EFL League 2: Colchester United 1-1 Barrow AFC
- jsredman1
- Feb 5, 2023
- 5 min read
4th February 2023
Colchester United vs Barrow AFC @ Colchester Community Stadium - Colchester
EFL League Two
15:00 KO
£20.50 entry (includes a free programme)
Attendance - 3,203 (approx. 75 away fans)
Half-time score: Colchester United 0-0 Barrow AFC
Goals:
Barrow AFC: Whitfield - 57'
Colchester United: Appiah - 96'
Brief match highlights are on YouTube, see link below:
Final Score: Colchester United 1-1 Barrow AFC
Since I last watched the U's 1 month ago, there have been some big changes to the squad with some new signings in Matt Jay, Tom Hopper, Arthur Read, Fiacre Kelleher and Connor Hall and loan signings Connor Wood, Tom Smith (on loan from Arsenal and not Thetford Town!) and Will Greenidge. It is great that the board has backed Matt Bloomfield and I was excited to see the new look team, although disappointed to see that Luke Hannant and Tom Eastman have gone out on loan, Hannant has been my favourite player this season, his winner against Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup will live long in the memory, and Eastman is a Col U legend. Since the New Year, Colchester have been one of the form teams in League 2, but they faced difficult opposition in Barrow AFC, sitting 9th in the table, although encouragingly having a dip in form having lost 2 on the bounce. That being said, I was expecting a response, with hitman Billy Waters the big threat, and last time I saw Barrow in Colchester they got a 2-0 win.
I did the usual at the ground, parked at the Park & Ride and walked over the A12. I caught the end of the Norwich City game in the fan zone who got pumped at home by Burnley, then I went into the shop and picked up one of the new grey sweatshirts with a classy sliver eagle logo on it. I made by way into the South Stand concourse, grabbed a classic Rollover Cheeseburger then picked up one of the complementary programmes, this time with Kelleher on the front celebrating a goal, and with Tchamadeu in the centrefold - I am so glad we managed to keep him, there were rumours of him being poached by none other than Ipswich Town.
Today's game took place on a pleasant warm and dry Winter's afternoon, with Col U in their home blue and white stripes and Barrow in their away black strip. Before the game, it was announced that this game was Luke Chambers 779th appearance in the English football league, and with this milestone he makes the top 10 list of all time, what an incredible achievement!
KEY MOMENTS
CU = Colchester United
BA = Barrow AFC
2' - BA - In the opening moments of the game, Barrow cross the ball into the box and a glancing header from captain Canavan has O'Hara beaten, but the balls hits the post and rebounds back into play from which Col U clear.
12' - CU - An attack down the right-flank sees Read with the ball, his pass across targets Chilvers, free in the centre of the box, he strikes the ball first time but his effort is straight at keeper Farman.
16' - BA - Barrow counter after a poor backpass from Skuse is intercepted, the move ends with Whitfield flashing a volley across the face of goal, just wide.
25' - CU - A well taken corner from Read almost curls in at the far post, forcing a fingertip save from Farman.
34' - CU - A well worked attack from Col U sees them switch the ball from side-to-side, with Wood eventually putting in a cross that is met by Hopper, the ball cannons off the post and rolls through the six-yard box until it is cleared by a defender.
57' - BA - GOAL (0-1) - Feely fires in a deep cross from the right wing, all three defenders cannot get onto the ball and it falls to Whitfield at the far post who nods home.
64' - CU (MISSED PEN) - A clever throughball from Tchamadeu sees a straight footrace to the ball between Akinde and Farman, Akinde gets there first, his effort is blocked by Farman but the follow-through wipes ohim out and the referee points to the spot. Farman only receives a yellow card, which was fair to be honest. Akinde steps up to take the penalty in front of the home fans, but his poor effort is saved by Farman much to the dismay of the U's fans.
78' - CU - A long ball releases Hopper, he is shepherded out to the left of goal but still manages to find the space to squeeze off a shot across goal, but it is wide of the far post.
88' - CU - Tchamadeu whips in a ball, it is collected by Farman but he spills the ball, it falls to Akinde whose snaps off a reaction shot, but Farman makes a save and the ball goes out for a corner.
96' - CU - GOAL (1-1) - From a Read corner, the ball drops down to Hall who stabs the ball towards goal, it is blocked but the ball meets substitute Appiah close to the far-post and he blasts in an emphatic finish to send the crowd wild.
Another late goal from the U's to seal a point, it was carnage in the South Stand with limbs everywhere, nothing beats the ecstasy of when you think you've lost and things change in the dying moments, this is why I love football! And it was well deserved, Col U carved out enough chances to at least share the points, and on another day they could have won. Having said that, despite the wholesale changes, the performance was not too different to old overall, but some of the new signing did look good. Kelleher was my pick of the bunch, and Read and Hall also put in a strong shift, but substitutes Akinde, Appiah and Newby all made a big impact when they came on, encouraging signs that the squad has strength in depth which will hopefully see us safe this season. Barrow were a stereotypical tough, big, streetwise northern side, full of power and strong in the tackle, and Col U did seem to struggle against this at times, as they always tend too to be honest. Next up is another northern team in Grimsby Town away, a game I plan to be at and I cannot wait! Heres to another big performance and I hope that we come back to East Anglia with something, UP THE U'S, UP THE U'S, UP THE GOOD OL' WHITE AND BLUES!!!
Line-Ups:
COLCHESTER UNITED: Kieran O'Hara, Luke Chambers (C), Fiacre Kelleher, Connor Hall, Junior Tchamadeu, Cole Skuse, Arthur Read, Connor Wood, Noah Chilvers, Tom Hopper, Samson Tovide. SUBS: Tom Smith, Will Greenidge, Kwesi Appiah, Ossama Ashley, Alex Newby, Matt Jay, John Akinde.
BARROW AFC: Paul Farman, Patrick Brough, Niall Canavan (C), Sam McClelland, Rory Feely, Sam Foley, Harrison Neal, Elliot Newby, Ged Garner, Ben Whitfield, Billy Waters. SUBS: Josh Lillis, Josh Kay, Tom White, Robbie Gotts, Tyrell Warren, Jake Young.
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