heart. Whilst stability is not always the answer, Dunne and Cowling share the same long term vision and I am not sure we would attract anyone who could improve our fortunes on a shoestring budget. Whether he remains the right man for the job in 2014, no one knows. I am just interested to see how we fair with an injury free squad to pick from.

Back on the pitch, our performances needed to improve and all of a sudden they did when I least expected it! I did not go to Oldham as I was fed up with having to pay a lot of money and watch Colchester put in very little effort in return. Football is an entertainment business and frankly I was not being entertained. With it coming up to Christmas, I thought I would save money and have an enjoyable day without football.

The down side of not going was missing an early Xmas present as the U’s came away with an unlikely 2-0 victory. Bloody typical isn’t it?!?! Colchester restricted the Latics to pot shots from range and were helped by an early own goal. Colchester added a second goal to seal the victory after Vose put the ball on a plate for Ibehre to tuck home from close range.

The annual Boxing Day fixture brought further festive cheers for Colchester fans as the U’s gained revenge for the 6-1 defeat inflicted by the Boro on Boxing Day 2011.

On loan Blair Turgott notched the first goal of his career to put the U’s ahead after Chris Day’s howler © thecomet.net

Colchester romped to a scintillating 4-0 victory, the first time we had scored four under Joe Dunne! Without wanting to be too negative we were handed a huge slice of luck with the opening three goals. Especially from Chris Day who had a horror ten minutes in the Stevenage goal. The one big difference from the past is that Colchester were clinical in taking their chances and made the most of their luck. A lot of the time we have not taken advantage of situations and it is ever so frustrating. Another major positive from the Stevenage game was the return from injury of Sanchez Watt. I hope he can remain injury free as he could be a huge player for us in 2014.

Derailed by the Railwaymen

The U’s inconsistency was to come back with a vengeance against Crewe in the final game of 2013. The match was pretty much a home banker, but ended up a coupon buster.

Colchester started with confidence and played really well in the first half and Luke Garbutt scored a deflected free kick to give the U’s a deserved lead. For some reason Colchester seemed to sit back, stopped the hustle & bustle in the midfield and began to let Crewe play. A simply shocking second half, full of individual mistakes plagued Colchester and Crewe was to make us pay with two goals in quick succession. An injury to Ibehre saw him leave the pitch and Dunne also replaced Vose, who was the only player who looked like he wanted be on the pitch.

The U’s finished 2013 with an awful home defeat, but on the bright side they are in 14th position, five points above Bristol City who finished in 21st place.

Player of 2013

This has been an exceptionally hard one to pick. There are so many players that could win this. Magnus Okuonghae and Brian Wilson were both exceptional the back at end of last season with some towering performances in defence. David Wright came to the club in January and does such a vital and undervalued role in front of the back line too. Gavin Massey is another candidate as he scored some valuable goals and was Mr Consistency on the flank. His work rate is tremendous for a winger and when he plays well, the U’s seem to too. I really cannot decide on one player for my 2013 player of the year so I have chosen two. I have gone for both Jabo Ibehre and Sam Walker.

Jabo Ibehre is my joint player of 2013 with Sam Walker © bbcimg.co.uk

Jabo is a really frustrating player, but his hold up play is first class. We won far more matches with Jabo in the side without him and when he plays well for us he makes a real difference and is virtually unplayable. He scored some vital goals and has provided some comedy along the way with ridiculous skill and wayward shots. Jabo was our leading top scorer last season and also currently tops the U’s scoring charts this term.

Walker gets in just because of some of ridiculous saves he made to win us points. He does make errors and as a goalkeeper most errors lead to goals, but he is only 22 and has a good career ahead of him (I hope with us). At times he has kept us in games and made a hell of a difference last season when our confidence was low. His sheer presence seemed to bring a calming influence to the defence and the Hartlepool & Bury games were both drawn thanks to some outstanding saves by big Sam. The Orient penalty save was a brilliant moment too.  For me he was a key catalyst for us staying up and I hope he remains with us for the rest of the season.

Goal of 2013

Massey’s header at Carlisle © cu-fc.com

In traditional terms Billy Clifford’s wonder strike v Yeovil and Jeffrey Monakana’s beautiful hit against Bradford would win this hands down, however my goal of 2013 award is going to Gavin Massey for his headed goal against Carlisle. The only reason I chose this one is because of the significance of the goal. It was in effect the goal that calmed down the nerves and gave us something to defend against on the final day of last season. Another thing about the goal is the sheer ridiculousness of it. Massey looked to have completely messed up his header, only for the spin from hitting the bar to divert it into the net and sending us all nuts with joy.

Top Goalscorer of 2013

2012/13 Top Goalscorers in 2013
	Home Goals	Away Goals	Total Goals
Freddie Sears	4	1	5
Gavin Massey	1	4	5
Jabo Ibehre	1	3	4
Drey Wright	1	1	2
Others	3	4	7
Total	10	13	23

Top Goalscorers in 2013/14 Season (All Comps)
	Home Goals	Away Goals	Total Goals
Jabo Ibehre	3 (+1 Lge Cup)	2	6
Freddie Sears	3	1	4
Craig Eastmond	3	0	3
Macauley Bonne	2 (+1 Fa Cup)	0	3
Luke Garbutt	1 (+1 Fa Cup)	1	3
Magnus Okuonghae	1	1	2
Marcus Bean	0	2	2
Others	2	6 (1 JPT)	9
Total	15 ( +3 Cup)	13 ( +1Cup)	28 (+4Cup)

Jabo Ibehre led the way on the goalscoring front in 2013 with ten goals. Interestingly, Freddie Sears, who was the second top scorer, scored more goals than anyone at home but struggled to net on the U’s travels.

Top Goalscorers in 2013 Season (All Comps)
	Home Goals	Away Goals	Total Goals
Jabo Ibehre	5	5	10
Freddie Sears	7	2	9
Gavin Massey	2	4	6
Craig Eastmond	3	0	3
Macauley Bonne	3	0	3
Magnus Okuonghae	2	1	3
Luke Garbutt	2	1	3
Drey Wright	1	1	2
Clinton Morrison	1	1	2
Marcus Bean	0	2	2
Others	3	9	12
Total	29	26	55

In this next table, I have put down the goals scored and goals conceded from January – May 2012 in the 11/12 season, as a comparison to how we did in 2013.

The below table shows that under John Ward in the second half of the 2011/12 season, we started games fairly well and also finished strongly. We were very susceptible to conceding goals just before half time and were pretty leaky after half time too.

