Colchester came away from Boundary Park with a creditable draw but it should have been another win to help ease the relegation fears.

In a spirited gesture the Oldham announcer thanked the six Colchester supporters who were present at 8am to help clear the covers from the pitch, which had ensured that the frost had not taken too much of a hold on the surface. The pitch itself was remarkably good with a healthy covering of grass albeit a little bumpy in parts. Some of the players on both sides also seemed to slip at inopportune times.

We arrived in good time, the traffic was light on the M6 and the car park was negotiated without too much fuss. As many of you know the car park surface is rough with large pot holes and in parts it resembles a demilitarised zone.

Boundary Park is going to have a new North stand with 2,500 seats and conference facilities for 500. It should be ready in time for the 2014-15 season. The car park will also be redeveloped.

The faithful were present in good number and were very vocal throughout. The official figure was 185 but I would have thought that we had exceeded the 200 mark in a crowd of 4,244.

The weather was bright and sunny and about 5 degrees but the biting wind and dust storm outside the ground made it seem much colder.

A coffee was very welcoming immediately prior to kick off. The first surprise was that Billy Clifford had been relegated to the bench but otherwise the team selection from JD had a familiar ring to it.

We still badly miss Freddie Sears and Tom Eastman and Porter’s suspension is another disappointment. On the plus side it was good to see Drey Wright given a start in a 4-4-2 formation:

Walker

Wilson Magnus Thompson White

Bond Wright (David) Massey Wright (Drey)

Ibehre Smith

Subs: Garmston, Heath, Cousins, Clifford, Compton, Bean, Morrison

Sadly we had to kick towards the faithful in the first half, but as it turned out we were able to see the Colchester goal at close quarters and the impressive link up play between Jabo Ibehre, Michael Smith and Gavin Massey

Oldham were nervous in the opening exchanges and Colchester settled quickly. Both sets of supporters traded insults but it was the very vocal Colchester faithful who were first to celebrate. The industrious Bond hit a shot which he appeared to scuff badly and it trickled towards Bouzanis in the Oldham goal. He managed to spectacularly palm the ball straight to the grateful Wright who despatched it into the roof of the net after 20 minutes. It was a classy finish.

Cue choruses of “dodgy keeper” and he was badly affected by this howler and had a shocking half of football. Now at this stage not only did we deserve to be in front but also with a little more fortune we would have scored two more goals.

Oldham were visibly shaken by the goal and the defence were reluctant to involve Bouzanis very much preferring to concede corners or to hoof the ball forward. For his part the keeper often cleared long seeking the strikers but often miss or over hit the clearances leading to howls of derision from the faithful.

Shortly afterwards the Oldham mascot Chaddy the Owl came and stood by the corner flag closest to the Colchester faithful clearly frustrated by his errant keeper’s antics. I shouted and enquired whether he might take over in goal and he suggested by his actions what he thought of the keeper and indicated that he might have been “on the pop” the previous night. He then lay down behind the goal immediately in front of the advertising hoardings. The humour helped to ease the tension in what was a tight match.

Shortly afterwards a bizarre incident occurred. Baited by the Oldham supporters one of the Colchester young lady supporters decided to cross the police crime scene yellow tape which was festooned onto the seats immediately to the right of where we were sitting. She strode purposefully towards the baying crowd insulted by the language and comments from the opposition supporters. They threw objects at her and just as she was about to reach them two stewards manhandled her and ejected her from the ground.

Now whilst the incident drew much humour the fact is that it should not have happened. She should have been prevented by her fellow supporters from going into “the no man’s land” and consequently would not have been removed from the stadium.

So half time was reached with 3 added minutes and Colchester deservedly led 1-0. Another coffee and a meat and potato pie sustained my sons and I from the elements.

The second half started and we anticipated an onslaught from the home side. It failed to materialise but they did start to use the ball a little better helped by the dangerous Lee Croft and the lively Jose Baxter.

Now the difference between a “top six team” and Colchester this season is our inability to finish teams off. We should have been 2 goals to the good by the time that Croft crossed for Baxter to head powerfully in off the crossbar after 69 minutes.

Now JD had been advising Marcus Bean to warm up for some minutes before the goal was conceded and it was felt that he should have been brought on 5 minutes earlier. So 1-1 and a sense of frustration was felt by the faithful.

Bean immediately replaced the tiring Smith and Massey was pushed further forward. Indeed he and Drey Wright also switched wings. Now Josh Thompson managed to get his foot on a clearance which from three yards out just cleared the bar of Walker’s goal. The nerves were jangling.

However we were playing purposelessly and the excellent Ibehre was unlucky when heading powerfully against the Oldham bar on 75 minutes.

Referee Haywood was becoming increasingly fussy as the match wore on and it was apparent that he was penalising Colchester players whilst allowing a good deal of Oldham latitude for similar transgressions.

JD shored things up on 86 minutes when Garmston came on for Massey. Garmston was played in an advanced left sided position and White continued at left back. The tiring Drey Wright was substituted on 89 mins by Clinton Morrison but this was nothing more than running the clock down. Referee Haywood managed to find 5 additional minutes, but these were negotiated without alarm.

It was good to see the players acknowledging the faithful at full time. I would like to see JD also come over; perhaps he was disappointed with the result but as the faithful often chant his name he should respond accordingly.

The league table is still tight:

We have 5 matches to play in 26 days:

The points target is still a minimum of 50 with 53 guaranteeing safety. It is still in our hands and we must keep going up to and including the Brunton Park game.

The players showed plenty of commitment and effort, none more so than Jabo Ibehre. His work rate is tremendous and he covers every blade of grass. One particular piece of skill saw him in the corner surrounded by three defenders, not only did he outwit them but also he played a ball which was only just short of creating a dangerous opportunity.

Sam Walker was once again very calm and collected. Good handling and responsive when required, the BMW of goalkeepers. Brian Wilson relishes the Captain’s armband and puts in some telling crosses. Magnus Okuonghae was solid once again and Josh Thompson still learning his trade was a good ally at the back. Johnny White is an adequate left back but I felt he gave Croft too much space at times.

Andy Bond is back to his best and was consistent in the middle of the park. I thought that David Wright didn’t have his best game since coming to Colchester but he still played some superb through balls for the forwards to run onto.

Gavin Massey is at his best going forward and not helping out as a makeshift left back. Drey Wright will “tear you apart” as the faithful opined. His goal was well executed.

Michael Smith battled hard for little return, whilst MOTM was the outstanding Jabo Ibehre.

Saturday sees the U’s entertain the Orient. The opportunity for a double and three welcome points would bring the U’s within touching distance of safety.

Up the U’s

Photo: Action Images

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