Colchester United return to league action on Saturday afternoon with a trip to Mansfield Town.
Matt Bloomfield’s side won’t have played in the league for two weeks by the time their next game rolls aroun, and have gone ten days without any matches at all.
The last league action for the U’s saw them claim three points with an enticing 3-0 victory over Doncaster Rovers as Alex Newby, Samson Tovide and Luke Hannant all found the net.
And now Bloomfield’s side will be up against a play-off chasing, but out of form, Mansfield Town side that are looking to return to the top seven and continue their promotion hopes.
The Opposition
Nigel Clough’s side stuttered at the start of the 2022/23 campaign after narrowly missing out on promotion in May. The Stags were beaten by Port Vale at Wembley in the Sky Bet League Two play-off final, and lost three of their opening six games this season.
The seven games that followed saw Mansfield go unbeaten, pushing them to as high as fourth in the standings, but a recent dip has dropped them out of the top seven, with one win in their last six league outings.
“We’ve been too easy to score against, and that seems to be the story of the last few weeks” said the Stags’ boss following their midweek defeat to Everton U21 in the Papa Johns Trophy.
“We weren’t good enough with or without the ball, we didn’t sprint enough. And when you look at some of the performances that those players did tonight, there’s doubts over everyone for Saturday’s game.”
The scathing assessment from Clough about his side implies there could be plenty of changes for the home side on Saturday afternoon.
The goal charts at Mansfield are led by George Lapslie (pictured below), brother of former U’s midfielder Tom, who has six strikes and three assists to his name this season. He’s level Will Swan who also has six, with the pair closely followed by former Ipswich Town man, Ollie Hawkins.
A quite summer saw the arrival of established goalkeeper Christy Pym on loan from Peterborough United, and the twenty-seven-year-old shot-stopper has been a mainstay for Clough between the posts in the league.
And other key men for Mansfield include former U’s men John-Joe O’Toole and Elliott Hewitt, and former Southend defender Stephen McLaughlin.
Last Time We Met
The U's were narrowly beaten in the last meeting between the two. Goals from Rhys Oates and Jordan Bowery gave the home side a two-goal advantage, before Alan Judge reduced the deficit in second half stoppage time.
Ticket Info
Tickets are available to purchase from Mansfield Town for Saturday's match at the One Call Stadium. Click HERE for more information on how to purchase.
iFollow
If you can't make it to the game on Saturday afternoon, you can keep up with it via iFollow. Audio passes are available for £2.50 in the UK, with video passes also available for £10 in the UK. Click HERE to see what options are available for you.