Jan – May 2011 / 12 Season Goal Times F/A
	0 – 15	16 – 30	31 – 45	46 – 60	61 – 75	76 – 90
Goals For	6	4	2	4	2	9
Goals Against	3	2	9	7	6	2

This next table is also from the 2011/12 season under Ward. It is no surprise to see so many draws!

Jan – May 2011/12 Season Stats in 2012
	Win	Draw	Lose	GF	GC
Home	3	7	1	16	11
Away	2	5	5	11	18
Total	5	12	6	27	29

The below table shows how we ended 2012. John Ward was sacked in late September and the majority of these goals were under Joe Dunne. It is interesting to see that there was no real improvement as we still conceded a fair amount of goals before half time. The main difference is between 61-75 minutes where we must have been all out attack. It is pretty shocking to see how many we conceded within the last fifteen minutes!

Aug – Dec 2012 / 13 Season Goal Times F/A
	0 – 15	16 – 30	31 – 45	46 – 60	61 – 75	76 – 90
Goals For	2	5	5	3	7	2
Goals Against	4	5	8	4	7	10

This next table follows the above. Interestingly under John Ward we conceded ten goals and scored only five in eight games. Ward lost four games and also had four draws. We drew three home games and lost one, whilst we lost three games and drew once away to Preston under his tenure.

Aug – Dec 2012/13 season stats 2012
	Win	Draw	Lose	GF	GC
Home	4	3	5	13	17
Away	2	2	8	9	21
Total	6	5	13	23	38

I have worked out the total number of goals conceded in 2012 and will compare these stats with 2013 further down. I think this goes to show just how awful we were just before half time and in the second half of games during 2012.

Total 2012 Season Goal Times F/A
	0 – 15	16 – 30	31 – 45	46 – 60	61 – 75	76 – 90
Goals For	8	9	7	7	9	11
Goals Against	7	7	17	11	13	12

The table below I will also compare with 2013. It is interesting to see just how many games we drew at home and just how poor we were away from home.

Full Stats from 2012
	Win	Draw	Lose	GF	GC
Home	7	10	6	31	28
Away	4	7	13	20	39
Total	11	17	19	51	67

This table is from 2013 under Joe Dunne and shows our stats from the end of last season. Under Joe Dunne our form suffered, however we had a much better record away from home, winning just as many as we lost. We also scored more goals away from home, but we were also rather open too.

Jan – May 2012/13 Season Stats
	Win	Draw	Lose	GF	GC
Home	4	1	6	10	14
Away	4	3	4	13	16
Total	8	4	10	23	30

This table shows our goal times for this season. It is interesting to see that we seem to struggle before and after half time but play fairly well in the first half hour. The last fifteen minutes seem to be a bit of a free for all. I think this table explains our inconsistency quite well.

Aug – Dec 2013 / 14 Season Goal Times F/A
	0 – 15	16 – 30	31 – 45	46 – 60	61 – 75	76 – 90
Goals For	6	6	5	1	3	7
Goals Against	5	4	6	8	2	7

This next table is also from this season. In comparison with the same period in 2012 we have lost less games (the same amount of home defeats interestingly), drawn far more games and won the same amount of times. Our away form this season is also far better as we lost five more times on our travels last season by the same stage. We have scored five more goals than last season, two more at home and four times away. In terms of conceding, this season we have conceded six less than last season.

Aug – Dec 2013/14 Season Stats in 2013
	Win	Draw	Lose	GF	GC
Home	4	3	5	15	17
Away	2	6	3	13	15
Total	6	9	8	28	32

This table shows some interesting comparisons with 2012. We start games worse than we did in 2012, but we are much better in the first half of games in general, especially in the last fifteen minutes, with eight less goals conceded! We have also scored more goals from the 16th – 45th minute in 2013.

Into the second half, it appears we are far worse goal scoring wise, with six goals less than 2012. We are especially poor just after half time, scoring four goals less and conceding a fair lot. Our concentration levels are notably bad in the last quarter, scoring one less and conceding five more.

Total 2013 Season Goal Times F/A
	0 – 15	16 – 30	31 – 45	46 – 60	61 – 75	76 – 90
Goals For	7	13	10	3	8	10
Goals Against	10	8	9	10	8	17

Comparing the full stats from 2013 to 2012 show that we have scored the same amount of goals and conceded five less. Our away form is much, much better than 2012, with six less defeats and two more draws both home and away.

We lost five more times at home in 2013 than we did the previous year, whilst it is really interesting to see that in 2012 we scored eight more times at home than this season. Funnily enough this term we have proven to be far more resilient on our travels and have coincidentally scored eight more times than we did away from home last season.

Full Stats from 2013
	Win	Draw	Lose	GF	GC
Home	8	4	11	23	30
Away	6	9	7	28	32
Total	14	13	18	51	62

A Look to the Future

I do not know what to make about 2014. League One is a really tough league and a couple of bad results can see us in the relegation spots, whilst a couple of victories could propel us upwards. The league is the tightest I can remember it in recent years. One thing is for sure, I would rather be in 14th position than 20th. For me that marks an improvement from last season and considering that we have barely had a full squad to pick from, we have not done too badly and perhaps as well as we could have expected. I do not think the likes of Manchester United could cope with twelve players out injured at once, let alone Colchester.

In 2014 our chance conversion needs to improve, as we simply do not score enough goals and goals win games. We have got ourselves ahead in so many games, but have been unable to convert a second to make the game safe. Hopefully we can keep all our players fit too. The return of fitness to the likes of Sears, Massey, Drey Wright and Watt will be vital to our future prospects. We have started 2014 a lot better than we did in 2013 that is for sure! Another Sam Walker masterclass, resembling that of Hartlepool/Bury saw the U’s secure a 0-0 draw against MK Dons at Stadium:MK. The aim is survival once again and I really hope and pray that we do not have the same situation as last season come 3rd May 2014!

Turning Point for the U’s?

It has been a tough season for Colchester United this season with injury problems affecting key men, really taking its toll with a quarter of a season passed already.

After the 1-1 home draw against Walsall, boos rang around the stadium and the first airing of discontent was shown towards Joe Dunne. The U’s had played extremely poorly against the Saddlers, who really deserved all three points, rather than the one. The last minute free kick converted by Andy Taylor felt like a defeat and I must admit to feeling rather deflated after the game.

The U’s travelled to West London next to face an out of form Brentford. I could not make the game, however listened to the game on BBC Essex.

