ELLIOTT Ward admits Colchester United got exactly what they deserved after they were dumped out of the Essex Senior Cup by Aveley.
A young U’s side featuring eight first-team players lost 3-1 to their Pitching In Isthmian Premier opponents at the JobServe Community Stadium, following a hugely disappointing performance.
Colchester, who included the likes of Samson Tovide, John Kymani Gordon, Josh Powell and Jaden Williams in their starting line-up, were comprehensively beaten by the Millers to crash out of the county competition, at the third-round stage and under-21 boss Ward had no complaints about the scoreline.
Ward said: “We’re really disappointed with the result and the overall performance.
“When you put a team out to play and you know the quality they have, you hope it comes together to show everyone exactly what we’re about and how good we can be.
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“That was the message before the game – out-fight, out-run, out-play - and that was the challenge for the players against a team that worked really, really hard.
“I think they ended up doing everything against us that we wanted to do against them, so really disappointed in that sense.
“Full credit to Aveley for how they approached the game – that’s what we expect from our players, no matter what the team is, no matter what the competition is.
“That’s the minimum we expect, as a club.
“We didn’t deliver that, so you get exactly what you deserve.
Our Essex Senior Cup campaign ends in defeat. #ColU | #WeAreUnited pic.twitter.com/7dzcwMOuKY
— Colchester United FC (@ColU_Official) October 21, 2025
“You either win or you learn in football and tonight, we have to learn big time and we have to learn quick because the first team have got Swindon on Saturday and we [under-21s] play Bromley, on the Monday.
“Football is never the same and the challenges are all different and you have to make sure you’re prepared for all of them.”
Aveley were 2-0 up inside the opening 21 minutes, following goals by Suley Zuhdu and Jayden Gipson.
Zuhdu extended the Millers’ advantage ten minutes after the break and although substitute Kaion Lisbie reduced the deficit for the U’s midway through the second half, it was not enough to prevent the hosts’ defeat.
Substitute Kaion Lisbie pulls one back for the young U’s, who now trail by two as we search for a late comeback with 15 to play. #ColU | #WeAreUnited pic.twitter.com/CBncBlson3
— Colchester United FC (@ColU_Official) October 21, 2025
“Aveley came here to win after winning 3-0 at the weekend and having the momentum and they took the game to us,” continued Ward.
“I thought we started well in the first five minutes and I was hoping that we could carry on the quick play to try and hurt them through the gaps and overloads.
“But when their first goal went in, it dented us but it came from our own doing.
“We lost the ball, there’s a deflected cross and they get across our defenders and score.
“We spoke before the game about trying not to give them any hope and they had a lot of hope after the first goal.
READ MORE: Match report as Colchester bow out of BBC Essex Senior Cup
“It really spurred them on; it made them more aggressive and then sloppy play from us and we end up conceding a corner, so again self inflicted.
“We don’t mark them, we don’t do the zones and we’re 2-0 down.
“We gave ourselves a massive mountain to climb, from not winning duels and not having enough quality on the ball.
“Even when we broke through their shape or played round it and then went through, we turned it over.
“We couldn’t really hurt them, even when we’re breaking into the final third and the quality – whether it was the pass or cross or connections – wasn’t there and that just spurred them on even more and gave them more hope.
“We tried to give them no hope and ended up giving them so much hope that they were really comfortable in the game.
Half-time here, and the U’s trail Aveley in the Essex Senior Cup. #ColU | #WeAreUnited pic.twitter.com/QSx0KpPuFk
— Colchester United FC (@ColU_Official) October 21, 2025
“I thought the subs were really good for us and gave us a lot more energy and a goal and we still had a lot of time to get back into the game.
“But the final bits weren’t right and let’s be honest, we were second best.
“They deserved the win, we can’t have any arguments with that.”
Ward was pleased with the impact Colchester’s substitutes made in the second half, with Lisbie scoring and Makise Evans and Kien Connolly also impressing off the bench.
Aveley beat @EFL outfit Colchester United in the @BBCEssexSport Cup with goals from Zuhdu and Gipson 🏆
🔵 1-3 🔴#MunyardsMillers | #TogetherAveley pic.twitter.com/3uHoaBoTRL— Aveley Football Club (@AveleyFC) October 21, 2025
Ward added: “Kaion Lisbie has been playing really well this season and he deserves that goal.
“The front two Makise and Kien have also caused problems all season and caused problems when they came on.
“They gave them a different problem to deal with and we changed the midfield a little bit but I don’t think we were brave enough at 2-0 down.
“Even at 3-0 down, we showed some moments but again, we lacked the quality to break them down.”
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