6th January 2024
Swindon Town vs Colchester United @ The County Ground - Swindon
EFL League Two
15:00 KO
£27 entry
Attendance - 7,564 (329 away fans)
Half-time score: Swindon Town 2-1 Colchester United
Goals:
Swindon Town: Austin - 18' (P)
Swindon Town: Brewitt - 43'
Colchester United: Jay - 45'+ 2'
Colchester United: Ihionvien - 94'
Brief match highlights are on YouTube, see link below:
Final Score: Swindon Town 2-2 Colchester United
Since the New Year's Day game, and the dismissal of Matty Etherington, it has all been going at Col U. The next day, a new striker in Conor Wilkinson was announced, signed from Scottish Premiership team Motherwell, a player with a proven track record in League 2 and replacement for the recalled Joe Taylor. The following day, the new management team was announced, and when I first saw it I did not believe that it could finally be happening as due to their Essex roots they always linked to the top job at Col U, but finally the Cowley brothers, Danny & Nicky, had actually signed for Col U, I had to pinch myself!! It is fair to say that I was absolutely buzzing and this was shared by the Col U fanbase, chairman Robbie Cowling had finally brought in someone with a proven track record, this feels a real momentous occasion, almost a re-birth of our slowly dying club. And, luck would have it that I was already planning to go to the Swindon Town away game, seeing family nearby to exchange some belated Christmas presents, I would be at their first game in-charge! With only 48hrs with the team before this game, I was not expecting miracles, I was just hoping for more fan engagement and more effort from the players, all I wanted to see was some improvement from the recent abject, flat performances.
With the chaos caused by the recent flooding, I decided to drive into Swindon, negotiating the infamous Magic Roundabout en-route to a town centre high-rise car park 10mins from the ground. Once at the ground I picked up a programme for £4, seemed a bit steep considering the already expensive £27 ticket, but it was thick, high quality and decent read.
Once in the ground, I grabbed one of the large chicken, bacon and leek pasties, washed down with a bottle of Stowford Press cider, beautiful. I then made my way to the top of the stands, with great views of the Wiltshire hills one side and Swindon town centre on the other, where I witnessed the players come out to warm-up. Joining them were Danny & Nicky Cowley who came straight over to us to clap our efforts supporting the U's, great touch! Despite only a short time with the team, the warm-ups looked different and more organised, with the Cowley brothers co-ordinating things, stark contrast to the Etherington games. Before long, Swindon Town were lining up in their home red shirts, with Col U in their away yellow on a mild Winter's day.
KEY MOMENTS
ST = Swindon Town
CU = Colchester United
15' - ST - A strong start for a galvanised Col U, but the first big chance of the game falls to the hosts as they are awarded a free-kick deep in Colchester territory. The chipped delivery from Hutton is clever and Shade cuts in down the near-side, having beaten the offside trap, he chests down the ball and volleys, but the effort from a narrow angle is well stopped by Goodman.
18' - ST - PENALTY & GOAL (1-0) - A penalty is awarded during a Swindon Town set-piece, but I am not sure for what, nothing obvious happened, typical Col U luck....Up steps Swindon captain, and renowned bagsman Charlie Austin who blasts the ball down the middle, with the diving Goodman no where near it.
21' - CU - Col U respond well, applying a lot of pressure. Hopper knocks down a long ball to Matt Jay, his effort on the half-volley from 20 yards flies narrowly over the bar.
22' - CU - Col U win the ball immediately, courtesy of a hospital pass from keeper Ward, Matt Jay is played in, his blasted effort is blocked, Chilvers recycles the loose ball and whips it into the box from the left, a fine headed effort from Hopper is well saved by Ward to redeem himself, so close.
23' - CU - Iandolo bursts into the box from the left and is taken out, but this time no penalty as the referee waves play-on....
33' - CU - Hopper is through on-goal, but his shirt is pulled by Godwin-Malife and he is brought down outside the box, but again nothing given....
43' - ST - GOAL (2-0) - Hutton lofts a high ball into the box from the right, Austin's headed effort is blocked by Mitchell, but the deflection falls to Brewitt at the far-post, he takes a touch to control the ball and blasts the ball into the roof of the net from the narrow angle, despite the fortuitous bounce, it has to be said that it was a fine finish.
45' + 2' - CU - GOAL (2-1) - Col U take a quick corner, Chilvers plays a 1-2 with captain Hall then whips the ball in from the left, the more favourable angle helps the delivery and the smallest player in the box, Matt Jay, gets a glancing header on the ball to help it beyond Lewis Ward into the goal, important goal just before the break, game on!
48' - CU - Col U almost equalise early on in the 2nd half, powerful strikes flying in from Matt Jay and Hopper being desperately blocked by the Swindon defence, the Jay strike cleared from off the line, but the U's cannot find the net.
49' & 65' - CU - On two occasions, Iandolo is cynically taken out as he bursts in off the left wing, but the referee gives nothing on both occasions, snuffing out two promising Col U attacks.
94' - CU - GOAL (2-2) - After over 45 mins of constant Col U pressure, they manage to bag an equaliser in the final moment of the game! A Noah Chilvers corner is curled into the middle, under pressure Ward fumbles, substitute and new signing Conor Wilkinson back-heels the loose ball towards goal, it ricochets off Ihioniven and into the net, cue euphoria and absolute limbs in the away end, what a moment, and well-deserved.
WHAT. A. FINALE!!! The celebration after the late equaliser was up there with any, and began a chorus of loud non-stop chanting until all players had gone into the tunnel, with us Col U fans invigorated with a new sense of hope, following a series of long, difficult seasons, flirting with relegation out of the EFL. Certainly the happiest I've felt watching the U's for a long time. With only a short time with the team the differences were stark, the players worked tirelessly, showed passion and drive and did not give up until the end. The Cowley brothers were barking orders from the touch-line all game, really geeing up the team, and they relentlessly went for the result, the U's dominating the 2nd half and ending the game with 4 strikers on the field, unheard of in years gone by. And it paid off, with the U's stealing a deserved late equaliser, followed by a brilliant moment with Danny Cowley getting a yellow card for over-celebrating! I do have to mention the referee, who was awful, but I've detailed it above so won't go into it more than that, suffice to say the U's weren't getting the decisions. I appreciate that it is early days, and there is a lot of work to do to get the U's moving up the league and away from the drop-zone, but the early signs are positive that the club is moving in the right direction. I am over the moon, I feel like I have my club back, and I hope the upcoming results can back this up. The next game, a home fixture against Bradford City, is sure to be a cracker and I would expect a bumper home ground to welcome in the new managers, with the South Stand absolutely rocking. All that left to say is, UP THE U'S, UP THE U'S, UP THE GOOD 'OL WHITE AND BLUES!!!
Line-Ups:
SWINDON TOWN: Lewis Ward, Udoka Godwin-Malife, Tom Brewitt, Harrison Minturn, Remeao Hutton, Saidou Khan, Liam Kinsella, Williams Kokolo, Jake Cain, Charlie Austin (C), Tyrese Shade. SUBS: George McEachran, Ricky Aguiar, Brooklyn Genesini, Anton Dworzak, Sonny Hart, Miles Obodo, Redman Evans.
COLCHESTER UNITED: Owen Goodman, Connor Hall (C), Tom Dallison, Zach Mitchell, Ellis Iandolo, Arthur Read, Marley Marshall-Miranda, Jayden Fevrier, Matt Jay, Noah Chilvers, Tom Hopper. SUBS: Conor Wilkinson, Owura Edwards, John Akinde, Bradley Ihionvien, Will Greenidge, Sam Hornby, Al-Amin Kazeem
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