The first half sounded an even affair; however, the U’s should have been 1-0 down early on when Marcello Trotta missed a simple chance from six yards.

Magnus Okuonghae celebrates putting the U’s in front at Griffin Park © gazette-news.co.uk

Colchester seemed to have come out of the second half the better side and took the lead when Luke Garbutt’s corner found the head of Magnus Okuonghae, who steered the ball beyond the ‘keeper to put the U’s into the lead.

The U’s appeared to be good for their lead until Marcello Trotta made amends for his earlier miss and poached the home side level.

The goal knocked the U’s for the count and a fifteen-minute collapse saw two goals gifted to the Bees. The first came from a wayward Eastmond pass, which allowed George Savill the opportunity to shoot from range, and his sweetly struck effort flew off the post and into the net. The third goal saw a U’s counter attack fail miserably, again gifting possession away, allowing the Bees to break. A ball across the back line found its way to substitute Kadeem Harris, who marked his Brentford debut with a flying header.

The result, a 3-1 defeat, marked only the fourth defeat for the U’s, but also extended a winless run to ten games, with the some people on various message boards and social media calling for Dunne’s head.

Colchester did not have long to put things right, with a trip to Shrewsbury on the Tuesday night after the Brentford game.

The U’s went into the game without Jabo Ibehre, the forward suffering a hip injury in training.

Big loss – Matt Taylor headed back to Bradford after his loan came to an end. © eadt.co.uk

The U’s had also been unable to extend the loan of centre back Matt Taylor, who returned to Bradford City. Joe Dunne was able to strengthen the front line by bringing in 18 year old forward Elliot Lee from West Ham, but with Tom Eastman and Josh Thompson injured, the U’s were forced to face the Shrews with only one recognised centre back, with David Wright filling in next to Magnus Okuonghae.

Shrewsbury came out of the blocks in rapid style forcing Sam Walker into a very early save before taking the lead. Adam Reach was allowed to run the length of the pitch, in a scene similar to that of Forrest Gump. Reach kept running and running, and once he reached the U’s penalty area, he put in a cross, which met the head of Cristian Lopez and flew beyond Walker and into the net, after just four minutes. It was calamitous defending from the U’s with Wilson not stopping the rampaging Reach and if Lopez did not score, there were three or four players waiting, unmarked in the box that probably would have done.

As one of the 112 hardy souls who had ventured to Shropshire, it felt like it was going to a long, long night.

The Shrews continued to pour forward in droves, obviously seeing Wright’s height disadvantage and putting balls into the box, which fortunately did not cause too many issues.

Colchester did have forays forward, with Lee showing some positive running, but Chris Weale was never threatened. The home side were being made to look like Spain with their ball retention as the patched up U’s could not get any near them to close them down.

Things got from bad to worse on the half hour mark as Freddie Sears, playing in his unfavoured wing position went down clutching his hamstring and you just knew that was the end of his night. Craig Eastmond came on in place of Sears, with Alex Gilbey pushed out wide.

For all their possession, Shrewsbury was unable to get the second goal to kill Colchester off, with Sam Walker having to be alert to deny a rasping Jon Taylor effort.

Marcus Bean’s miraculous equaliser © eadt.co.uk

On the stroke of half time, with their first real meaningful attack, the U’s somehow levelled the scores. Gavin Massey’s pass into Clinton Morrison, saw the striker hold the ball up and lay it off to the waiting Marcus Bean. The midfielder hit a daisy cutter towards the corner that somehow escaped the grasp of Chris Weale and found the net.

It was a miraculous moment as the U’s were looking like sinking without a trace prior to the goal.

Into the second half the U’s played like lions. If ever there was a game of two halves, this was it. Colchester, with Eastmond pulling the strings was looking the better side in the second half, but that second goal eluded them.

The U’s had a great chance to take the lead when Alex Gilbey’s fierce drive was excellently blocked and then Eastmond had another at the far post but the ball would not bounce for him and the defender was able to divert the ball wide.

Shrewsbury struggled to create many chances against the depleted U’s with Jon Taylor smashing their best chance high and wide of the target.

David Wright’s hamstring injury added to the U’s woes © eadt.co.uk

Colchester managed to survive the last five minutes to pick up a point, but another injury was added to the list, when David Wright’s hamstring also gave way at the death. It was clear to see Wright had been struggling, but a last ditch clearance by the former Crystal Palace man finished him off and saw him replaced by Macauley Bonne, making his professional debut for the U’s.

Where Walsall felt like a defeat, this result against the Shrews almost felt like a victory, but it still meant that the U’s winless run continued.

It was at Shrewsbury last season when things started to go pear shape for the U’s, but could this be the point which changes our season for the better?

Next up saw high flying Peterborough United travel to the WHCS and after being demolished 5-1 in the Carling Cup against the same opponents with a side with hardly any injuries, I don’t think even the ardent U’s fan could see Joe Dunne’s men getting anything from this game.

Cian Bolger joined the club on loan from Bolton Wanderers and was put straight into the deep end against Posh.

I was really surprised by the U’s fight as they got into the faces of the Peterborough and closed them down to stop them having any real freedom on the ball.

It was an up and down game of football with chances at both ends. Posh had the first chance of the game when Michael Bostwick leaped highest to meet a Lee Tomlin corner, but fortunately for the U’s, the ball flashed just wide of the target.

Elliot Lee had a great chance to put the U’s ahead moments later, as the youngster making his home debut, dispossessed Grant McCann and raced towards goal. Unfortunately, he spoilt his good work with a poor effort, shooting high, wide and handsome.

Another flowing move saw the U’s create another excellent chance, when Clinton Morrison’s superb hold up play, saw him tee up Craig Eastmond. With just the ‘keeper to beat, the U’s midfielder could only hit a tame effort, which the thankful Olejnik saved with his legs.

The two chances seemed to wake the Posh up and they enjoyed a period of dominance where they really should have taken the lead. Tommy Rowe made the most of a bouncing ball in the penalty area and lashed an effort, which Sam Walker superbly saved and Magnus got a good block on the rebound to divert the ball wide for a corner.

The final chance of the half fell to Colchester, who had soaked up a lot of pressure to launch an attack of their own. Clinton Morrison again linked well with Craig Eastmond, who hit a sweetly struck shot with his left foot that beat Olejnik, but struck the top of the bar to deny the midfielder his first goal of the season.

