Colchester United season-ticket holder Si Collinson's views on the U's

AFTER a home curtain-raiser for Colchester United, we embarked on our first away trip of the season at the weekend.

It was really refreshing to see the EFL fixtures computer be nice to us, breaking us in gently with the short trip to Plymouth Argyle.

Not to be deterred, the plan was finalised and on paper it seemed so easy, if not long.

Early start, drive six hours, watch the match, get three points, drive the six hours home happy. Like I said, easy.

But as with everything, nothing in football goes to plan, including just getting there.

Our pal and fellow U's fan Aaron Finch had somehow very cleverly managed to arrange his flight back from India to coincide with us passing Heathrow, so we could pick him up.

All well and good if someone - ok me - was able to read.

I was convinced it was T3 he arrived at, so after a slight altercation with a taxi driver while getting in the car park, we went in search of Aaron - only to then realise he was actually at T2.

Mmmm great start.

So after a slight delay we had conducted the pick up and off we went on the next stage of the trip.

The M4 was kind to us except for the average speed road works - it wouldn't be an away day without them.

But the closer to Plymouth we got, the worse the weather.

Nick was having great fun drinking, sleeping and waking up on repeat while I was trying to work out if I was driving or sailing the car.

Typically or thankfully the rain stopped just as we arrived and parked up at the ground.

There we were treated to a very entertaining match.

Both sides went at it full speed from the off and it was a close end to end game, where one side took their chance and the other side did not. I am sure by now you know which was sadly which.

After a frustrating 90 minutes of football, there was only one thing left to do.

Yep, you guessed it, a nice six-hour trip back to Colchester.

The road journey was taken up with the three passengers playing who can stay awake the longest.

Stuart didn't even bother trying and was asleep pretty much the second the final whistle sounded.

Interestingly the main talking point was prompted by the constant mention on the radio about VAR and the impact on the Premier League games.

This led to a healthy debate on to the pros and cons of the system, which could be the setting for a whole different article.

We finally made it back to Colchester just after 12.30pm and as I climbed into bed half an hour later, I was able to reflect on not only match, but also the day.

Those of you who have never attended an away game, I really would highly recommend doing so.

It is not just about the football but all the other bits that happen to make the day and the memories.

Grimsby away next Tuesday can't come round quickly enough to do it all again - hopefully see you there.