The U’s are back in league action on Tuesday evening, hosting Crawley Town in North Essex.
Matt Bloomfield’s side will be looking for a reaction to Saturday’s defeat at Rodney Parade, welcoming fellow League Two strugglers Crawley Town to the JobServe Community Stadium.
Colchester United will be hoping to replicate their home performance from a couple of weeks ago against Harrogate Town, where Bloomfield’s side claimed victory with Kwesi Appiah and Frank Nouble on target.
But the U’s will be without Appiah on Tuesday evening, with his parent club visiting the JobServe Community Stadium, and there will a check on Matty Longstaff who is hoping to be back in contention soon.
The Opposition
Crawley Town visit Colchester in their best form of the season, having taken three wins from their last three matches. That includes a surprising 3-2 victory against promotion-chasing Mansfield Town on Saturday afternoon as Ashley Nadesan scored a brace.
Currently without a permanent manager after early-season form cost Kevin Betsy his job, the Red Devils are under the interim stewardship of their former defender, Lewis Young.
And the thirty-three-year-old is hoping his side can continue their good form at the JobServe Community Stadium on Tuesday evening: “We’ve still got a long way to go and we’re taking it game by game, but I was overly happy with Saturday’s win.
“But we need to move on and think about the next game. We’ve got a really tough test on Tuesday, and we’ve got some battered bodies after Mansfield. We’re in a good moment, but we have to remember it’s only been three games, it’s only been a week, and we have to be consistent in how we deliver our performances.”
League victories against Newport County and Mansfield Town have propelled Crawley out of the relegation zone to twenty-first in the standings, sitting on twelve points from fourteen games. And it would appear on paper their early season form was not down to a lack of goals, but a poor defence.
Young’s side have netted fifteen times, the highest tally of any team in the bottom seven, but conceded twenty-five, the second leakiest defence in the division.
Tom Nichols and Ashley Nadesan lead the scoring charts at the Broadfield Stadium this season with four apiece. Their good start to the campaign has kept box-office signing Dom Telford out of the side; last season’s League Two top scorer was resigned to the substitutes bench in the win against Mansfield.
Nadesan (above) netted twice on Saturday afternoon, both assisted by his strike partner Nichols, adding to his goal against Newport last weekend.
Other key men for Crawley include Jake Hessenthaler, a midfielder who recently made his 100th appearance for the club, Dion Conroy, a summer arrival from Swindon Town who plays at centre back, and twenty-year-old goalkeeper David Robson, a loanee who has unseated Corey Addai as the number one choice between the sticks.
Last Time We Met
The U's were well-beaten by Crawley Tow in the first game of 2022. An Ashley Nadesan brace sandwiched Joel Lynch's first-half strike, with Freddie Sears on target for the U's consolation.
Ticket Info
Tickets are available to purchase from Col U Tickets - click HERE to get yours and support the U's against Crawley Town. Tickets are currently available at the ADVANCE rate - click HERE to see prices for the season.
Tickets will also be available to purchase on the day from the Club Shop, or online from Col U Tickets right up until kick off.
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.