Into the second half, the Posh started slightly the better as they looked to take advantage of the U’s injury crisis. Lee Tomlin had the best chance, but fired into the side netting as an early warning to the U’s.

It was to be Tomlin’s last real involvement in the match however, as he tussled with Eastmond off the ball, clotheslining Craig Eastmond, wrestling style, before giving him a kick to help him down. Referee Stuart Attwell missed the tussle, but the assistant referee immediately signalled to Attwell about the altercation and Tomlin was given his marching orders. Tomlin then went ballistic as he marched off, launching foul mouth tirades at the assistant ref and the ref himself, before kicking the water bottles up into the air, much to the delight of the U’s fans.

The red card appeared to fire up the visitors who were dominating the possession, but stout defending by Okuonghae and the debutant Bolger kept the Posh from creating any clear-cut chances.

Macauley Bonne capped off his home debut & 18th Birthday with a goal to remember cu-fc.com

Joe Dunne made an inspiring change after an hour; with Macauley Bonne being introduced on his 18th birthday for the veteran Clinton Morrison, a move I felt was very brave at the time.

It turned out to be a game changing moment when Bonne powerfully headed Luke Garbutt’s excellent cross into the net. It was a great moment for the players and fans alike, and a wave of pressure seemed to be lifted.

The U’s just had to hold on to this lead and came under ferocious pressure from the visitors with two penalty claims being waved away by Attwell, much to the dismay to the Posh fans. I have to admit that the second one looked like a penalty, but the U’s had a penalty shout of their own turned down when Bostwick kicked Elliot Lee into the air and you just had to look at the defender’s reaction to know that it was a spot kick.

Colchester had a great chance to wrap the match up at the death when Eastmond broke through the midfield and into the final third with options both left and right. Sammie Szmodics was released through on goal, but Olejnik gobbled up his weakly struck effort.

In the final seconds of injury time, Peterborough was given a free kick, resembling the Walsall game. Tyrone Barnett rose highest to head the ball across the face of the goal, from the resulting free kick, but fortunately for the U’s, there was no one there to put the ball into the net and seconds later the match was over, with Joe Dunne’s side earning their first three points since August.

Next up for the U’s was a trip to Rotherham’s New York Stadium for the first time. For the first time in a long while, the U’s had no new injury worries and was able to name an unchanged line up for the trip to South Yorkshire.

The U’s got off to the perfect start from a corner kick routine which bamboozled the home defence. Luke Garbutt’s inswinging corner found Marcus Bean, whose diving header found the net off the post.

Cian Bolger had a nightmare against the Millers © cu-fc.com

Colchester’s lead did not last long however, as a deep, floated cross was missed by Cian Bolger and allowed Matt Tubbs in on goal, to finish past Walker and into the net for an immediate equaliser. I felt at the time that Bolger should not have even attempted to win the header, but turn and face the striker, however having seen the replay, he had to go for the ball and it was rather disappointing that he managed to miss it completely.

It was a horrendous goal to concede for the U’s and it did not get much better ten minutes later when a corner into the U’s box, saw Bolger get the ball caught underneath his feet. The young loanee saw the ball squirm away from him and straight to Kieran Agard, who swept the ball into the net to put the Millers into the lead.

It was turning into a nightmare for the young Irishman, who was second to every ball against former Braintree and Southend striker Alex Revell.

The U’s really struggled to get to grips with the Millers after a bright start and it became one-way traffic heading towards Sam Walker’s goal. Ben Pringle was running the show in the middle of the park, with the U’s unable to get near the midfield man.

Sam Walker kept the U’s in the game with a couple of fine saves © zimbio.com

Mark Bradley was the next to go close for the home side as a free kick into the box caused havoc amongst the U’s ranks, and the centre back was alone at the far post as he powerfully headed the ball at goal, only to be denied by a fantastic stop by Sam Walker.

Colchester were really struggling to get a foothold against the home side and were wasteful in front of goal with Jeffrey Monakana ballooning a close range effort over and Brian Wilson also shooting wide of the post from distance.

Matt Tubb’s almost grabbed his second before the half ended, but his attempted bicycle kick went over the bar, much to the relief of the travelling U’s fans behind the goal.

The U’s felt aggrieved right at the end of the half when Adam Colin raced of his line and appeared to catch the ball out of his area as Elliot Lee chased a long ball down. Neither the referee’s assistant nor the referee appeared to see it and play continued.

Into the second half, the Millers continued to dominate proceedings without really testing Walker in the U’s goal.

Colchester really should have found an equaliser on the counter attack when substitute Macauley Bonne fed in Luke Garbutt. The young Everton loanee only had Adam Colin to beat, but dragged his effort wide.

The chance seemed to wake up Steve Evans’ side that had two excellent chances to seal the match, firstly, when Alex Revell’s goal bound header was deflected into the arms of Walker and then Tubbs unleashed a low shot at the near post, with Walker managing to pull off a good save.

Rotherham thought they had the game won in the 75th minute when Mark Bradley met Ben Pringle’s free kick and saw his header beat Sam Walker. However, the assistant referee had put his flag up with Alex Revell deemed to be in an offside position and interfering with play, a decision that riled the home support.

Colchester had struggled to get into the game, but Joe Dunne’s subs and formation change saw the U’s start to get a bit more of a grip as the minutes rolled down.

Alex Gilbey’s long range effort saw Colin palm the ball clear and nearly into the path of Szmodics as the half was coming toward its end.

Four minutes injury time was announced which seemed to spur the U’s into a late rally. Steve Evans’ side looked to wind the clock down with a couple of substitutions and The Millers looked to keep the ball in the corner to preserve the points.

A break from the U’s, two minutes into injury time saw Andy Bond try an acrobatic attempt from the edge of Rotherham’s box. However, his shot floated harmlessly over and looked to put an end to the U’s resistance.

Elliot Lee with the U’s injury time leveller © whufc.com

Not to be denied, the U’s had one final flourish. Macauley Bonne’s long throw into the box caused havoc for the Millers and forced a corner. The resulting near post corner from Luke Garbutt was headed as far as Alex Gilbey on the edge of the box; his header was flicked on by Bolger, and then nodded further on by Okuonghae, before Elliot Lee looped the ball over Colin and onto the bar. The ball looked like it had bounced over the line and the referee’s assistant agreed, instantly waving his flag to indicate the goal. It was a goal that Barnes Wallis would have been proud of and gave the U’s an undeserved share of the spoils.

