Hull 1-1 Colchester

The Match

Both teams arrived at the KC stadium buoyed by impressive results in Midweek. City had just battled to a point at in-form Norwich whilst the Us won a massive relegation six-pointer against Preston so confidence was high in both camps. City were looking for a fifth match without losing, and more importantly a victory which would propell them into at least 7th place.

City remained unchanged from the draw at Carrow Road with Nick Barmby and Jay-Jay Okocha supporting lone striker Frazier Campbell. City looked in determined mood and for the opening 5 minutes Colchester couldn’t get out of their own half. City looked slick, Okocha was looking as though he was going to really cause the U’s backline some trouble and Campbell looked as sharp as ever.

After the initial pressure, Colchester settled down and didn’t look particuarly panicked, playing a mixture of some nice close passing and some long balls to the collosal frame of Clive Platt. The more Colchester relaxed into their stride, the more City started to look worried, and that uneasiness was reflected in the stands by what has to be said was an impatient KC crowd.

The fayre on offer was frankly awful. Colchester could see they had us rattled so continued to play physically but fairly. They ensured that whenever we tried to get it down and pass it our space was taken away immediatley, and Jay-Jay seemed to have 4/5 men around him at all times.

Nick Barmby was injured early on, which meant Dean Marney came on in a like-for-like switch when many fans would have preferred the introduction of Caleb Folan and a switch to the 4-4-2 that has been serving us well at home.

Colchester ended the half in the ascendancy and looked like the team going for the play-offs not battling the drop. The pitch wasn’t helping either, as it was very bobbly and suited the direct nature of Colchesters play more than ours. Brown and Turner were looking unusually shaky and were not enjoying the bounce of the high balls that were coming over, although France did almost gave City an undeserved lead right on half time but his low drive was well saved by the legs of Gerken.

Phil Brown made the switch to 4-4-2 for the second half, with the ineffective Simon Walton being replaced by Caleb Folan, but just two minutes later City were hit by a sucker punch. Another punt forward took an awkward bounce, catching the defence off guard. Jonnie Jackson read the bounce well and pounced on the error before lashing a screaming half volley goalbound, which Myhill got a hand to but the ferocity of the strike ensured the U’s took an early second half lead.

City looked a bit more threatening after the formation change but Colchester were still giving us very little space. The equaliser came on the hour, when a pin-point free kick by okocha found the criminally unmarked Campbell who headed home.

The game was then in the balance with either side as likely to grab a winner. It looked as though it had come for the home side four minutes from the end, following another Okocha dead ball but Wayne Brown’s close range effort was well saved. That proved to be the last real chance for City on a difficult and frustrating afternoon.

How did City play?

Apart from the first five minutes this was a laboured performance by the Tigers. Similar to as happened a week earlier against Blackpool, City were bullied and out-muscled by physical opponents and were frustrated when Colchester didnt let us play football. There seemed to be a lack of plan B, and the formation in the first half didn’t work. The play was too hurried and panicked and Ashbee and Walton were given a tough time by the opposing midfield. Jay-Jay was marked out of the match and Campbell needs someone up front with him to bring out his best. That said, we have come from behind for a third succesive match, which shows the ever increasing character, belief and determination from a side that doesn’t roll over easily these days.

How did Colchester play?

Very well. The performance belied thier lowly league position. They were confident and had obviously done their homework because they knew exactly how to get at us and had us and the crowd rattled for most of the match. They had the right blend of guile and skill and on that display it is a puzzle as to why they are in such danger, although the marking for the goal was awful giving Campbell a chance he would not turn down. They also seemd much more comfortable with the poor state of the pitch, and it suited their game, although that is not to detract anything from them.

Atmosphere

Poor. One of frustration, which i understand given the nature of the game. However, we need to try harder to be a bit less critical and more supportive during games when things aren’t always going our way. The support once we got to 2-2 against Blackpool was superb and almost lifted us to an unlikely winner.

Attendance

Around 15 and a half thousand. Again dissapointing for a team challenging for promotion although as expected few Colchester fans made the long journey from Essex.

Referee
Peter Walton, premiership referee whose performance was inkeeping with the scrappy nature of the game. 6

Hull man of the match
Jay-Jay Okocha edges it. May be accused of trying to do too much again but on occasion he had the ball with no-one around him apart from Colchester players. Always looked a threat from dead ball situations and his free kick which led to the goal was class.

Colchester man of the match
Dean Gerken, although not called on too often his saves at the end of both halves proved crucial.

Player ratings

Myhill – 6 – Still looking a bit uncomfortable at the moment and he needs to sort his distribution out. Communication with the defence not as it should be.

Pedersen – 7 – A revelation at left back at the moment. No pace to speak of but superbly composed, strong in the tackle and always a threat going forward.

Turner – 6 – Not one of his better games, struggled with the physicality of Col U and didn’t read the bounces very well.

Brown – 5 – Given a torrid time by his former colleagues and looked uncomfortable all afternoon.

Ricketts – 5 – One of his poorer displays of the season. Too many passes went awry and was beaten by the opposing winger on a number of occasions

Barmby – 5 – Afternoon cut short by injury

Marney – 5 – Never got hold of the game

Okocha – 7 – A few misplaced passes but always looked the likeliest source of a goal. Such a threat from set plays, despite a couple of scuffed corners.

Walton – 5 – Poor game. Still settling into the team, and has shown glimpses of talent, but was outmuscled and outthought all match.

Ashbee – 5 – Again, a performance, for me, not indicative of what has been a very good season for the skipper. Lost many of his battles in midfield which it has to be said is a rare occurance.

France – 7- has made an impressive return to the first team and deserves to keep his place. Could have scored and did some good defensive work too.

Campbell – 7 – Struggled on his own first half, but give him some company up front and he is a handful. Superb header for the goal which further emphasises his versatility when scoring goals.

Folan – 6 – Made some good runs, difficult game to come into. Added more of a physical prescence.

Verdict

So how do we look at it? 5 unbeaten with just one defeat in 11 games or 3 without a win. Frustrating as saturday was, it was never going to be easy and Colchester made life very difficult for us. It is another point. It is still a step toward the play-offs despite losing ground points wise. It was another of those games you could say we would have lost last season. All in all, we wont really know how good or bad a result this is until the final day of reckoning. The only problem is the next two matches are away to WBA and Bristol City before a derby with Scunthorpe, which again will be no easy task. From that point of view a win would have been very useful.