Colchester 2 - 1 Posh
Attendance 3754 (c500 posh)
By Mark Wembley Posh
Well, well just when you thought we had the chance of putting together a decent run of form, crash, bang, wallop we go back to what we do easiest and thats lying down, putting our feet in the air and have our bellies tickled.
For over an hour yesterday we were slower to the ball, second to the tackle and so defensively minded we deserved what we got and that was sod all.
Craig Ireland warms up infront of the Barside terrace
In all fairness, Colchester were helped in the main by some dreadful decisions by the most overrated garbage referee, more of that later but there is simply no excuse to be outfought by a team who we are told regularly are poorer player for player than all of our starting 11.
The game started in a frantic fashion with Posh fielding the same 11 for the third game running doing enough early on to keep out the early pace setters. We had set our stall out as per normal to try and nick it 1-0 by playing 5 at the back and 3 in midfield with two strikers who by the positions they were taking were not on speaking terms as 9 times out of 10 they were 50 yards apart!
Posh's David Farrell had the beating of the lanky Colchester right back and he twice panicked by kicking the ball hurriedly out of play and on 10 minutes after a sublime pass from Peter Kennedy, Farrell outstripped his opponent comfortably before speeding into the box and scuffing a shot past Aidan Davison. This sent the Posh fans who bothered to travel into jubilant mood and Posh were 'Top of the League.
At the other end Posh were dealing comfortably with all Colchester which at this point wasnt alot and then came (in my opinion) the turning point. The ball was bouncing bizaarly in the box when for all to see a Colchester hand touched the ball not fleetingly but almost patted the ball under control. The 500 or so Posh fans behind the goal screamed for a penalty but referee Danson ignored all the pleas bizaarly as he had the best view in the house and was under 10 yards away from the incident.
Posh loon Sagi Burton soon departed from the fray going off with a nasty shoulder injury and he was replaced by Simon Rea who immediately tugged back the pacey and talented Craig Fagan.
Colchester then not surprisingly grew from this moment on and forced Posh keeper Mark Tyler into a barrage of top quality stops. Colchester hit the junction of post and bar with a fine drive from 20 yards and then Tyler pulled off a fine double save from Fagan header and Andrews follow up and managed to shepherd the ball out for a corner.
Then Posh conceeded a penalty, a clear penalty for what looked like shirt pulling. Up stepped Fagan and Tyler pulled off a great low stop and Posh grew a sigh of relief, but in all fairness the writing was on the wall as the forwards were so detached from the rest of the action our possession was becoming few and far between and this from what in all truth are a rag tag side and yet again we continue to sit back and we aint good enough or have the pace to withstand pressure.
Excellent Views of the action at Colchester's State of the art stadium
We did manage to hit the bar but that was more through the genius of Adam Newton who for me has come on absolute leaps and bounds from what he was last year as his diagonal 25 yard volley lobbed and dipped over the beaten Davison and struck the top of the bar.
Halftime came and we were treated to a great penalty shoot out which Posh won and was this to be an omen.............no it wasnt to be. Fry made a second change by withdrawing the ineffective Willock by bringing on Andy Clarke.
Colchester were putting us under more and more pressure and to be honest it was a matter of time before they would score and this time it was Ireland again who gave them a helping hand thanks to the eagle eyed official. YES IT WAS A PENALTY BUT HE GAVE IT FROM 30 YARDS AWAY WITH A CROWD OF PLAYERS TO LOOK THROUGH. WHY COULD THIS MAN NOT SEE THE 7 OR 8 YARDS WITH NO PLAYERS IN FRONT OF HIM WHEN WE HAD A BLATANT HANDBALL.
Anyway up stepped Wayne Andrews this time and put the ball just past the outstreched reach of Tyler into the corner of the net. Cue mass booing from the Posh fans behind the goal but I must say it was a penalty but where weas the consistency?
More Colchester pressure ensued and we were now a ragged outfit. Andy Legg had seemed to think he was a midfielder rather than the sweeper and Curtis Woodhouse and Steve Thomson were now being overrun in midfield. The two wing backs hardly got over the halfway line and Clive Platt and Andy Clarke were playing so far apart it would have needed a telephone line for them to make contact with each other.
On 64 minutes a long throw (a good one) was glanced backwards by the luckless Ireland and it drifted past the unsighted Tyler, it the post and dropped into the net. Cue celebrations from the home side and they had done exactly what they had threatened to do ever since about the 20th minute.
Fry then withdrew Farrell who hardly touched the ball in an attacking role in the second half for debutant Sonner who played some nice passes but was not in any danger of ripping Colchester apart.
Our attacks became more sporadic and desperate as the game went on and we returned to the side that looked so poor and ordinary for large parts of last season. This has to be held at both Fry and Goulds door as we are not good enough to sit back and we may as well die trying rather than wondering.
There was still time for a Platt header to be easily stopped by Davison and a low skimmer from the impressive Newton to strike the upright for the second time.
The final whistle from Danson, who hardly gave us a freekick all afternoon, booked Woodhouse for the most pathetic incident I have ever witnessed in professional football, blew and we were back to reality.
Posh's away support
In my opinion, yes you can blame the referee all you want but there are two highly paid blokes who sat in the dugout and watched us sit back not for the first time and roll over and surrender like a Frenchman and lose a game that we should have had sewn up by halftime.
We deserved to lose this game as we never tried to go out and win the game after the first 10 minutes and we were outscrapped, out fought and out thought by a team who constantly rip up the book of logic and probability who player for player none of which would get in our team.
WEMBLEY's MARKS:
Tyler 9* - Without him it would have been embarrassing
Newton 8 - Best of an ordinary outfield bunch
Kennedy 7 - Did well for 45 mins but became overrun for large parts
Ireland 4 - Had a shoker but is still a great purchase
Burton 6 - Good while it lasted which unfortunately wasnt enough
Legg 5 - Constantly out of position and has to do better than this
Farrell 6 - Had the beating of his man and didnt do it enough
Woodhouse 5 - Poorest of his three games so far - Didnt do it today
Thomson 6 - Tried hard in the heat but no end product
Willock 5 - Showed nothing today not alot of service in fairness
Platt 6 - Did okay but tired frightening quickly second half
Subs
Rea 5 - Struggled to cope wuith the lively Fagan
Clarke 4 - Did he touch it in the 45 mins he played?
Sonner 5 - Easy passes but not what we wanted at 2-1 down