Colchester have really had to stand up and be counted and in the last few games, experienced heads Magnus Okuonghae, Marcus Bean and Clinton Morrison have really come to the fore.

Magnus has had to deal with many new centre back partners this season and has been a real tower of strength these last few weeks. He has got better and better this season and if he continues to play as well as he has done recently, we maybe seeing some bids come in for his services come January.

Marcus Bean started the season on the bench but has come into the team recently and been a real driving force in midfield with some energetic displays. He has also scored his first two goals of late, which have turned out to be vital. It was perhaps, the one area that you could say that Beano had lacked in his game as Colchester United player so far. Although Bean had a bit of a mare in the second half after moving out wide left on Saturday, when played through the middle, Bean has made himself near undroppable at present.

Clinton Morrison has stepped up to the plate during the U’s injury crisis © cu-fc.com

Clinton Morrison came into the side against Brentford and has not looked back since. Clinton is such an intelligent player. You can clearly see why he played football in the Premier League and at international level. His awareness and positional sense is really second to none, it is just a shame that his legs are not what they were. Even when Jabo Ibehre returns to fitness, I would like to see Clinton remain in the side. Morrison has worked hard to break into the first eleven and deserves to stay there. It would be lovely if we could provide him with some goal scoring opportunities, as I still believe he has the quality to put the ball into the net. At the moment, Clinton is the one providing the chances, which is something you cannot complain about.

When you consider that last season we had a horrific losing run (23 defeats in total), only drawing five away from home and surviving it gives me great hope that we will be fine this season. When you consider we have already drawn five away from home, with so many injuries, once these subside, things can only get better.

Also, the introduction of some of the youth players and them not looking out of place can only be good for our future prospects (My next blog will be on the U’s youth talent this season).

This Saturday sees struggling Sheffield United come to down in the first round of the FA Cup. I am hoping we can get quite a few fans in and proceed to the next round, but seeing the club have closed the East Stand, it might be a reflection of what to expect. Anyway, onwards!

Much, Much Bigger Team 0 – 1 Relegation Favourites

Gills v U’s match report

Joe Dunne made a return to the Priestfield stadium this weekend as his U’s side travelled to Gillingham for the opening day of the 2013/14 season. The Irishman started his career at the Kent club and was given a warm reception as he took to the field prior to kick off.

Martin Allen had done the U’s team talk for them, describing the Gills as a much, much bigger club than the U’s and further commented that he knew nothing about Colchester, but proceeded to confirm that he knew the players, how we play and how we’d line up. I knew Allen was a bit strange, but these comments took the biscuit. If ever there was mind games gone wrong, this was it.

The U’s had to stand up to a barrage of one-dimensional, typical Martin Allen football, with the football team prevailing to claim the points late in the game.

Colchester lined up how I imagined they would in the blog preview with a fluid 433 formation. Kemal Izzet was a surprise (for me) omission along with new signing Sanchez Watt. The back four picked itself in my opinion, whilst Marcus Bean and David Wright partnered Craig Eastmond in the centre of the park. Freddie Sears and Gavin Massey lined up on the flanks and Jabo Ibehre was the lone frontman for the U’s.

I thought Gillingham started brightly as you would imagine. The quick tempo proved too much for Gills full back Matt Fish, who went down injured within the first five minutes and had to be subbed.

Despite their quick start, the League One new boys didn’t really look like troubling the scores.

The U’s started to get themselves together early in the half and I thought Jabo Ibehre should have done better from a Freddie Sears centre. The powerful forward smashed his shot over the bar as the chance went begging.

Sam Walker made a top save to deny Kedwell © gazette-news.co.uk

It was quite an entertaining start to the game with end to end football that lacked any end product. Sam Walker had to be on hand to tip a Danny Kedwell effort onto the corner of the post and bar. I have read quite a few reports on the game and none are giving the young Chelsea loanee any credit for a really impressive save.

At the other end the U’s looked to beak the deadlock, but Sears saw a curled effort go wide and Ibehre’s miscontrol let him down as he looked to go through on goal.

The U’s were looking comfortable and were able to deal with every thing Gillingham threw at them. The final chance of the half came from a free kick in a dangerous position on the verge of half time, but a tame effort from Joe Martin was easily saved by Walker.

Into the second half the Gills forced a number of corners, but despite their superiour height advantage, they were unable to make any of their set pieces count, despite the U’s not being overly brilliant in defending the balls into the box.

Brian Wilson had to be on hand to save the U’s early in the half as a David Wright error allowed Cody McDonald through on goal. The U’s full back made an excellent tackle to deny the former Witham Town striker a chance to shoot and yet another corner was given.

Despite the home team dominance, they had nothing to show for their efforts and Colchester had a great chance to take the lead. Ryan Dickson, making his U’s debut, sent in a delicious cross, but midfielder Marcus Bean could only shin his effort straight at the U’s nemesis in the Gillingham goal, Stuart Nelson. The former Brentford ‘keeper seems to follow Martin Allen around like a bad smell and always seems to save his best for when he plays against the U’s.

Both sides proved to be rather wasteful in front of goal, with substitute Myles Weston blazing an effort miles over when well placed and Jabo Ibehre also shot straight at Stuart Nelson on the turn.

U’s substitute Alex Gilbey had a great chance with his first touch as he found himself in a great position, but could only head his effort straight at Nelson. Gilbey had another great chance from a similar position, this time after great work down the right from Gavin Massey, but again the young midfielder could only plant his header straight at Nelson, and his reaction showed he knew he should have done better.

The U’s began to look a lot more dangerous in the final quarter of the game, but still had to be wary of the threat from the home side as they pushed forward. A defensive lapse allowed the Gills a chance late on, but Martin saw his shot fly narrowly wide of the crossbar.

Bond passed the ball into the net to earn the U’s the points © football.co.uk

Just as the match looked destined to end in a draw, a swift counter attack gave Dunne’s men a late, late lead. Alex Gilbey’s beautifully weighted pass allowed fellow sub, Drey Wright the chance to burst through into the Gills box. The young winger excellently spun Leon Legge and laid off the ball to another substitute Andy Bond, who made an instant impact in sidefooting his first touch of the ball into the back of the net.

Three minutes of injury time passed, but the U’s held on with consummate ease to earn their first three points of the season. Interestingly, the U’s have not been defeated in their last five opening day fixtures following the final whistle.

