9:24am Wednesday 28th July 2010
By Jonathan Waldron
John Ward was pleased with his Colchester United side’s attacking performance after they extended their unbeaten pre-season run with a 1-0 win at Cambridge United last night.
Ian Henderson’s header late in the first half proved enough to seal victory for the U’s over their Blue Square Premier opponents, at the Abbey Stadium.
Colchester looked sharp offensively, particularly in the first half and boss Ward was happy with his players’ efforts.
Ward told the Gazette: “The whole thing was like a league game for us.
“There was some high tempo football and I thought our first half performance was really good.
“We put 19 crosses in in the first half and I’m pleased with that because that’s something that I wanted.
“They now know the importance of delivering that ball into the penalty box.
“They are listening to what I’m saying, which is nice.
“I was really pleased and if I have a criticism, it’s perhaps that we didn’t finish off some of the forward play that we put together.
“In the main I’m looking at fitness levels now to take us towards Exeter and in the main, I’m pretty happy with what I’ve seen.”
All of Colchester’s starting line-up against Cambridge completed 90 minutes last night apart from striker Clive Platt, who was replaced by Kayode Odejayi on the hour mark.
The U’s are expected to field a completely different line-up tonight against Chelmsford City, as the countdown to the new npower League One campaign continues.
“Game time is really important now and I can’t replicate that on the training ground,” added Ward.
“All the boys who play against Chelmsford saw the Cambridge game, so they know the standard to live up to and try and emulate.
“If they can do that, I have some smashing problems.”
For all of the latest Colchester United news, see the Daily Gazette.
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