Colchester United will welcome high-flying Stockport County to the JobServe Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon (KO 3pm) with Danny and Nicky Cowley still searching for their first victory in North Essex.
It’s already been a busy week for the U’s who have faced bottom of the league Sutton United and Salford City in the space of three days.
Colchester secured important 1-1 draws against both teams thanks to a vital penalty save from Owen Goodman in south London and a late strike from Brad Ihionvien in Manchester.
They will now be aiming to go one step further and secure a victory in front of the home crowd but standing in the way of that will be a very strong Hatters side.
The Opposition
Stockport have only recently lost their league leaders status to Manfield Town following a run of four games without a victory.
The Greater Manchester-based club succumbed to two losses, two draws and only managed one win in their last five matches.
They are now sitting second on sixty-three points just behind Mansfield on goal difference. The Stags, however, still have a game in hand.
Last time out, Stockport played out a goalless draw at home against Swindon Town, and speaking after the match Head Coach Dave Challinor [pictured below] said that it was a “frustrating” afternoon for his side.
He added: “We should have won the game with all the opportunities we created but if you don’t take your chances then the eventuality is you’re not going to win games. That’s the unfortunate case.
“We created a lot of chances and that will give me some positivity – not at the moment but when I come to reflect on it.
“Because we have created good chances, you have to have that steely composure to be able to put one of them away and then the complexion of the game changes.
“Whether the outcome of the game changes I don’t know. I think we just have to do a little bit more so we’ll take our point and move on.”
Despite recent tough results, Challinor can still rely on a couple of influential players that the U’s will have to watch out for.
One of them is Isaac Olaofe [pictured below]. The forward has been in lethal form for Stockport County this season with the twenty-three-year-old forward currently sitting fourth in the top scorers table for League Two with seventeen goals in thirty-four appearances. He also has two assists to his name.
More threat could come from Odin Bailey who sits sixth in the Top Assisters table for League Two with seven assists to his name in twenty-seven appearance. He’s also managed to find the back of the net once himself.
Last Time We Met
Two goals either side of half-time secured a 2-0 victory for the Hatters at Edgeley Park on 18th November 2023.
Ticket Info
Tickets are now on sale from Col U Tickets - click HERE to get yours. Tickets are currently on sale at the ADVANCE rate.
Tickets will also be available to purchase from the self-service ticketing machines in the Club Shop on the day, although you will not be able to select your seat on these. No home game sales will be available from the Ticket Office Windows.
Tickets can be printed out or shown on a smart phone at the turnstiles, with gates opening at 1:30pm.
iFollow
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.
