PREVIEW: A trip to Essex at the weekend

United face the U's on Saturday

10 February 2022

Carlisle make the long trek to Colchester at the weekend.

Colchester parted company with head coach Hayden Mullins midway through January when a defeat against Sutton proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

The 42-year-old origianlly took over as caretaker in March 2021, and was confirmed as the permanent boss shortly thereafter.

A haul of just five league wins from 22 outings meant the writing was on the wall, and former player Wayne Brown stepped in to tke the reins.

This is Brown's third spell in charge, having also occupied the hotseat in 2015 and again in February 2021, prior to Mullins being handed the role.

He is being assisted by Joe Dunne, who was U's manager from 2012 to 2014, with Alex Dyer having also left the club.

update

The U's went into their Tuesday night away game at Mansfield in a good run of form - four games unbeaten, which included two wins and two draws.

The Stags ended that run, but they were made to sweat after Alan Judge scored in the 97th minute (yep, that's 90+7) to give Colchester hope. It proved to be just too little to late and it was Mansfield who celebrated as they took their own run to 10 league games without defeat.

The departure of Mullins aside, January saw a flurry of window activity almost from the off. Defender Tom Dallison came in from Crawley on a 30-month deal for an undisclosed fee, and fellow defender Cameron Coxe made his loan move from Solihull Moors a permanent one.

Striker Corie Andrews penned a loan move from Wimbledon, and free agent midfielder Emyr Huws agreed a stay until the end of the season

More loan dealings followed as Owura Edwards winged his way in from Bristol City, as did left-back Myles Kenlock, who made his way from Ipswich.

Gillingham allowed experienced striker John Akinde to leave, and he subsequently arrived in Colchester on a two-and-a-half year contract, as Frank Nouble headed out the door to join Orient.

Deadline day brought three more new faces - Bradford keeper Sam Hornby and Villa winger Tyriek Wright have agreed loan terms, whilst Man City defender Camron Gbadebo also committed until the end of the season.

who watch

Colchester is where Freddie Sears made his name and he's already shown that it's where he feels comfortable with a heck of a return so far this season.

34 goals in 217 appearances for Ipswich had left him feeling 'ready to show people what I'm about again' and the experienced forward has done just that with 12 goals and two assists from 35 appearances.

He's a forward who knows where to be and when to be there - that's why he's our one to watch this weekend.

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highlights

	Carlisle wins	Draws	Colchester wins
League	18	12	21
League Cup	0	0	1
Total	18	12	22

The opening day of the 2021/22 season brought Colchester to Brunton Park and the teams slugged out a 0-0 stalemate in the summer sunshine.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Jon Mellish scored just before the half hour to put United in front in Essex in March 2021 but Callum Harriott turned things round with a brace to help his side to a much needed win.

Oh, and it was foggy!

You can try to watch the highlights from that game here:

The U's were at Brunton Park in October 2020 where goals from Lewis Alessandra and Jon Mellish put the hosts two goals to the good. Luke Norris netted a brace to level things up, but Aaron Hayden struck late to keep the points in Cumbria.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Colchester's visit to Brunton Park in March 2020 saw them pick up a 3-0 victory as they maintained their push for a top seven spot.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

We were at their place just before Christmas in 2019 and it was a day where Colchester took their chances and claimed the victory.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The February meeting during the 2018/19 season brought a hard-fought draw, with Hallam Hope giving the Blues the lead just after half time. The U's upped their game and they got their reward with an equaliser from Frankie Kent with just six minutes left to play.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Colchester were at Brunton Park just before Christmas that season for a game that went the way of the home side thanks to a blistering second half display. Hallam Hope had set the tone with a goal just before the break, and Jerry Yates, Jamie Devitt and Danny Grainger wrapped things up as they hit the back of the net in a second period which was all about the Blues.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The first meeting of these teams during the 17/18 season was for our October visit to Essex. It was a tight game, with both sides creating good chances, but a superb finish from Jamie Devitt proved to be the difference when he got on the end of a long ball forward before calmly slotting it beneath Walker's dive to find the bottom corner.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Back up at Brunton Park in February 2018 and Courtney Senior gave the visitors the upper hand with a well taken goal just before the break. The Blues came out for the second half in determined mood and Jamie Devitt pounced once more to claim a point for his side with just 10 minutes left on the clock.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

officials

Referee - Lee Swabey
Assistant Referee 1 - Darren Blunden
Assistant Referee 2 - Geoffrey Russell
Fourth Official - Gareth Viccars
Observer - Graham Horwood

Our referee for this game is Mr Lee Swabey. Lee has taken charge of 20 games so far this season showing 48 yellow cards and two reds.

Lee was in charge for our April 2021 trip to Newport where the sides battled out a 0-0 draw. Jon Mellish and Lewis Alessandra were booked on the night.

He was the man in the middle for our 1-0 away win at Crewe in November 2018. A feisty game saw Jerry Yates, Anthony Gerrard, Richie Bennett and Jamie Devitt receive yellows for the Blues, but Devitt was later in the book for the right reasons when he notched the injury time winner.

Prior to that we last saw him for our away trip to Newport in December 2017. A thrilling encounter saw the sides eventually settle for a share of the spoils off the back of a 3-3 stalemate.

Luke Joyce sparked a much better second half for United, after the Exiles had taken the lead just before the break, when he scored from very close range.

But it was nip and tuck the rest of the way and strikes from Tom Miller and Kelvin Etuhu were needed to make sure Carlisle had something to show for their efforts. No Carlisle names were taken on the day.

tickets

Tickets for this game can only be bought online via Colchester United's website.

Click HERE for step-by-step instructions.

Match Reports

MATCH REPORT: U's 2 - 2 United

Report from the weekend away game

12 February 2022

It was back on the road and into Essex for the Blues on Saturday afternoon.

