“Seven Nil, who gives a **** we’re fourth in the league and we’re going up” – so sang the faithful at the end of the game on Saturday.

Taking such a dismissive view of the proceedings was more of out of arrogance and disdain than actual acceptance of the result. In truth we had witnessed a debacle of monumental proportions.

The last time that I saw Colchester concede seven goals was at the Old Feethams ground when we lost 7-3 to Darlington many years ago.

This was somewhat different. A game that I had confidently predicted we would win had become an embarrassment. Strangely I felt that the game was meaningless and that the result didn’t matter. In reality it did matter.

The attendance was sparse and the new fourth side at Deepdale was unfinished with open spaces where the executive boxes should be and builder’s materials around the area.

The pitch looked hard and there were pockets of frost. The atmosphere in the stadium was muted and library like. Only a chorus of “sack the board” from the home element in the Bill Shankly Kop was heard when the home side emerged.

Aidy had made some changes with Lisbie (although available) left at home and Foxy, Hackney and Odejayi coming into the side. They lined up – Williams in goal, White, Magnus, Reid and Tierney at the back. Ifil, Fox, Wordsworth and Hackney in midfield and Odejayi and Stevie G up front.

The faithful were in good voice and the players responded positively. So far so good, then the match started. The temperature dipped a few degrees and Eddie the Eagle sank deeper into his seat. For the first five to ten minutes Colchester looked the better team and there was an air of confidence (totally unfounded as it turned out!). All the players seemed to be having problems with the surface which was hard and unyielding.

Colchester fashioned two or three shots from distance before Wallace restored to the PNE team after suspension swung in a corner which allowed Brown to score with ease after only 13 minutes. This was followed by a fluke goal after 27 minutes when Sedgwick’s shot ricocheted off Marc Tierney and looped over Williams into the net.

Now I suppose I could argue, but not very convincingly, that the turning point in the game was an injury to John White after 35 minutes, which required a reshuffle of the team and brought the arrival of Joel “Thierry” Thomas to proceedings. Enough said.

Not even the reliable Wordworth could find the net with one of his trademark free kicks just before the interval.

Now I knew that it wasn’t going to be our day when there were no pies at the refreshment kiosk at half time. The tea was lukewarm and the staff were worse than useless. Fortunately a steward allowed some fans outside to get some hot food.

No-one however was prepared for what was about to happen. Within 7 minutes of the restart three more Preston goals had rained in on the Colchester goal. Parkin (the beast) scored two of them and Williams was unlucky when Brown’s shot hit the post and rebounded striking him on the back before finding the back of the net.

Jeff Stelling in the Sky Sports Studio has actually tipped Colchester to win before the game and at four nil was reminding viewers that Peterborough had come back from a similar scoreline against Cardiff days before. When the fifth went in even he had to eat his words!

It is difficult to pick out any decent performances from a Colchester player (Tierney aside) but one player stood out for performing so poorly and that was Simon Hackney. He was inept and either never fancied the game or was so woeful that the only surprise was that he lasted until the 55th minute before being substituted. Kem Izzet arrived with the team 5-0 down and with damage limitation the order of the day.

The faithful sang “6-5 and we’re on the pitch” but there was a strange lull in proceedings for 12 minutes before Carter seemed to be allowed to walk through a nonexistent defence to score Number six. In truth this was not good enough and some Colchester supporters left after a cheery word to a now despondent Eddie the Eagle.

Magnus was harshly adjudged to have fouled in the penalty area and Parkin scored to make the scoreline 7-0. Both he and Brown were then substituted and there were no further goals.

The faithful saw the match out with constant singing and chanting and even accused Preston supporters of sneaking out. It was good to see Aidy and the team acknowledge the travelling faithful at the end of the game. I hear no dissenting voices and everyone agreed that if we were to lose then this was the game.

The draw of course is a dream for Preston with Chelsea going to Deepdale for the Fourth round but perhaps the most telling result on Saturday was Norwich winning at Wycombe and giving themselves a psychological boost in the promotion race. Never mind the cup, the league match on the 16th January is when it really matters.

Up the U’s

Photo: Action Images

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