Gillingham

S Nelson, A Barrett, L Legge, J Martin, M Fish (S Butcher, 5), S Gregory, C Lee (A Akinfenwa, 62), C Whelpdale, A Linganzi, D Kedwell, C McDonald (M Weston, 56)

Subs not used: B Dack, A German, G Howard, C Davies

Colchester

S Walker, B Wilson, R Dickson, M Okuonghae, C Eastmond (A Bond, 87), M Bean (A Gilbey, 74), D Wright, T Eastman, J Ibehre, F Sears (D Wright, 78), G Massey

Subs not used: C Morrison, J Thompson, T Olufemi, M Cousins

Attendance: 6792

Man of the Match: David Wright

My Pennies Worth

I felt it was a rather entertaining game of football that could have gone either way. To be honest neither side really looked like threatening the scores, but I was glad to see the U’s defend rather stoutly.

Ryan Dickson made his competitive debut for the U’s © gazette-news.co.uk

We had a couple of dodgy moments and it was clear to see that Gillingham were targeting Ryan Dickson as Sears is not the greatest in helping the full back out. I felt it was a great debut for Dickson, who defended well and showed just how important he will be to the U’s cause this season with some brilliant crosses into the box.

I felt for all U’s remained comfortable on the ball and I was pleased we did not overdo it with the passing football at the back.

Craig Eastmond will be a huge player for Colchester this season. The former Arsenal midfielder just looks so, so classy with the ball at his feet. His tracking and position is also very good, but his passing is first class. I would like to see how many passes he made and just how many were successful, because his vision and ability to pick a pass is very impressive.

Eastmond’s class was partnered with the workmanlike David Wright and Marcus Bean, who I also felt had a really good games. I have always written in the past about the importance of winning the midfield battle and I felt the U’s came on top in this game.

My Man of the match – David Wright had an excellent game © cu-fc.com

Wright was my man of the match with a great display. It was no thrills and no nonsense from the former Palace man who seemed like he had something to prove against a Gillingham side who he spent time on loan at last season prior to joining the U’s. He appeared to be everywhere and stopped the Gills in their tracks. The only blot on his copybook was allowing McDonald a chance early in the second half and a shocking effort after Ryan Dickson squared the ball to him from a free kick.

I also felt Gavin Massey picked up from where he left off last season. Gav does a lot of work which fans do not appreciate. His covering of Wilson was excellent in the first half and showed just how important he is to the side. He looked to have worked on a few tricks in the summer too as he looked a dangerous threat in the second half. He showed great composure to get his head up and pick out Gilbey, whereas a lot of the time last season, he’d have not looked and just smacked the ball into the box.

Martin Allen used his remaining subs pretty quickly in the second half and they never really seemed to pay off, whilst Dunne’s subs had a great impact in winning the game for the U’s.

Alex Gilbey helped the U’s claim all three points. © elite.gd

I have to admit that I thought it was a brave move to introduce Gilbey into the game, but I had nothing to be worried about as the eighteen year old took it all in his stride. He should have done better with his two efforts, but he brought a fresh impetus into the midfield and got the U’s moving in the final third.

I absolutely love the goal we scored. Gilbey was the creative force, producing a wonderful pass for Wright. Gilbey just knew the U’s wideman would get onto the end of the ball, but Wright showed great ability to get the ball to Bond and the rest is history!

It is always nice to start the season with a victory and I have to give a mention to Sam Walker in the U’s goal. Despite not having much to do, he made a fantastic save from Kedwell and looked dominant aerially.

We still look a little short in attack, but when do go forward, we do look quite dangerous. We just need a little bit more quality in the final third to achieve our aims.

Season Preview 13/14

U’s season preview 2013/14

The football season is finally upon us once again and it will be a debut full season for the U’s rookie manager Joe Dunne.

It is fair to say last season was full of highs and lows. John Ward started last season as manager, but only lasted eight games as results and falling attendances counted against him. Ward was really rather unpopular with the fan base and never really endeared himself. His replacement and current boss, Dunne, had no such problem as he knew everything there is to know about Colchester United. Unlike under Ward, the fans got behind Dunne and  backed him to the hilt despite results going horrendously wrong on the pitch.

I think that will be a key factor to this season. Dunne is very much in the Phil Parkinson mould and has helped to strengthen a bond between the fans and the club. This has been seen in the number of season tickets sold within the opening few weeks of going on sale.

What is interesting to me, is that since January, the U’s had quite a decent run of form. After the Scunthorpe defeat in mid January, the U’s did win more than they lost and picked up four draws which saw them to safety.

Craig Eastmond was first through the door this season. © cu-fc.com

A good start is definitely needed as last season proved. The U’s have bolstered the squad with Craig Eastmond, Sanchez Watt and Ryan Dickson, joining the club on a permanent basis. Daniel Pappoe and the returning Sam Walker have both joined on loan for six months from Chelsea.

Joe Dunne was quick to identify his transfer targets and the signing of Craig Eastmond was a remarkable coup for the club. Dunne had to wait longer than he wanted for Sanchez Watt, but persistence paid off as the winger penned a two-year deal.

Another coup for Dunne was the re-signing of Jabo Ibehre to a two-year deal. The powerful striker turned down offers to move to pastures new to stay in Essex.

It didn’t go all of Dunne’s way this summer, as he saw his first choice for left back, Ian Harte, join Championship side Bournemouth and the second choice, a loan bid to re-sign Bradley Garmston declined by his parent club West Brom. Another loanee Dunne wished to re-sign was Billy Clifford, who joined Yeovil on loan.

The left back position remained an issue for the U’s with Macclesfield Town’s, Craig Braham-Barrett, trialling and making three appearances, but looking short of what the club were looking for. Former Southampton left back Ryan Dickson was the next to trial in the left back berth and he did enough to impress the U’s boss and penned a one-year deal, late last week.

Outgoing, Matt Heath was released by the  club and John White turned down a new deal to join Southend, whilst John-Joe O’Toole was sold to Bristol Rovers for an undisclosed fee.

Having watched nearly all the pre-season games this season, I have a few concerns about the team.

The first concern is the defending of set pieces. Against West Ham and Ipswich we conceded from set pieces and although James Collins goal was a little bit more difficult to prevent, the Ipswich goals were both basic marking errors and the inability to get the ball clear shows there is work to be done. The second is goalscoring and goal creation. Another concern is the lack of strength in-depth in attack and defence.

