9th December 2023
Colchester United vs Crawley Town @ Colchester Community Stadium
EFL League Two
15:00 KO
£21.50 entry (includes a free programme)
Attendance - 3,132 (257 away fans)
Half-time score: Colchester United 0-1 Crawley Town
Goals:
Crawley Town: Kelly - 41'
Crawley Town: Orsi - 64'(P)
Colchester United: Taylor - 97'
Brief match highlights are on YouTube, see link below:
Final Score: Colchester United 1-2 Crawley Town
With the rampant rain, it was touch-and-go whether this one would go ahead or not, but thankfully it was not a wasted journey down to North Essex. It was an important game for the U's who after the new manager bounce are on a frankly dismal run, going down 4-0, 3-1 and 4-1 in recent games, coinciding with captain Connor Hall and keeper Owen Goodman out with injuries. Opponents Crawley Town are mid-table, with so-so form, the sort of team Col U should be beating at home if they wish to climb the table, although recent games have seen Crawley Town get the better of the U's. I was pleased to see Goodman starting for the U's, as well as Matt Jay, with big John also back and on the bench, expectation was high!
Todays programme had Joe Taylor on the front cover, who scored a hat-trick against Thetford Town a few seasons back, with Cameron McGeehan in the centrefold.
Despite the earlier downpours, it stayed dry throughout and was relatively mild, with a fairly strong gusting wind in the background. Col U came out in the famous blue and white stripes, with Crawley Town in their all red home kit, hence their Red Devils moniker.
KEY MOMENTS
CU = Colchester United
CT = Crawley Town
3' - CU - Read chips a ball over to release Taylor down the right wing, he squares the ball in, but it is just beyond the reach of the sliding Tovide.
13' - CU - Read steps up to take a free-kick from a good position. He curls in a left-footed strike, it is struck superbly and is heading towards the near top right corner, but it does not quite dip in time and travels over the bar, skimming the net on its way out.
37' - CU - A Matt Jay corner swung in at the near-post is hooked towards goal by Greenidge, but the effort is just wide.
37' - CT - The Crawley keeper collects the dead-ball quickly and punts it high up-field to release Kelly, he is through on goal and takes the ball into the box, but Egbo covers back well and makes the challenge moments before the shot is fired off. Route one nearly unlocking the Col U backline.
41' - CT - GOAL (0-1) - A slick first touch pass sees Wright released down the right, he squares in a ball, but it is cleared straight back to him, with his second go he then cuts the ball back to find Kelly open in the box, who neatly tucks the ball into the bottom right corner, through the flailing Col U defence, a well taken goal but some sloppy defending.
64' - CT - GOAL (0-2) - More lax defending from Col U, a ball is cleared backwards, skewing off the boot of a Col U player and falls between three defenders, but none are sharp to it and a Crawley attacker gets in and stabs the ball forward, the winger then squares to Tsaroulla who is taken down by Read as he covers back, Crawley actually score on he follow-up but the referee had already blown his whistle and play is brought back for the penalty. Up steps No.9 Orsi who clinically blasts the ball into the net, giving Col U a steep task to get anything out of this game.
75' - CT - Despite being 2-0 up, it is Crawley who pressure the Col U box and look most likely to score. A loose ball falls to Wright whose snap volley has pace and swerve, but Goodman gets across well to turn it around the post to concede a corner.
80' - CT - Some abject defending from Col U sees substitute striker Lolos through, a loose ball gifted to him, but Goodman reacts quickly, shuts down the space and chaperones him out for a goal-kick.
91' - CU - Nearly an own-goal from Crawley, substitute Cooper pressurises Williams as he tries to deal with a bouncing long ball, he tries to pass back to the keeper, but hitting the ball in the air he puts too much on it, it looks in at the near-post, but is fractions of an inch wide, so close!
96' - CT - Crawley nearly sew this game up, a poor long ball is mopped up and Darcy is put free down the right, he brings the ball into the box and shoots across the keeper, his effort skipping narrowly wide of the far-post.
97' - CU - GOAL (1-2) - Route one from Col U, Taylor latches onto a howitzer of a kick from keeper Goodman, he controls the ball well, takes it forwards, and despite having his shirt tugged, stays strong and composed to chip the ball over the onrushing Ashby-Hammond, and with 4 minutes minimum of stoppage time remaining, could Col U pull another back? In short, no, but they did try.
I must say, Col U have lost their style, that zip and drive, that atmosphere and spirit since Garner was sacked, a decision I was never a fan of. The team looked flat and dejected and Matty Etherington was a ghost, not sure I really even saw him as he sat like a statue on the bench for most of the game....Col U started well, but as the game progressed Crawley looked more comfortable on the ball and started to pressurise the Col U box, winning most 2nd and 3rd balls. After some manic scrambling moments, one eventually paid off as Crawley took the lead. Col U huffed and puffed to get back into it at the start of the 2nd half, and more abject defending led to the chance for the 2nd goal, after which, the Col U heads went down until stoppage time, they were lucky to only be two down. The U's came to life the final 10mins, and came close to pulling back a point, but it was not to be on the afternoon, and not deserved really. I also do have to mention the referee, there were a lot of inconsistencies, with Col U seemingly on the sharp end of these decisions, and this seemed to crush any momentum. By all accounts, this was the referee's first game at this level, not a vintage start. In any case, relegation is very much on the cards, it does not look good, and the next fixtures are incredibly tough. Hope something changes soon, but I will be back of course, UP THE U'S!!!
Line-Ups:
COLCHESTER UNITED: Owen Goodman, Zach Mitchell, Fiacre Kelleher (C), Mandela Egbo, Will Greenidge, Cameron McGeehan, Arthur Read, Matt Jay, Jayden Fevrier, Joe Taylor, Samson Tovide. SUBS: Noah Chilvers, John Akinde, Chay Cooper, Mauro Bandeira, Tom Smith, Tom Hopper, Frankie Terry.
CRAWLEY TOWN: Luca Ashby-Hammond, Laurence Maguire, Dion Conroy, Jay Williams, Nick Tsaroulla, Ben Gladwin (C), Will Wright, Kellan Gordon, Adam Campbell, Liam Kelly, Danilo Orsi. SUBS: Klaidi Lolos, Ronan Darcy, Harry Forster, Ade Adeyemo, Kamarai Simon-Swyer, Corey Addai, Travis Johnson.
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