Colchester United U18s were taking on Sheffield Wednesday at Florence Park in a Professional Development League clash on a gloriously sunny Saturday morning.
Elliott Ward named a very young starting eleven with Alfie Newby also coming back from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
It was a frantic start to the match, which saw very little organised play with both teams opting for long balls.
Unfortunately for the U’s, it was the visitors who came up with the first meaningful attempt, scoring after a well-executed counterattack with fourteen minutes on the clock.
Nonetheless, they weren’t ahead for too long with the referee pointing to the spot fifteen minutes later following a late tackle in the box.
Burak Sabah stepped up and beat the ‘keeper with the sheer power of his low strike, despite Wednesday’s shot-stopper getting his hand to it.
Right after the equaliser, Newby was replaced by Frankie Edwards in what was a pre-planned substitution - the centre-half managed thirty minutes as he continued to build his match fitness.
With the score at a stalemate, it looked like both teams were going to be tied at the break. The U’s, however, had other ideas and came up with what was probably the best piece of build-up play of the clash, culminating in James Sasere tapping the ball into the net well into added time.
Wednesday began the second half brightly, forcing Chamberlain into a couple of fantastic saves, but the rest of the match didn’t bring much action at all with the referee eventually blowing his final whistle, securing Colchester’s victory following a solid performance.
Colchester United Starting XI: Chamberlain, Abidekun, James, Kosoko, Berry, Newby, Sabah, Martin, Sasere, Henry, Moore
Subs: Sexton, Edwards, Harvey, Banjoko, Makatta