Daniel Pappoe – Unlikely to start in my opinion © cu-fc.com

I actually think the defence is not looking too badly. I would start the season with Magnus Okuonghae and Tom Eastman at the back, whilst the full backs pick themselves. Daniel Pappoe has looked very classy on the ball and appears more able to play the total football that we are aiming for, but I have some question marks about his concentration and position. He has tendencies to chase his man down, rather than stand his ground and also against Maldon, he missed the flight of the ball completely and was unable to catch his man as he prodded past Cousins. Whilst Magnus has his lapses, I thought we saw him returning to his best towards the end of last season and I feel he is better aerially than Pappoe. Also you cannot forget that Pappoe is yet to make a professional appearance and could you really risk playing a rookie alongside Eastman? I am not so sure personally.  Waiting in the wings is Josh Thompson who is a capable defender but lacks that bit of something to be a first team regular. Tosin Olufemi has been one of the highlights of pre season with his displays against West Ham, Spurs and Ipswich. He has proved he could be an able deputy should Wilson get injured, but I wish he was a tad taller. Michael O’Donoghue has also done his chances no harm, but I’d like to see him go out on loan to gain first team experience. It is a little troubling that we have a lack of experience in reserve, but we will just have to see what happens injury wise.

As for the midfield, unfortunately for the U’s,  Craig Eastmond has been missing for large parts of pre season after an ankle injury suffered against Heybridge Swifts in the very first run out. Alex Gilbey has stepped out of the shadows and shown that he has the ability to be a good player, but I am not 100% sure he is ready for a regular starting spot in the midfield at the minute. I love the way that Gilbey demands the ball off of defenders and looks to use it well. I just feel it is vital to get off to a good start and that we need a more experienced head in midfield. I definitely feel there is a space for Gilbey in the squad however.

Club stalwart Kemi Izzet has had a good pre season for the U’s © cu-fc.com

People may disagree with me, but I feel Kem Izzet has been really outstanding this pre season and even at 32 years old, he has shown he has brilliant fitness levels. Whilst his passing is still a little bit off, his hard work, leadership and positioning is definitely beneficial to the side. David Wright has also impressed me in pre season and I really would not be surprised to see the two veteran midfield men partner Eastmond on the opening day. Marcus Bean has put in a shift in every game he has played and has also scored three goals this pre season. The former Brentford man has shown a better all round game and has certainly put himself in contention. He was superb at the start of last season, but lost his way a little under Dunne and will be looking to push for a starting spot. Andy Bond is the other midfield man and I have personally been a little disappointed with Bondy. He has looked like a spare part whenever he is played and I am not so sure he will fit into a midfield two if we line up 4231. I feel his best position is just in behind the striker. Bond has really clever movement in an around the box. He also strikes a ball cleaner than most players, but lacks that bit of pace to be a top player. I can imagine him going out on loan at some point for first team football.

We do not have much dynamism in the midfield and that is a little concerning. I’d like to see a little bit more creativity in the centre of the park.

One noticeable aspect of pre season has been a lack of goals from the forwards. I remember watching pre season last season and thinking exactly the same.

The U’s won more games when Jabo Ibehre played last season © cu-fc.com

Jabo Ibehre will undoubtedly start against Gillingham, but I am worried about the amount of goals he will score. Far too often he goes out wide for the ball and no one comes in off the wing into a central position. Too often there is a hole in behind Ibehre and this is something we will need to work on. I’d like to see Sears play in that position in behind Ibehre, but I am not sure we will line up like that. But Dunne loves attacking football so who knows? One thing that is for certain is that we won far more games with Ibehre than we did without him. He is a vital member in attack and I worry what will happen if he got injured as I am not too sure about Clinton Morrison. He is by far one of the most intelligent players on the pitch, but it appears to me his legs are not as quick as his brain. He also is not at all suited how we wish to play. I think he could do a decent job in behind the striker, but I am not sure he will notch too many goals this season. I would really love him to do well because he gives 100% every time he steps on to the field and I felt he had a decent game against Tottenham.

On the flanks, Drey Wright has signed a new three-year deal and has looked really impressive. I do worry about his defensive side of the game and that is why I think Gavin Massey will start ahead of him. Massey showed great work rate last season and added a few goals. He does lack the ability to breeze past defenders but I feel that is the only real negative in his game. Sanchez Watt will start most games for us and he can be a real match winner for us when he is on form. At the moment he still looks painfully short of fitness, but I think he could easily be our star man.

I do think our defence will be stronger than last season and I do not think we will be as leaky at the back. I really like Sam Walker and I feel he gives a much better presence, so I expect him to be starting the season ahead of Mark Cousins. I feel the back five are experienced enough to stop any silly goals and will get better and better.

Goal scoring remains an issue and I am not sure how this will be addressed as we do not have the budget for it. I would like to see Freddie Sears get amongst the goals and have a feeling he will be top scorer. I don’t think we will be pushing for promotion or the play offs but a comfortable 12th position beckons. I think we have more than enough to defy the bookies and stay away from relegation, but a lot of that depends on injuries as we lack the strength and depth in my opinion.

In terms of line up I’d expect to see us line up at Gillingham:

Walker

Wilson Okuonghae Eastman Dickson

Wright Eastmond Izzet

Massey                                                       Watt

Ibehre

During pre season we have played with  433 and 4231. For an away game and a game where a good start is vital, I think we will be rather conservative and line up with the 433, with a fluid midfield and pace on the flanks. I would love Gilbey to start, however when you are up against a Martin Allen side, it will probably be a battle and I would prefer to see our battlers in the middle to compete.

My personal preference would be:

Walker

Wilson Okuonghae Eastman Dickson

Eastmond   Gilbey

Wright                   Sears                     Watt

Ibehre

The only trouble with this line up is that it is far too attacking, but on paper it is absolutely mouth-watering.

I am really looking forward to how the season pans out and I think we have a good side and Dunne will have learned a lot after last season. I certainly feel there are weaker sides in the division and that on our day we can beat most teams in the division.

Our home form has been a bit troubling in the last few seasons and I feel that we must make the Weston Homes Community Stadium a fortress if we want to finish as high as possible.

Player to watch: Sanchez Watt

Top Goalscorer: Freddie Sears

Final Position: 12th

U’s fall to defeat in the A12 Derby

Colchester United 0 – 3 Ipswich Town at the WHCS © cu-fc.com

The U’s slumped to a 3-0 defeat to near neighbours IpswichTown in the A12 derby on Tuesday night.

Prior to the match, I felt confident the U’s could create problems for the Suffolk side with the pace on the flanks and balls through the centre of the park.

Ipswich lined up with quite a large physical side in attack and defence, which saw the U’s struggle to cause much problem for Mick McCarthy’s men.

