U23s Lose at Coggeshall
Saturday, 28th Jul 2018 23:19

Town's U23 side were beaten 2-1 in their latest friendly at Bostik North Division side Coggeshall Town on Saturday afternoon. Armando Dobra (pictured) scored the Blues' goal just before the half-hour mark.

Both sides came close to opening the scoring early on - Town keeper Harry Wright dived full length to push Conor Hubble's freekick round the post in the second minute and at the other end Ben Morris's flick released Dobra, but he pulled his effort just wide of the far post.

The hosts did break the deadlock in the sixth minute. Skipper Luke Wilson nodded a right-sided corner from Hubble down into the six-yard box and centre-back partner Jamie Shaw slotted in from close range.

The young Blues levelled on 28 when Conor McKendry's long-range effort was fumbled by keeper James Bransgrove and Dobra reacted first to the loose ball and finished well.

Seedgrowers frontman Kieran Bishop then lifted over the bar under pressure from Wright and as the half-time whistle approached, Town's appeals for what appeared to be an obvious penalty when one-time Blues trialist Curtis Haynes-Brown felled McKendry in the box were waved away by the referee.

Ben Folami cut in from the left and struck an effort just over shortly after the break, before the home side regained the lead on 57. Bishop played the ball across to Nnamdi Nwachuku and the striker swept the ball into the corner of the net and beyond Wright's reach.

Ten minutes later McKendry released Folami and after getting the better of a defender out wide, the Australian lifted the ball over Bransgrove but ex-Blues defender Ian Miller got back to somehow head the ball off the line.

Town did push forward late on and only a combination of Bransgrove and a number of defenders blocked Folami's effort, before Morris blazed over from the edge of the box minutes later.

Folami came close on a number of occasions and was unlucky not to score but other than those, the Blues didn't create too many clearcut chances and the home side probably deserved the win as they continued to press and test Wright and the Town defence throughout.

U23s: Wright, Crowe, Webber, McGavin, Marshall (K Brown 68), Ndaba, McKendry, McLoughlin, Folami, Dobra, Morris. Unused: Ware, Vega.

Photo: TWTD

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