Colchester United will be aiming to make it back-to-back home wins this weekend when Barrow visit in Sky Bet League Two action.
Matty Etherington’s side successfully booked their place in the knockout stages of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy with a 1-0 win over Peterborough United at the JobServe Community Stadium on Tuesday evening; Bradley Ihionvien was on target with the only goal in the game.
And the U’s will be wanting to build on that win against another in-form side, when Barrow make the long journey to North Essex this weekend. The Bluebirds arrive on a five-game winning streak.
Tuesday’s match was a good opportunity for Matty Etherington to have a look at some other players within his squad – Fiacre Kelleher made it through seventy minutes, stepping up his return to full fitness, with Tom Smith, Tom Hopper and Bradley Ihionvien all given ninety minutes in the win.
The Opposition
Barrow will be confident going into this weekend’s contest, having won their last five in all competitions, putting together an eight-game unbeaten run in the league – their longest since 1966.
Pete Wild’s side haven’t lost a league game since the start of October, and after last weekend’s 1-0 win over Crawley Town the Bluebirds’ Head Coach was full of praise for the goalscorer, Dom Telford.
“We brought him here to score goals and the type of goals he is scoring is are the goals we were lacking, in the box, and cultured finishes. He is scoring those types of goals and that is what we brought him in to do and now he is delivering.”
Barrow swooped in to secure the signature of Dom Telford (pictured below) in the summer, with the 2021/22 League Two top scorer making the long move north from Crawley Town. The twenty-six-year-old took a few games to get going, but has now hit four in his last six, including winners against his former club last weekend.
Just ahead of Telford in the scoring charts at Barrow is former Southend United striker, Emile Acquah. The twenty-three-year-old forward has six goals in twenty outings this season, five in the league and one in the FA Cup.
Ben Whitfield, one of League Two’s leading assist makers last season has suffered an injury-hit campaign this term, making only eleven outings. He has netted three times in those games, but has mostly been limited to appearances from the substitutes’ bench.
Last Time We Met
The U's played out a 1-1 draw against Barrow in the last meeting. Matt Bloomfield's side could have taken the lead when Tom Hopper's header struck the woodwork before the visitors got their noses in front through Ben Whitfield. John Akinde then missed a penalty before Kwesi Appiah rescued a point at the death.
Ticket Info
Tickets are available to purchase from Col U Tickets for this weekend's game - click HERE for more information on pricing and to get yours.
iFollow Info
If you can't make it to the game on Saturday, you can keep up with it via iFollow. Audio Passes (£2.50) are available to supporters in the UK, with Video Passes (£10) available to fans outside the UK. Click HERE to see what options are available for you.
