It’s Premiership versus League One on Tuesday night as Colchester United head to Sunderland for their Carling Cup second round tie, a fixture which most neutrals will see as a ‘cup final’ for Colchester United. But only three years and a half ago U’s fans will remember a very different story.
Sat, 21 Apr 2007 - Roy Keane assembled his premiership-bound charges to the almighty Layer Road. Jonny Evans, Stern John and Dwight Yorke lined up against little Colchester, punching well above their weight currently sitting 9th in England’s second tier of football. Loitering outside of the Drury, I look around; it’s the perfect day for football. Blue & White shirts streaming up a sun drenched Layer Road en route to a tired and decrepit Layer Road (to quote Jon Champion from ITV’s highlights programme) . Wayne Brown fired Colchester United ahead right of the cusp of half time, bad-tempered manager Roy Keane missed it due to heading down the tunnel as soon as the 4th officials board went up. No doubt Keane would have demanded to know what happened as his players joined him in the changing room minutes later. Sunderland hit back minutes after the restart through Trinidad and Tobago’s biggest export; Dwight Yorke. (Shaka Hislop was my favourite export until I discovered he was born in Hackney.) The fearless U’s went on to net 2 more goals, scored by Richard Garcia and Jamie Cureton.
I remember standing at work in a fish & chip shop a couple of hours after the game, temperature inside must have been 30°C at least.
I thought to myself; “This is it…Unless we somehow make the play-offs for the Premier League (which was still a possibility).”
As a spotty teenager in a red and white apron, I knew this was the peak for Colchester United. And it’s somewhat comforting now when I see the gulf in class between the two teams again. It’s what being a football league fan is all about, never expecting too much, and always thriving on being the under-dog.
Roy Keane walked out on Sunderland…..Surprisingly. Many of the squad he bought to Layer Road are with him at that club up the A12. Likewise the majority of our squad that day have departed.
Hopefully being the underdog will benefit us Tuesday; even though I would much rather 3 points in the league at home to Carlisle on Friday night. Will Ward tweak his starting XI from that who has started the last 2 league games? I think he’ll bear in mind the prospect of picking up injuries as well as fatigue from extensive hours on the team bus this week.
I’m not expecting too much this time around, although I’m looking forward to finding an English bar and watching Gillette Soccer Special whilst I’m in Portugal. I'm sure you'll agree, that’s why we go abroad right?
Camulodunum