Walker was on hand to deny McGoldrick twice in the opening half © gazette-news.co.uk

Right from the start Town grabbed the initiative and could have been leading within two minutes after Sam Walker had to stretch to push McGoldrick’s fierce effort onto the bar and moments later former U’s man Anthony Wordsworth headed the ball into the stands.

Colchester just could not get going, mainly down to how well organised Ipswich were in all areas of the pitch. The U’s had been playing neat passing football from the back in their other pre season games, however Ipswich just stopped the U’s in their tracks and forced us to go long to Clinton Morrison who showed plenty of effort and determination, but struggled with the physical presence of Luke Chambers. McGoldrick was the main attacking threat for the away side and he was denied a goal with an effort from range by a smart diving save by the U’s giant custodian.

The U’s struggled against set pieces last season and it was from a corner that Ipswich took the lead, when the unmarked Chambers headed Wordsworth’s floated corner home powerfully. It was deeply frustrating to see the tallest man in the Ipswich side not even picked up by any of the U’s defenders.

It was equally galling minutes later, as another set-piece caused havoc in the box. Tosin Olufemi toe poked the ball into the path of McGoldrick who volleyed the ball through the crowded box and into the net for the second.

It was too easy for Ipswich who for all their possession, had not really created much until the goals.

Colchester continued to toil, but there was just a lack of edge in attack. Sears was full of running, but seems to have a lack of confidence with the ball at his feet. He does not seem to know where he is running to beat a man and often runs out of steam. Sanchez Watt also had no joy as he simply had no time with the ball at his feet. Clinton Morrison was the lone front man and he did all he could to bring the ball down, but he needs the ball into his feet and not his head and all too often it was aimed high. It was fair to say that Ipswich were a typical Mick McCarthy side, well organised and a good physical presence.

Eastmond returned earlier than expected for the U’s. © greenun24.co.uk

One promising sign to the first half was the return of Craig Eastmond after recovering from injury, after the horror tackle against Heybridge. He lasted 30 minutes into his comeback before being replaced by Gilbey.

Half time saw many changes in the U’s ranks with only the back five remaining the same.

It rather amazed me how quick the U’s came out of the blocks in the second period.

Alex Gilbey was thrust in a rather alien position on the right wing and Drey Wright began to cause havoc on the left with a number of darting runs. Kem Izzet and David Wright got into the act pushing forward too!

I have been impressed with Izzet this pre season. He looks full of energy and reminded me of his early days when he first joined the club. He made bursting runs forward and even at times being the furthest man forward.

Jabo Ibehre offered a much better physical presence and seemed to thrive on the battle with the Ipswich centre backs, but the U’s were restricted to long range efforts which Dean Gerken was comfortable with.

In fact I can only remember only one real save of note for Gerken in the second half and that was from Drey Wright cutting inside and forcing the former U’s ‘keeper into a diving save to push the ball out for a corner.

The U’s dominated the possession in the second half, but just lacked the cutting edge in the final third. I felt Andy Bond had his best game of pre season in behind Ibehre and he looked to shoot from range on every occasion, much like when he first arrived from Barrow.

The second half was a complete reverse of the first half where the U’s nullified Ipswich completely and looked the only side in the game.

Despite dominating, a swift counter attack saw the Tractor Boys grab a third from the spot. U’s ‘keeper and Ipswich fan, Sam Walker wiped out Darryl Murphy as he went through on goal and the Irishman dusted himself down and sent Walker the wrong way to give a rather uneven look to the score line.

I felt a tinge of disappointment after the match, but the reality of pre season is that it is a work out to see what fits best and work out where your frailties lie. Ipswich did what they needed to do and were clinical when capitilising on the U’s mistakes.

It is obvious that we lack height for set pieces, but the marking has to be better and also we need to be more creative with balls into the box or work more on the short corners against bigger and physical sides like Ipswich, as League One is full of them.

Ryan Dickson impressed at left back © Skysports.com

I would like to see more ball carriers in midfield and see us run at people a little bit more on the flanks. Massey is another one who looks a little cautious beating a man, but he is defensively very good and has an excellent work rate, so I do think overall he does offer a lot. The full backs looked to get forward whenever they can and I was especially impressed by Dickson’s attacking qualities and delivery in to the box. I feel he would make a good addition to the squad once he is 100% fit, as it is clear, like with Sanchez Watt, that he is missing that little bit of an edge at the moment. On the other flank, I would have liked to see Olufemi run with the ball and attack his opposition full back rather than cut inside or back on himself as it allowed Ipswich to stop us countering and stop any momentum in its tracks.

Another thing I would like to see us improve on is better and more intelligent runs from the centre of midfield and from the wide men when Ibehre goes out wide to receive the direct balls to his chest. He is very good at taking the ball down and holding it up, but we never have anyone running off him for him to use the ball. Bond made some intelligent runs second half, but as he was the only one offering anything, his runs was easily tracked.

It was a decent work out for the U’s last night and Dunne should have learned a lot from his side. I felt the 3-0 score line did not really reflect how the match went, as Ipswich did not really create many scoring opportunities and only ever looked dangerous when the excellent McGoldrick had the ball. The second half was pleasing on the eye and gives fans reason for optimism for the coming season.

Colchester have another game against Histon tonight before the final friendly against Maldon and Tiptree this weekend and it should be a decent test for the U’s to further work on their pre season preparations.

Line Ups

U’s: Walker, Olufemi (Wilson) Okuonghae, Eastman (Pappoe), Dickson (O’Donoghue), Eastmond (Gilbey), Bean (Izzet), Sears (Bond), Massey (Da Wright), Watt (Dr Wright), Morrison (Ibehre).

Ipswich: Loach (Gerken), Veseli (Hammond), Cresswell  (Mings), Chambers (October), Smith (Berra), Tabb (Carson), Skuse (Hewitt), Hyam (Berkane), Wordsworth (Lawrence), Nouble (Murphy),  McGoldrick (Taylor).

Man of the Match – Luke Chambers (Ipswich) – I felt Chambers was a real rock at the back for Ipswich and capped his performance with a good headed goal. He won most balls in the air and showed great positional sense and recovery when stopping Ibehre in his tracks when it looked like the U’s man was through on goal.

Drey Wright was my pick of the U’s players on display, he rounded his full back with ease and was doubled up on later in the half. Provided the U’s biggest threat going forward and linked well with Ibehre and Dickson.

Att: 4585