The U's booked their place in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup after a superb 1-0 victory at Ipswich Town.
The U’s claimed an historic win at Portman Road, their first on the road at Ipswich since 1951, earning their place in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup.
Luke Hannant’s first half strike was enough to seal the tie for Wayne Brown’s side, despite a huge effort from the home side, as the U’s claimed a 1-0 victory at Portman Road.
Wayne Brown opted for four changes to his team from Saturday’s league draw with Carlisle United. Alan Judge and Freddie Sears had both picked up knocks in the first home league game, and were replaced with Marley Marshall Miranda and Frank Nouble.
Alex Newby was named as a substitute for Wayne Brown’s side, with Ossama Ashley taking his place after his debut against the Cumbrians, with twenty-year-old Al-Amin Kazeem handed his Colchester United debut in place of Ryan Clampin at left back.
The early action was all from the Tractor Boys, as Kieran McKenna’s side looked to silence the noisy away following from Colchester United, and would have been frustrated not to be in front inside ten minutes.
Greg Leigh managed to spring the offside trap on the far side of the pitch, getting inside Junior Tchamadeu, but his tame effort was saved by Hornby and quickly cleared.
It took until the twenty-fifth minute for the next real action in the game, with Cameron Humphreys missing a golden chance for the home side. Creating space down the right wing this time, it was Kyle Edwards who delivered a low cross for the arriving Humphreys, but the midfielder was unable to keep his effort down, rifling the ball high over the bar from twelve yards.
But it was the U’s who bagged the opening goal of the game, with Luke Hannant on target for the first time in a Colchester United shirt. Rekeem Harper gifted the ball to Hannant on the penalty spot who did what Humphreys couldn’t just a moment earlier, hitting the target to give his side the advantage in the tie.
And the goal gave the U’s impetus to keep pressing forwards with Wayne Brown’s side going close to a second two minutes later. Frank Nouble deployed some trademark stepovers on the edge of the six-yard box, but his low drive was blocked before the ‘keeper could get a hand to it.
And the U’s would maintain their advantage until the break, with Luke Hannant’s goal separating the two sides as they headed to the changing rooms.
After half time, Wayne Brown’s side had to endure a string of corners for the home side, but the defence captained by former Ipswich Town favourite, Luke Chambers, stood strong, looking to hit the Tractor Boys on the break.
The onslaught kept coming, with Ipswich keeping the pressure on Sam Hornby’s goal without really testing him. And with twenty minutes to play, the home side decided that changes were needed, with McKenna bringing on some of the regulars in Burns, Evans, Chaplin and Harness all introduced to try and rescue the game.
But the changes made no difference as the U’s laid their bodies on the line for the result, holding out for the last few minutes of the game to claim an historic victory.
And the U’s, who are in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2019 will learn their opponents tomorrow evening, with plenty of exciting teams added to the draw.
Ipswich Town starting XI: Hladky, Vincent-Young (Burns), Woolfenden, Burgess, Edwards, Humphreys (El Mizouni), Harper (Evans), Leigh, Aluko (Harness), John-Jules, Jackson (Chaplin).
Subs: Hayes, Edmundson, Donacien, Penney, El Mizouni, Evans, Burns, Chaplin, Harness.
Colchester United starting XI: Hornby, Chambers, Hannant, Skuse (Coxe), Chilvers, Ashley (Clampin), Eastman, Tchamadeu, Kazeem (Tovide), Marshall Miranda, Nouble (Akinde).
Subs: Collins, Clampin, Dallison, Newby, Akinde, Coxe, Tovide.