U blew it, Latics

Date published: 16 February 2015


Athletic 0, Colchester 1

IT WAS a script as familiar and formulaic as any Hollywood summer blockbuster – minus the explosions, eye candy and happy ending.

Athletic fluffed their lines once again against Colchester - as always seems to happen when prices are slashed at the box office.

The audience, around 3,500 of whom had paid only £5 to get in, howled with disapproval.

Sammie Szmodics's lashed-in finish from close range came before two minutes were on the clock - and after Athletic had made several unsuccessful attempts to clear their lines. After that, there was plenty of effort but precious little end product.

Jacob Mellis at least stung visiting goalkeeper Sam Walker's fingertips, Liam Kelly had an added-time equaliser ruled out for offside, Kelly and Mike Jones could have done better with volleyed attempts and Jonathan Forte hesitated when decisive action could have seen him net for the 15th time of the season.

But Athletic weren't nearly sharp enough and clearly missed injured striker Conor Wilkinson.

With Swindon despatched with such grit four days earlier, all Lee Johnson's side had to do was turn up and beat a U's outfit struggling in the relegation zone. That was the theory. But Johnson's men have not beaten any of the division's bottom four in the league this season.

With no Wilkinson and with Carl Winchester fit enough only for the substitutes' bench, Johnson brought in Danny Philliskirk and Rhys Murphy and neither player had a game to remember.

A sluggish start in what appeared to be a 4-4-2 formation led to the goal - and a swift switch to 4-2-3-1. Passing was slow and support for the man on the ball sluggish.

Athletic were as flat as a pancake - possibly suffering the effects of a fifth game in 15 days.

Despite the date there was no love lost between Athletic and their frustrated supporters. The jittery, disjointed home team managed not a single shot at goal – even off-target – in the whole first half.

Colchester might even have made it 2-0.

Athletic regrouped and showed some unity of purpose in the second half. Kelly was unusually off-colour but still hunted the ball at every opportunity. Joseph Mills injected some pace down the left.

The majority of the play was concentrated in Colchester's half and Jones mistimed a volley as the ball dropped invitingly to him 15 yards out.

In the 56th minute Mellis shaped a shot that was creeping inside the far post but for Walker's intervention.

Johnson publicly showed his dissatisfaction by way of a triple substitution before the hour.

Of the replacements, Rhys Turner shone most.

Forte should have done better when meeting a weak back-header after 65 minutes. Dominic Poleon drove a shot a couple of yards wide and in the fourth minute of added time Kelly thought he had netted -but made his move too soon.

And that was that.

Hardcore supporters will be back for more, but the fair-weather equivalent might take a lot of persuading to return.

As Groucho Marx once said: “I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it.”