Having been knocked off top spot last weekend, County will be looking to return to winning ways and get back on track this weekend as we travel to relegation-threatened Colchester United.
Despite creating a number of clear-cut chances against Swindon last time out, a 0-0 draw at Edgeley Park made it four games without a win for Dave Challinor’s side, slipping off the top of the table for the first time since October.
Mansfield Town now lead the way at the top of League Two after a 5-1 win over Salford City last weekend – the Stags sit above County on goal difference, with a game in hand. Fourth place Wrexham had the chance to move within a point of us on Tuesday night too, but the Welsh side could only draw 1-1 at struggling Forest Green Rovers, leaving us three points clear of them with a considerably better goal difference.
Our closest challengers are all playing elsewhere on Saturday, as 5th place MK Dons go to AFC Wimbledon in a 12.30 kick-off, Wrexham host Accrington Stanley, Crewe Alexandra are at home to Morecambe and Mansfield travel to Newport County.
Opponents Colchester United were also in action on Tuesday night, coming from behind to salvage a draw away at Salford City thanks to a goal from substitute Bradley Ihionvein. It leaves them five points clear of the relegation zone with 12 games left to play, having lost just once in eight games since the appointment of manager Danny Cowley.
Since we last met:
League Two strugglers Colchester were already on their second manager of the season when coming to Edgeley Park back in November, with Matty Etherington having just been appointed on a permanent basis following an interim spell in charge.
Etherington had inherited a side sat in the relegation zone after nine defeats from their opening 13 games under former Swindon and Charlton boss Ben Garner, but three wins and a draw in his first four games had seen them climb away from the danger zone, earning him the job on a full-time basis.
A 2-0 defeat at Edgeley Park, however, was the beginning of a dismal run of eight losses from nine for the Us that saw Etherington also dismissed by New Year’s Day, leaving them one place and five points above the drop zone.
In a bid to avoid dropping into non-league for the first time since 1992, the club went for a high-profile appointment in former Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley. The 45-year-old first gained headlines when guiding Lincoln City to both the National League title and the Quarter-Final of the Emirates FA Cup, before going on to spells at Huddersfield Town in the Championship and Portsmouth in League One.
He has certainly made the Us more difficult to beat since going in to the JobServe Community Stadium, with his solitary defeat in eight games coming in stoppage time away at Harrogate Town.
He has, however, only one once too – a 1-0 victory away at Morecambe last month. Tuesday night’s stalemate at Salford was their sixth draw already under Cowley, a sequence made all the more remarkable when you consider they had drawn just twice all season prior to his appointment.
They have shown plenty of resolve along the way too – in four of those games they have come from behind to take a point, and have twice come back from 2-0 deficits against Swindon Town and Forest Green Rovers.
Positive midweek results for both Sutton United and Forest Green have tightened things up at the bottom of the table though, and the Us aren’t sure of safety just yet. They are currently five points clear of the drop zone with 12 games remaining, with wins now required if they are to secure their EFL status for another season.
Match Stats:
- Only the bottom two have picked up fewer points at home this season than Colchester’s 17. They are winless at home since beating Salford City in December, losing one and drawing three since.
- County have won the last three meetings between the two sides without conceding a goal. Prior to that, we had gone 11 games without a win against the Essex side, a run stretching back to 1990.
- The Us have traditionally been something of a bogey side for County down the years. Saturday will be the 50th meeting between the two clubs, with County winning 11 and losing 23 of the previous encounters.
- No goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets in League Two this season than Ben Hinchliffe’s 12 – level with Mansfield ‘keeper Christy Pym.
- Kyle Wootton has scored in each of his three appearances for County against Colchester United.
