Game 14 – Northampton

It’s difficult to keep track of our own squad this season.  Another new boy in the mix tonight – Simon Hackney, newly acquired from Carlisle, and it was interesting to see that he came on at the hour mark – the same point at which he was substituted by Carlisle when we played them here back in October.    This was one of the lowest attendances of the season (below 4,000 for only the second time) and rather surprising given the recent run of results.  Mind you it was cold, so that probably kept a few home loving people away and it takes a certain type of hardened supporter (of which I’m not one) to travel to a League One away match on a midweek evening in the winter months.

The most notable  feature of the first half of the game was the negative play by the Cobblers.  A goal up after 18 minutes and they decided they could keep this up for the rest of the game.  Blatant time-wasting in the first quarter of a match is not a pretty sight, but at least the Us were up for the challenge and they kept plodding away – demonstrating how the team spirit has changed in recent weeks.   The  away tactic backfired just before half tme when they had a player sent off  and they had to re-think their strategy.  Returning after the break Northampton nailed their colours to the mast when they replaced their two front men and settled for a packed midfield and defence.  Loads more time wasting followed and it was severely punished by two goals in 89 seconds.

I’m not sure I can keep on taking the early disappointments of going a goal down before the team wakes up and comes back into the game.  I’d much prefer it if we took the lead and stayed there.  Anyway the mood of the sparse support was greatly improved by the double strike and the atmosphere on the trek away from the stadium after the game was far more bearable than it might have been.  Despite the constant comings and goings, of loans in and out, and above average numbers of injuries I am sensing some stability in the squad and that is showing in parts of the team performance.

Tags: colchester united, cuckoo farm, cufc, league one, northampton, win