Colchester United U21s were taking on Sheffield Wednesday in a Professional Development League clash at the JobServe Community Stadium on a gloriously sunny Friday evening.
Dave Huzzey named a strong starting eleven with the likes of Matt Yates and Milton Oni featuring following the return from their loan spells at Maldon & Tiptree.
The U’s lined up in 3-4-2-1 formation with Ollie Godziemski the sole striker just in front of Hakeem Sandah and Archie Oliver.
Bailey Berry, Frankie Edwards and Matt Yates were tasked with holding the fort as a compact back three.
It was action all stations pretty much from the start for the U’s defence with the visitors piling on pressure straight away.
And, they didn’t have to wait long for their first chance when the referee gave a very harsh penalty for a supposed trip in the box by Matt Yates after five minutes, with the defender heavily pleading his innocence.
The official, however, was unbothered and Wednesday’s Siqueira converted from twelve yards, despite Collins getting a strong hand to it.
The rest of the half went on as it began with the visitors having the better chances. U’s struggled to keep possession and failed to register a shot on target.
With seven minutes to go, Wednesday extended their lead through Bruno Fernandes who converted well with a header. The well-struck ball bounced off the post on its way in, leaving Collins with no chance to save it.
This meant that the U’s had plenty of work to do in the second forty-five minutes.
Huzzey’s men started the second half well and recorded their first shot on target after fifty-two minutes when Oni cut in from the left flank before unleashing a powerful shot, but his central effort was easily saved by Hall.
Nonetheless, the U’s still struggled to break down Sheffield’s defence, and with frustration growing, Archie Oliver became the first player of the match to be booked for a pull on the shirt preventing a quick break.
Things only got worse for Colchester with twenty minutes remaining when Fernandes scored his second goal of the match, extending Wednesday’s lead to three goals. Following a lofted cross into the box, the forward hit the ball on a half-volley with it bouncing off the post again and flying in.
The U’s never looked like getting back into the match with the visitors dominating and creating a couple more decent chances before the end of the match. They, however, failed to find the target with the score staying at 3-0.
Colchester United Starting XI: 1. Collins, 2. Yates, 3. Trialist, 4. Berry, 5. Edwards, 6. Jolliffe, 7. Oliver, 8. Oni, 9. Godziemski, 10. Sandah, 11. Akor
Subs: 12. Dyer, 14. Lowe, 15. Aman, 16. Green, 29. Sexton
