I was tempted to spend £26 to sit behind the dugout and catch a glimpse of Joe Dunne, the caretaker manager the fans seem to love. But this was a high profile fixture, the opponents being Leeds United, and I could only manage a seat in West Stand 2 (instead of 5 or 6 near the dugout). It was only £4 cheaper, but at least it was pitchside.
The Weston Homes Community Stadium – which the locals prefer to refer to as the Colchester Community Stadium, refusing to affilliate themselves with yet another real estate developer building houses round every corner in the city – is only entering its second season as home of the U’s, and like every new stadium I’ve been in, what it made up in modernity, it gave up in soul. Newer stadiums seem to distance the pitch from the fans just that little bit more; just looks homey that little bit less.
Old Trafford aside, my favourite football ground (among the grounds where I’ve actually watched a game) is Bramall Lane. Is it any wonder that it is actually the oldest ground in Britain? And no biases at all against the team, but I found watching football at the Emirates being a really soulless affair. Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels at half time prettty much cemented the blandness.
But back to the game. It was clear from the start that Leeds were the better side. Their approach was more structured, and their forays forward had more vision. In the first half, U’s keeper Ben Williams was beaten twice, but Colchester were saved by the offside trap, keeping the score at 0-0 after 45 minutes.
Both sides were more refreshed in the second half, and while you could say possession was almost equal, it was Leeds who were more convincing in terms of attempts at goal. The deadlock was broken when Bradley Johnson finished a set piece attempt at goal, only for Kevin Lisbie to equalise via a penalty. But Colchester United were only level for a few minutes before Jermain Beckford took advantage of the back line’s inability to clear the ball convincingly and made it 2-1 for the visitors.
At this point, the U’s did try to go forward, and the introducton of Clive Platt for Scott Vernon rekindled hopes of the formidable pairing with Kevin Lisbie that was an instrumental element of the U’s game two seasons ago. But it wasn’t to be, and the game ended 2-1 to Leeds United. The fact that Colchester United only managed to score via a penalty is testament to the lack of shot on targets all game long. A scrappy game, with tempers flaring and cards flying, but Leeds were undeniably the better side on the day.
I sat pitchside, although the front row was almost empty. I quickly realised why – it was a tad too low compared to the barrier: a second row seat gave a much better view. Two men sat behind me, one of whom was suspiciously a Leeds fan gone astray and ended up in the home end. Careful eavesdropping revealed he is Ipswich fan watching the game for the day. Given Ipswich’s fortunes of late… his team and my team may be swapping sides quite soon. Or maybe not.
The other man who sat next to him, clearly bled bled white and blue. He was one of those fans who insisted on calling each player by their first name, and every forward foray by the U’s resulted in him considering the player as one he fathered himself (he kept saying ‘Go on, my son!). He seemed to have a keen ear for what was going on at the Community Stadium, and bandied about a few names in the running for the empty managerial post.
Interestingly, the one we did end up appointing was none in the list he mentioned 😉
Welcome to Colchester, Aidy Boothroyd. Here’s to hoping for a second tier footballing season next year, eh?
My Colchester United Year 