bring back the cowshed!
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- 1 Oct 2005
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- Alan King, Barry Dyson
Well, what a pleasant sunny day in England's oldest town. To add to my comments above, the second half was fairly similar to the first, although as legs got tired, there were a few end-to-end spells. We started the half well with a goal. Caprice and Norwood linked on the right wing. The cross was hit by Jennings and it was partially cleared off the line but Perkins followed up to smash it into the net. This effectively killed the game, as the U's gradually lost heart as the game progressed. I didn't think Colchester were a bad side, but the difference in confidence level was a major factor.
In terms of the individuals, I thought Scotty was very sound and didn't make a single mistake with the few shots which came his way. Jake posed a continual threat down the right flank and this contributed to the second goal. Rides had a mixed game with his tackling OK but he gave the ball away too often with poor passes. Ellis and Monthe were immense and soaked up everything that came their way. The U's were reduced to shooting from outside the area. I thought Ollie played below par and I was not surprised to see Jay replace him to see the game out, although in my view the weaker link in midfield was McCullough who could not cope with the pace of the game and often had to foul his man. Pringle looked lively early on but Micky wisely replaced him with Morris who looked a lot more effective in keeping possession. Connor was Connor - not his best game but he probed, tidied up and ran his heart out. Nors saw very little of the ball but put in his usual shift and took his goal well. He was winding up the U's defence at the end, holding the ball up and taking a lot of stick. I think he should have been protected and taken off with 15 minutes to go, as he and Scotty are the two players we can't easily replace. It would have been good to let Mullin or Dagnall get a runout. MOM for me was David Perkins, the oldest man on the pitch by far but one of the liveliest. He's a tenacious tackler and deserved his goal after that superb assist. It's a shame he got himself unnecessarily booked late on.
Finally, a word for the SWA who sang for the whole 90 minutes, accompanied by the drummer. The turnout was superb for such a long trip. We are now in touching distance of Mansfield and (if we beat them at home) MK Dons. It is going to be an exciting end to the season.
In terms of the individuals, I thought Scotty was very sound and didn't make a single mistake with the few shots which came his way. Jake posed a continual threat down the right flank and this contributed to the second goal. Rides had a mixed game with his tackling OK but he gave the ball away too often with poor passes. Ellis and Monthe were immense and soaked up everything that came their way. The U's were reduced to shooting from outside the area. I thought Ollie played below par and I was not surprised to see Jay replace him to see the game out, although in my view the weaker link in midfield was McCullough who could not cope with the pace of the game and often had to foul his man. Pringle looked lively early on but Micky wisely replaced him with Morris who looked a lot more effective in keeping possession. Connor was Connor - not his best game but he probed, tidied up and ran his heart out. Nors saw very little of the ball but put in his usual shift and took his goal well. He was winding up the U's defence at the end, holding the ball up and taking a lot of stick. I think he should have been protected and taken off with 15 minutes to go, as he and Scotty are the two players we can't easily replace. It would have been good to let Mullin or Dagnall get a runout. MOM for me was David Perkins, the oldest man on the pitch by far but one of the liveliest. He's a tenacious tackler and deserved his goal after that superb assist. It's a shame he got himself unnecessarily booked late on.
Finally, a word for the SWA who sang for the whole 90 minutes, accompanied by the drummer. The turnout was superb for such a long trip. We are now in touching distance of Mansfield and (if we beat them at home) MK Dons. It is going to be an exciting end to the season.