Latics suffer power failure
Reporter: Matthew Chambers
Date published: 29 February 2012
Athletic 1, Colchester 1
Streetwise visitors hit back as young guns learn valuable lesson
FROM being in control of proceedings and contemplating the energy boost that a shift to the top half of the table would bring, Athletic suffered a second-half malaise to give Boundary Park an all-too familiar sinking feeling last night.
At times bright and efficient and worthy of the half-time lead given to the team by lively winger Keanu Marsh-Brown – firing home after a save from Ben Williams, palming out Jean-Yves Mvoto’s header, to ease his pain of an earlier one-on-one miss in front of the U’s ’keeper – Paul Dickov’s men dithered in possession and were found mentally and physically wanting after the interval.
When Colchester midfielder Anthony Wordsworth equalised with a header for his third of the season against Athletic alone, it was a goal bought by a burst of no-nonsense, sustained pressure.
With nine minutes left to play following the leveller, if one side was going to win it from there on in it was not Athletic. Such a shame, in front of an expectant crowd boosted by the worthy ‘Golden Ticket’ deal.
But in the cold light of day, perhaps it is not so surprising that a line-up containing players so fresh to the professional game should eventually be squeezed by a Colchester outfit thoroughly schooled in the dark arts of third-tier football.
The likes of David Mellor and Carl Winchester – the latter player lost possession in the lead-up to the equaliser for John Ward’s resolutle mid-table outfit, then conceded the crucial free-kick – will learn from this experience.
And while it is probably too much to expect them to pass their footballing diplomas at this level by way of a crash course over the coming weeks, for Dickov, their selection in the interim is needs-must.
A heaving treatment room is robbing the squad of significant know-how. All hands are to the pump.Athletic started the game sharply, with a strong sliding defensive clearance from Mvoto in between two off-target drives from long distance by Filipe Morais.
That said, Freddie Sears wasted the first real chance of the contest when firing over the crossbar inside the penalty area after the home side had gone to sleep following a free-kick from deep by Martin Rowlands.
Marsh-Brown and Morais were both involved as Dickov’s men pressed, with Mellor and again-excellent James Tarkowski finding them with accurate long-range passes.
Robbie Simpson failed to generate any power on a header from a flighted Marsh-Brown delivery midway through the half, before Athletic goalkeeper Alex Cisak was fortunate to earn a foul for his men when misjudging a punch under pressure from Steven Gillespie. The ball ended up in the net, but the goal didn’t stand.
Ian Henderson may have done better than dribble a far-post volley into the side-netting as the game pulsed back and forth, before the best chance of the half was wasted by Marsh-Brown.
Sent in by a Kieran Lee ball from his own half which was poorly headed back by Magnus Okuonghae, he had plenty of time to line up his shot – only to slide the ball a considerable distance wide of the far post. It was a golden chance, and, with head in hands, he knew it.
No matter. Soon after, an inswinging Simpson corner was met meatily by Mvoto’s head and though Williams pushed it out, Marsh-Brown was at the front of the queue to send the ball into the net.
Morais almost made it two-nil before half-time, narrowly failing to land his forehead on a wicked Simpson free-kick.
Cisak was called into action twice in the early stages of the second period, first to calmly catch a Wordsworth flick on the run from a Rowlands corner and then to claim – at the second time of asking – a low, slightly scruffy Henderson drive.
Kuqi could have made the game much safer just before the hour. The striker of a few months ago would have lashed at a ball arriving at him in space far earlier than the one of today, his left-footed shot drifting a couple of feet wide.
As the game became disjointed, so it suited the powerful visitors, who had made all of their substitutions by the 67th minute.
Two minutes after that, Marsh-Brown was replaced by striker Matt Smith. Simpson, who seemed to be hampered by his hamstring troubles, was moved to the right wing.
Colchester substitute Kayode Odejayi wasted a good chance to level after 73 minutes, heading over a cross by fellow replacement Andrew Bond.
And as Athletic found themselves stuck in a defensive rut, Wordsworth nodded home Rowlands’ free-kick from close range.
The U’s went on to press for a winning goal, but Gillespie’s low skidding 25-yard drive which slid off target with two minutes left was as close as they came.
