Colchester United U21s were looking to bounce back from their five consecutive defeats when they faced AFC Bournemouth U21s at Park Drive on Friday afternoon.
Matty Etherington's side were defeated by Bournemouth at home by one goal to nil, suffering a sixth consecutive defeat.
The U’s started the game positively putting the pressure on the Cherries early on. Kaan Bennett produced a darting run through the middle, before unleashing a shot that was dealt with by the Bournemouth keeper with ease.
The Cherries created a few chances of their own but failed to trouble Colchester’s defence in the first few minutes of the game.
After nine minutes of playing time, Ryan Lowe received a yellow card for a pull on the shirt before Marcel-Dilaver was issued another one for a powerful sliding challenge.
Bournemouth then almost took the lead through a decent strike that caused some issues for Hornby who spilled the ball on the ten-minute mark.
Matt Yates was the third U’s player to receive a yellow card after 12 minutes of playing for a challenge on Bournemouth’s number nine, resulting in a dangerous free kick for the Cherries, but the effort missed the target by some distance.
Both teams then settled into the game failing to produce any meaningful chances. On the half-hour mark the U’s produced some great build up play that led to Kennedy Mupomba unleashing a shot on target that was dealt with by the Cherries keeper.
The U’s looked settled and composed, but it was Bournemouth who had the best chance to take the lead on two occasions.
Hornby produced two fantastic saves with Bournemouth forwards wasting two one-on-one chances. The U’s keeper made himself big and confidently denied both efforts.
With ten minutes to go in the first half, the U’s keeper made yet another spectacular save when he pushed a low-flying shot beyond his left post with resulting Bournemouth corner producing nothing afterwards.
The rest of the half saw very little action with both teams heading into the changing rooms at level terms.
Bournemouth came out firing from the start of the second half, producing great build-up play that resulted in a dangerous free kick just outside the box. The shot, however, flew well over the crossbar.
The cherries looked dangerous, and on fifty-four minutes they were awarded a penalty for a trip in the box. But it was Hornby yet again, who produced a magnificent save to deny Bournemouth’s number nine and keep the score level.
Shortly after, Jet Dyer was issued a yellow card for preventing a promising looking run on the right-hand side of the pitch with a pull on the shirt.
With the U’s coming under pressure, Matty Etherington opted for two changes just before the hour mark, taking off the two trialists and replacing them with Kaleel Green and Archie Oliver.
The youngsters then got back into the game, with the referee giving the U’s an indirect free kick five yards from the goal line after one of Bournemouth’s defender passed back to the keeper who picked it up.
But the score remained goalless after sixty-nine minutes of playing time when the shot from the indirect free kick was blocked off the line.
Unfortunately for Matty Etherington’s side, four minutes later, the Cherries took the lead through Daniel Adu-Adje whose powerful header from close range beat Hornby.
And it was the hosts who dominated the rest of the match, coming extremely close to scoring on multiple occasions.
The scoreline, however, stayed the same with the U's suffering sixth consecutive defeat.
