canary cherub 1 Posted September 4, 2006 How on earth did we get a point from this? It was hardly our fault if it was men against boys. Matthieu Louis-Jean was missing from the team sheet and so was Joe Lewis. Rossi Jarvis was on the bench, one of only three subs. A lad called Steven Arnold was in goal, who played for the Academy at Reading on Saturday.In marked contrast to last week, when we controlled the game for long periods, Colchester were in charge throughout - except after they took the lead, when they sat back so far that they were halfway up the N&P. Our boys deserve great credit for getting back into it and equalising twice. Steven Arnold will never have a busier night than that. Hesitant at first, and playing behind a different back four to the one on Saturday, he grew in confidence and somehow kept everything out until half time, aided by some truly abysmal finishing. Colchester took the lead on about 50 minutes with a clever chip over the keeper from about 20 yards, but we persevered until Fisk (I think) accelerated like lightning into the box, so quick that his opponent couldn''t help bringing him down. Spillane''s penalty, low and hard to the keeper''s right, was exemplary. Five minutes later, Colchester scored again. Then we brought on Ross Kelly, an Academy boy who played on Saturday at Reading. An attacking midfielder, he caught the eye as soon as he came on, and scored from the edge of the box about five minutes later. What a revelation.I felt proud of those boys tonight. They played for each other and worked their socks off. But what on earth is happening at our club? Three substitutes, when Colchester - Colchester - could manage the regulation five? The season''s only a month old. Are we even more hard up than Colchester, or are we having a hissy fit at being chucked out of the Prem reserve league and not taking it seriously? Either way, it''s an appalling message to send out to our Championship rivals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
