Colchester United

George Haberman takes a closer look at his performance against Bradford in midweek.

The front four have scored plenty of goals in a fine September for Col U, but Owen Garvan has been an equally key part of the team's recent improvement.

. The U's attacking players have been grabbing the headlines in recent weeks, as the team have moved up to eighth in the League One table

3 mins: A good strong hustle from Owen on Lee Evans wins the ball in the Colchester United half and stops any sort of Bradford attack.

4 mins: Owen fouls Billy Knott by the halfway line as Bradford look to catch Colchester on the counter attack. 

8 mins: GOAL! A simple pass from George Moncur supplies Callum Harriott who beats his man with ease and smashes the ball low and hard under Brad Jones. Harriott now has 7 assists and 3 goals since the start of his loan move. Colchester 1-0 Bradford.

10 mins: Garvan and Moncur exchange tight passes and Owen releases Marvin Sordell but his run is blocked off and Bradford clear.

11 mins: Owen and Matt Briggs combine well down the left hand side but the final ball into Sordell is a little stray and ends up Brad Jones' hands!

18 mins: Garvan is acting as an anchor in midfield and his defensive help is clearly aiding Tom Eastman and young Frankie Kent who has recently broken back into the first team.

24 mins: Moncur and Owen combine well again on the edge of the box before supplying Harriott who’s low cross is blocked again by Stephen Darby.

27 mins: Owen casually and calmly shrugs off Billy Knott after he was played through and passes back to Jones to who clears the danger with ease. 

28 mins: Owen out jumps Knott and heads the ball clear. Garvan has been a rock in front of Eastman and Kent during the opening half an hour. 

32 mins: GOAL! Moncur plays a neat pass to Owen who streams forward. It appears he’s going to have an attempt at goal and fools everyone by playing an outstanding reserve pass to Sordell who calmly slots past Jones into the far corner! Excellent vision, creativity and unselfishness from Owen to see and deliver the pass! Colchester 2-0 Bradford!

40 mins: Garvan is now acting as the playmaker, this time teeing up Briggs but his effort from 30 yards is comfortably saved by Brad Jones.

45 mins: Stephen Darby tries to cross to Devante Cole but his cross is deflected off Garvan and falls straight to Jamie Jones.

A phenomenal half from Owen! He led from the front and protected his back four superbly! His assist for Sordell’s goal was inventive, classy and calm.

51 mins: Good defending from Owen and Tosin Olufemi sees them double team Lee Evans and win the ball back on the edge of the U’s penalty area, fantastic defending all round.

52 mins: Owen fouls Lee Evans after a forceful tackle in the centre circle.

53 mins: Lee Evans this time launches a big tackle on Garvan, the ref plays advantage and allows the game to play on as Owen gets up gingerly to his feet

62 mins: The last 10 minutes has been all Colchester United, however Owen is thrust into action and jumps in the way of successive Bradford shots on the edge of the box. He really is doing everything possible to protect Jamie Jones' goal. 

66 mins: Owen shows his extremely high composure that has come from playing at the top tiers of English football with Crystal Palace and Ipswich and brushes off Steven Davies in a shoulder to shoulder challenge as if he’s not even there.

69 mins: A wonderful combination of passes from Garvan, Harriot, Edwards, Briggs and Moncur which lasted at least 2 minutes ends up with George playing in Callum Harriott in with a through ball. Callum sees his shot parried behind by Jones for a U’s corner.

77mins: Bradford are applying some heavy pressure at the moment but Kent and Eastman are equal to everything being thrown at them. Owen sitting just in front of the pair has really eased any troubles and stopped Bradford really threatening the U’s goal tonight. 

81 mins: Garvan blocks two crosses from the right wing in quick succession. The desire and determination he has shown to stop Bradford forming any sort of attack tonight has been remarkable.

85 mins: Owen executes a perfect slide tackle on James Hansen on the edge of the box right when it looked as if Hansen was about to pull the trigger! Wonderful defending!

90mins: FULL TIME! Colchester 2-0 Bradford

During the second half Owen protected the defenders and goalkeeper exquisitely and prevented Bradford from ever really looking like scoring. A defensive master class with 2 or 3 perfect tackles!

Owen celebrates signing a new contact with the U’s with a great performance at both ends of the pitch today! He provided the assist for Sordell's goal with a fabulous pass and was as instrumental at the other end of the pitch with some key blocks and tackles. He really led from the front today and took on all the pressure and responsibilities that comes with being captain perfectly in his stride. A job well done!