Off to deepest Essex to do battle with the “U’s”, who currently lie mid-table with a perfect palindromic record - W2 D2 L2 Goals 6-6. We are currently 3 points adrift of that position but we would need a win of 0-3 or better to do the leapfrog, and surely even our most optimistic fans wouldn’t predict us to score 3 goals in 90 minutes…
Colchester United’s current League 2 form looks like this:-
Aug 3 Port Vale (H) Drew 1-1
Aug 10 Plymouth Argyle (A) Lost 1-0
Aug 17 Cambridge United (H) Lost 1-2
Aug 20 Grimsby Town (A) Drew 2-2
Aug 24 Northampton Town (H) Won 1-0
Aug 31 Oldham Athletic (A) Won 0-1
There are no current player connections between the two clubs, but on the managerial side John Ward has been at both, and of course we can’t overlook the mercurial RoyMcDonough - as player/manager he guided the U’s back to the Football League from the Conference whilst on his way to establishing a record that apparently still stands today … 22dismissals!!
Darrell Clarke used the largely meaningless game against Coventry City to see how some of the fringe players performed - Jack Rose and Shay Facey may well have given him food for thought. He will also be more aware of which players could be overlooked in case we get any penalties. Incidentally, that game at St. Andrews was watched by a bumper crowd of 1,005 - it must have been like a mausoleum.
Prediction? Not much chance of our scoring 3 in this one, and perhaps it’s pushing the boat out a bit to even think of a single goal … but in an optimistic frame of mind we could perhaps come away with 3 points from a 0-1 win, the goal courtesy of Rory Gaffney?
1-3
No idea who might score though, but I’ve got my new fangled IPTV being installed tomorrow with 4 gazillion channels, so I can now watch every game.
Happy days
Expecting a tough game, surely our side has to click at some point. Can’t see it being this weekend though. Colchester 2-0 Walsall. It’s going to get worse before it gets better in my opinion, but it will get better eventually.
First of all tip my hat to anyone going, if you’re going by train then have to go in and out the other side of London so good three hour trip. Coach will be a nightmare aswell. I believe the ground is a mini Reading, soulless and miles out of town.
As for the game will be semi optimistic and go for 1-1. I look at Colchester’s attacking options (Luke Norris, Paris Cowan Hall, Theo Robinson, Franck Nouble and Callum Harriott) and that’s the depth and variety you need to challenge for promotion from league 2. They’ve had a slow start but picking up now, won their last two 1-0 so that seems a very likely scoreline.
Reality is I can’t see team keeping a clean sheet against that attack and it’s hard enough to score one goal at present. Grimsby last week was a really poor defeat.
I remember that. Wasn’t it something like 2 up in no time, then 3-2 down in next to no time then think Walsall went back up 4-3 and there was last minute equaliser involved. Whatever happened to Freddie Sears who was their best player in those days.
When you look at what happened that was a costly two points dropped. Colchester finished bottom I think and Burton went there right at the end of the season and won 3-0 (same day as the apocalypse at Bradford).
