Colchester United (0) 3 Watt 49, Morrison 80, Sears 90+5
Gillingham (0) 0
Att. 3,818
Entrance: £13 Senior
Programme: £3
Mileage: 190/5,393
Match Report
The confidence that was borne out of the good win against Wolves last time out appeared to have been carried forward as Craig Fagan sent a cross onto the roof the net and Cody McDonald brought about a block from a goalbound shot in the opening couple of minutes but that was that. From that second minute effort to Weston’s 92nd minute attempt the shots on target amounted to precisely none.
Colchester United have proved a real bogey side in recent years. Gillingham have failed to beat them anywhere since 2005 and haven’t won at either of the Essex side’s headquarters since 1994.
A dull first half was only punctuated with good stops from Stuart Nelson who pushed aside shots from Craig Eastmond and Luke Garbutt, the latter of which was a parry back into the path of Eastmond who wastefully shot over.
The pitch was a pudding, it came as something of a surprise to find out later that it had been subject to an inspection, but it was the Gillingham midfield that were making heavy weather of it. Steven Gregory, whose performance against the Wolves might have gone a long way to winning over his critics, took a step backwards, but he was only one part of a midfield that surrendered two-thirds of the possession. A rather worrying statistic is that in the game against Wolves and the first half against Walsall, possession figures of just 35% were also recorded; if you haven’t the ball you cannot hurt the opposition.
Less than five minutes into the second half and Gillingham’s problems in midfield were fully exposed. Gregory lost possession in the centre circle, the ball was fed wide right to Brian Wilson who cross was despatched from close range by Sanchez Watt. Gillingham contested that the ball had passed through the legs of Marcus Bean and was thus interfering with play, but the Mr Drysdale was having none of it.
Colchester’s confidence from the opening goal visibly rose, in fairness they had been little better than their visitors in the first half, and as they mounted a period of pressure, Gillingham wilted. Nelson was asked to, almost single-handedly keep them in the game but all the time the deficit remained at one, there was a chance. Danny Kedwell might have done better when he headed over a Jake Hessenthaler corner but forays into opposition territory were as rare as rocking horse poo.
The match was finally put to bed with ten minutes remaining when a free kick from Garbutt was headed clear to the edge of the box from where Watt angled a drive towards the bottom right hand corner through a congested six yard box with Clinton Morrison getting the final touch. For some of the visiting supporters enough was enough and who could really blame them. It was a cold afternoon and there had been absolutely nothing on show to distract attention from the fact that the extremities were being bitten.
A couple of minutes from the end of the five minutes added time we also made our way to the exit. As we headed out we were able to witness Weston’s shot and the ironic cheers brought a smile for the first time that afternoon but we were well down the road towards the car when the roar from the crowd signified that Freddie Sears had driven home a third. I make no apologies for the early exit; there is only so much you can be expected to endure. From the distance of the road, despite the cheers of the home crowd, the derision of the Gillingham support could clearly be heard.
Before the end of the game, Peter Taylor took the wrath of the support with his touchline demeanour coming in for criticism, never venturing to the front of the technical area, standing motionless with arms folded. It didn’t cut a positive look, but he had every right to appear as fed up as the rest of us actually were.
Colchester’s move to an out-of-town site has furnished them with a stadium that cannot be compared with the derelict Layer Road. Even my penchant for old stadiums with character didn’t stretch to a love for that old tip! But I have an issue with the parking arrangements at the Community Stadium. An overspill car park that quickly fills is extortionately expensive at £8 and evidently can be a half-hour wait to get out of. A brisk 15 minute walk from the ground, parking spaces at the industrial units are charged at £6. Someone is making a real killing out of the visiting punters, because the home supporters are either taking the buses back into the city or they have family and friends waiting for them with the engine running on roads with parking restrictions.
After the pleasant surprise that was Wolves comes another low, such is the glorious inconsistency of this season. Swindon next up, now that is a time to put the smile back on people’s faces.
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