Gillingham (0) 0
Colchester United (0) 0
Att. 4,948
Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/5,085
Match Report
This has been a tough week at Priestfield Stadium. A poor second half last Saturday at Swindon was followed by a FA Cup exit at League Two side Accrington Stanley with a performance described by those that braved the trip as characterless, spineless, gutless and a few other less printable adjectives.From the chairman, through the manager and players to the humble supporter there has been much soul searching that has led to criticism from all quarters, none less than Paul Scally himself. A response was needed and credit to the chairman who backed his manager to the tune of three new loan players who were all drafted straight into the starting line-up.
In his after match interview, Mark Stimson was full of praise for his team, but what would the paying public make of this performance, could they see beyond the fact that this was a turgid game with very little in the way of entertainment from either side?
Colchester United are not a team that are built to be easy on the eye. They are a huge lump of a side with a battering ram of a strike force in the shape of Kayode Odejayi and Clive Platt, but their fourth place standing confirms their effectiveness. They also came to Priestfield with something to prove having shipped 12 goals in their last two games.
Darren Dennehy, loan signing from Cardiff City, can be taken as the first of the positives. He sometimes looked less than assured on the ball, but alongside Josh Gowling, manfully stood up to the challenge that was presented by the physical presence of the Colchester front two.
Five changes in total were made from the side humbled at Accrington with youngsters Jack Payne coming into midfield and Tom Wynter moving across from central defence to take on the left back position vacated by Chris Palmer and hereby is another plus. Wynter looked comfortable and his delivery was a good deal better than that offered by Palmer of late.
It was Wynter’s ball over the top that freed Simeon Jackson for an early opportunity that the striker lobbed wide. From an attacking viewpoint (and that goes for both sides) it was as good as it got in a first half that was dull, dull, dull.
New loan signings, Rene Howe from Peterborough and Tristan Plummer from Bristol City had very limited opportunities to impress as the game sleepwalked its way to the break. Plummer was played on the left in the opening 45, didn’t have a great half, but improved in the 15 second half minutes that he was on the pitch having been switched to the right hand side. Howe, on the other hand, did very well in the second half. He showed a good touch, held the ball up well and, given time, he could forge a fruitful understanding with Jackson.
Two big moments in the second half could have won the game for either side. On the hour Howe released Andy Barcham, whose cross from the byeline narrowly evaded everybody and in the final five minutes Alan Julian was forced into his first meaningful save when he pushed a Kevin Lisbie header onto the bar.
There were a few boos at the end, but they were fairly muted. Perhaps a sense of pragmatism has pervaded Priestfield. We are in a fight to stay in this Division and a point at home against a top four side is not to be sniffed at. The commitment, so sadly lacking at Swindon and Accrington, was evident and more of the same needs to be taken into the away fixtures, beginning on Tuesday at Hartlepool.
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