EFL League 2: Colchester United 1-1 Walsall

28th March 2026

Colchester United vs Walsall @ Colchester Community Stadium

EFL League Two

15:00 KO

£23.65 entry

Attendance - 4,904 (346 away fans)

Half-time score: Colchester United 0-0 Walsall

Goals:

Walsall: Burke - 64'

Colchester United: Anderson - 68'

Brief match highlights are on YouTube, see link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6uv6IVQs9w

Final Score: Colchester United 1-1 Walsall

With life events taking over this season, getting to Colchester has been difficult, so this is only my 2nd game watching Col U, not what I had hoped at the start of the year. Colchester have had a frustrating season, some huge dominating wins over the top sides, but everytime it looked like they were going to break into the play-offs they have fallen short, and with injuries now taking their toll, the season is nearly over. With 9 points to make up in the 6 remaining games, it is highly unlikely, so I think anything less than a win today and the season is over, with Col U firmly in the mid-table. A lot of our season has been played out on a backdrop of reducing funds and prospective American and even Brazilian owner, but nothing has come to fruition yet, and with the meagre funds we have done well to be nowhere near the drop zone, testament to the brilliant job the Cowley's have been doing.

It was a weird afternoon weather-wise, from blue skies to a hailstone shower, the only consistent thing being the persistent winds and cold bite in the air. The pitch looked in great shape, much improved from last season. Before long the teams were lining up, the Col U fans putting on another great flag display, with Colchester United in their blue and white stripes, and Walsall in red and black stripes.

KEY MOMENTS

CU = Colchester United

WA = Walsall

11' - CU - A short corner is taken to Payne, he finds Bishop who curls the ball in and Williams is on the end of it, his headed effort flying narrowly over the bar.

21' - WA - Walsall win a Col U throw-in, a couple of headers forward and Pattison with the ball in the box lashes a ferocious strike at the near-post, forcing Macey to make a fine reaction save, pushing the ball out for a corner.

23' - CU - Ball crossed in by Payne from the right, Anderson ghosting in from the far-side looks to be on the end of it, but is millimetres away from connecting!

29' - WA - Adomah with a marauding run down the left wing, he finds Loupalo-Bi with the ball in the box and he flashes across Macey, forcing a diving save, the effort pushed wide for a corner.

32' - CU - Bishop cuts inside from the left, the space opens up for him and he drives in a side-footed strike, it looks in and the net ripples, but it had skimmed wide, the wind making the net move, I thought that one was in!

40' - CU - Payne wins the ball and immediately hits a stinging left-footed effort from just outside the box, Roberts gets down and parries the ball away, Anderson competes for the loose ball and Walsall defender Browne dives across him and takes him out, but somehow the referee gives a free-kick to Walsall! Bizarre decision right in-front of S1, if anything, should have been a penalty to Col U. Another game, another s**t referee officiating at Col U.....

45' - CU - A Colchester corner ball is whipped in, it drops down right in front of Anderson, the ball seems to get stuck between his feet and he only manages a tame effort, any power on that and it should have been a goal.

50' - CU - Great play from Williams to release Lisbie, he has a pop from outside the box, his deflected effort looping over the bar.

53' - CU - Payne with the ball on the right, the covering defender slips and Payne cuts inside the box, he fires in a strike but somehow it does not go in, great stop from Roberts!

57' - WA - Walsall set-up a 2-on-1 down their left, results in a strike at the near-post from Loupalo-Bi, effort is slammed into the ground and bounces, but Macey is not phased and catches the ball.

64' - WA - GOAL (0-1) - Some loose play at the back and Read is caught in possession, and he concedes a foul as he tries to recover. The free-kick in in the perfect place, it is fired in towards the bottom left-corner by Hancock, Macey gets down well to make the stop, but the ricochet falls to Burke, who has reacted the fastest, and he slots the ball across Macey and into the net, and the visitors take the lead.

68' - CU - GOAL (1-1) - Perfect response from Col U, a Read corner whipped into the near-post and Anderson with the headed effort finds the net, game on!

70' - WA - Walsall straight through the middle, the final ball sets-up Lakin perfectly, just as he is about to pull the trigger Tucker flashes in and makes a fine sliding challenge to prevent the effort, for what looks like a goal-saving challenge.

81' - STOPPAGE - Something I have never seen before at the football, a 5 minute stop in play, with the players heading down the tunnel, due to a drone flying over head! It buzzed off as fast as it flew in, but the referee had procedures to follow. This kicked off a few interesting chants from S1, random scenes!

93' - CU - Col U score the winner, Anderson slots Tovide in, he takes it in close to the keeper and beats Roberts with this strike, but despite crossing the line, the replays clearly showing this, the officials deem that Harper cleared it off the line and the play continued, absolute joke!! A very fitting Col U way to essentially end the season.

With that result, that is basically the end of any slim play-offs, but a win was deserved this afternoon, absolutely gutted for the lads. Yet more poor officiating sees Col U denied a goal and a penalty, and the finishing is also not up-to-standard, as the chances were there to take this game. I was surprised to only see 346 Walsall this afternoon, with their play-off hopes stronger than ours this was a huge game for them, and I felt that their players on the pitch also held back, despite how important 3-points are for them. At least their hopes are still alive but they will have to play better than that to get that final spot. Jack Payne was the Col U man of the match for me, such a class player, we need to keep him for the 26/27 season. I think today's game sums up our season, the quality is there, but not clinical enough on goal, and we have some rotten luck, we have the most refereeing apologies in the league. However, attention now needs to turn to the owners, it is clear that Robbie Cowling cannot take this club any further, a lot of issues stemming from his inability to keep investing, but who will come in, the elusive American investors? Either way, it needs to be sorted out early to give time to set things up for the next season. With 7 games still to go this year, I hope the U's fans can have something to cheer and get behind, next up another home game on the Bank Holiday Friday, hosting Oldham Athletic, let's hope for a win to make up for today, UP THE U'S!!!

Line-Ups:

COLCHESTER UNITED: Matt Macey, Kane Vincent-Young, Jack Tucker, Tom Flanagan (C), Ellis Iandolo, Arthur Read, Teddy Bishop, Kyreece Lisbie, Jack Payne, Harry Anderson, Jaden Williams. SUBS: Frankie Terry, Samson Tovide, Rob Hunt, Owura Edwards, Harrison Chamberlain, Finley Barbrook, Will Goodwin.

WALSALL: Myles Roberts, Mason Hancock, Harrison Burke, Aden Flint (C), Rico Browne, Charlie Lakin, Brandon Comley, Alex Pattison, Aaron Loupalo-Bi, Aaron Pressley, Albert Adomah. SUBS: Courtney Clarke, Jid Okeke, Jamie Jellis, Vincent Harper, Sam Hornby, Priestley Farquharson, Alfie Chang.