And it was a change of formation for the Blues as they went with three central defenders and wing-backs on either side as they looked to bring an end to a run of four consecutive defeats.

Mitchell Roberts made his debut on the left-hand side of the three, with Simeu in the middle and Feeney on the right. Riley and Armer provided the wide mobility, with Jon Mellish back as part of a midfield trio.

Danny Devine dropped to the bench, as did Tyrese Omotoye, to accommodate the tactical switch.

The U's won a corner with their first attack but the near post delivery from Judge was sliced wide by Chambers as he tried to wrap his boot round a difficult volley.

Centre back Morgan Feeney defended well when he had Sears on his shoulder as the pair chased a ball over the top. He nodded it away from the danger area before hooking it clear.

Colchester came again with a long ball forward for Edwards to chase. He wriggled away with it, having come under pressure from Riley. The Carlisle man recovered to put the cut-back behind as Sears lurked.

The corner was floated in and Edwards pounced as it fell between two stranded black shirts. His volley had venom but it skimmed over the bar.

A deep free kick from Roberts found Simeu at the toher end and his header was met by Smith, who got in the way. Sho-Silva had moved into space and he was frustrated not to get the touch.

Another accurate free kick from Riley found Sho-Silva as a willing jumper, and he guided it through bodies from the edge of the box. It had just too much on it and Hornby scooped it up.

United had a Judge set piece to defend when he flighted a beauty at the six-yard area. Mellish got enough on it to put it over the bar, but the officials missed his touch and a goal kick was awarded.

A patient home attack came to an end when Judge tumbled in the area. The crowd appealed for a spot kick, but the players played on knowing that there had been nothing like any contact.

There was a heart in the mouth moment for the visitors on 37 minutes when a free kick from wide sailed into the area. Howard went to grasp it, but Feeney had also made a leap and the ball was spilled as the two came together. Eastman had his back to goal but he was disappointed as he crunched it over his shoulder and over the gaping nets.

Sears was next to be wasteful when he beat the offside trap to bear down on goal. He opted to rattle it early and it was another that went high.

Howard was comfortable with a 23-yard drilled free kick from Judge that hit the target. He took one step to his left before gathering it in.

It was a good spell for the home side, with Wiredu and Edwards sniffing for something to drop as crosses came in. It eventually came to Skuse and he thundered it through a gap at the top corner from distance. Howard had to go full length to palm it away as it angled to cross the line.

After a stuttering kick off, which brought a free kick as Sho-Silva was tugged, a half-clearance fell kindly for Windsor to strike. Hornby watched it into his hands.

Patrick was then onto a long ball which Eastman misjudged. He dropped a shoulder to win the corner, but that was plucked out of the air.

There was then a lovely away move which saw Armer find Mellish in an advanced position. He turned his man and slid it through, and Windsor had no hesitation in taking it on. Hornby did well to beat it away.

The goal the good start to the second period deserved came when Patrick was released on the overlap by Sho-Silva. The striker stepped away from his marker and bagged his second goal in the space of three outings when he whisked an unstoppable effort into the corner of the bag right in front of the travelling supporters.

Colchester had a prolonged spell of possession following the goal, but they couldn't find a way through as the away team stayed tight.

And Sho-Silva sent a header over the bar when the black shirts broke in numbers. Windsor was involved, as was Mellish, and it was Riley who delivered when he came in support. It was slightly behind the forward and a difficult chance to keep down.

Corner flag repairs delayed the game for four minutes after Melish had shown his frustration at a decision going against him, but it was a corner at the other end which brought the equaliser when Smith found himself in space after the ball came his way. Howard could do nothing as a placed and guided header dropped beyond him.

And the game was turned on its head on 75 minutes when substitute Tyriek Wright swiped a loose ball into the roof of the net at the third attempt. The back line had tried to complete the clearance, but it was kept alive and the visitors were made to pay.

The home team suddenly looked confident and a miscued attempt from distance was trapped by Wiredu, who had taken a very advanced position. He turned sharply but his snapshot whistled high.

United levelled things up with four minutes left to play with what was a superbly worked break. Patrick showed great awareness to release Riley, who was on the overlap, and he checked his run to hold things up. A clipped delivery followed and Sho-Silva registered his first for the club with a flicked header that found its way in via the inside of the upright.

There was an excellent piece of defending from Simeu late in the day when Edwards sprinted clean through. Strength and timing combined meant the centre back could step in to rob it just as the nippy front man shaped to let fly.

Seven minutes of time added raised the nerve endings, and the Cumbrians had corners to deal with from both left and right. But they kept the door closed to take what could prove to be an important point.

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Goals

Colchester United - Smith (69), Wright (75)

Carlisle United - Patrick (51), Sho-Silva (86)

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Bookings

Colchester United - Chambers (70)

Carlisle United - Riley (33), Roberts (41), Mellish (64)

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Teams

Colchester United - Hornby, Chambers, Smith (c), Wiredu (Huws 84), Skuse, Judge, Sears, Edwards, Kenlock, Eastman (Wright 61), Tchamadeu. Subs - George (gk), Welch-Hayes, Hannant, Andrews, Kennedy.

Carlisle United - Howard, Riley, Feeney, Simeu, Roberts, Armer, Windsor (Dennis 79), Whelan (c), Mellish, Patrick, Sho-Silva (Devitt 87). Subs - Norman (gk), Devine, Alessandra, Gibson, Omotoye.

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Match officials

Referee - Lee Swabey
Assistant Referee 1 - Darren Blunden
Assistant Referee 2 - Geoffrey Russell
Fourth Official - Gareth Viccars
Observer - Graham Horwood

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Attendance - 2,664 (242)