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Match Previews

Preview: Colchester United (A)

28 February 2020

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After a run of three straight home matches Cheltenham Town are on the road on Saturday with a visit to the JobServe Community Stadium to take on Colchester United (kick-off: 3pm).

It'll be the club's first ever away fixture on 29 February and the squad will be looking to make it a good one as they enter into the clash on the back of four straight wins.

Tuesday's win over Northampton at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium was another positive step forward in what has been a good second month of 2020.

Colchester are right up there again at the top end of League Two and Michael Duff's troops will have to be at the top of their game if they are to make the long journey home to Gloucestershire with a share of the potential points on offer.

Team news

Michael Duff has a near enough fully fit squad to choose from for the trip. George Lloyd is unavailable because of a hamstring problem he is making progress with, while Scott Flinders is a long-term absentee with a leg injury.

Watch Duff's press conference looking ahead to the match:

Midfielder Ryan Broom also spoke to the press this week to look ahead to Saturday's match.

Opposition

This is Colchester's fourth consecutive season in League Two and they are again pushing for a return to the third tier.

Heading into Saturday's contest once again they find themselves firmly in the promotion picture and occupy 6th spot.

After slipping to back-to-back losses against Grimsby Town and Port Vale they got back to winning ways last time out with an away victory over Salford City.

Boss John McGreal (pictured), a former teammate of Michael Duff's during their playing days at Burnley, has been in charge since April 2016 having previously served as a caretaker in a longer spell at the club which saw him take charge of a number of its junior sides.

His squad is bolstered by the experience of Dean Gerken who has been in good form in the current campaign. The goalkeeper is back with the U's having started his career there, with spells at Bristol City and Ipswich in between.

Their defensive set-up includes 31-year-old and captain Luke Prosser, ex-Arsenal under-23s full back Cohen Bramall and fellow full back Ryan Jackson who can count Newport County and Gillingham among his former sides. They've also recently recruited Miles Welch-Hayes after he terminated his contract at Macclesfield before the end of the January transfer window.

Robins fans will be very familiar with Harry Pell in their midfield department - he's now in his second campaign with Colchester after leaving the Robins for a move east.

At only 18 Kwame Poku is an exciting youngster who has featured regularly since transferring from non-league Worthing. Montserrat international Brandon Comley and ex-Wolves man Ben Stevenson add to their midfield options.

Up top they may look to Callum Harriott to provide them with an attacking threat. He's been at the club since the summer when he transferred from Championship side Reading.

Luke Norris is another with Football League quality in their front line ranks, Frank Nouble provides an imposing forward thinking threat, while ex-Luton man Luke Gambin likes to get forward from a wide position.

Last time we met

Conor Thomas hit the back of the net with a second half penalty when Colchester visited the Jonny-Rocks Stadium earlier in the season.

A late November meeting saw the Essex team take the lead in the first half when Luke Norris struck shortly before the half hour mark.

However the Robins would pick something up from the game when Reuben Reid went down in the box.

Thomas claimed the ball and hammered in from 12-yards to ensure the spoils were shared in a result that moved Cheltenham onto 30 points and sixth position in the League Two table.

Watch the highlights back from that first encounter:

Tickets

Supporters can buy on the day at Colchester. Ticket prices on the day are:

Adults £24
Concessions £18
Under-18s £13.50
Under-14s £5.50
Under-11s Free
Additional under-11 £2.50

Coverage

Follow @CTFCofficial on Twitter for match updates, photos, team news and more. You can also keep an eye on the club's Facebook page for score updates, while keep a track on the story on the club's official Instagram account.

Tune in to hear full match coverage online with iFollow. Purchase a match pass to listen.

After the game visit the club website to read a match report and to read and watch reaction to the result from inside the camp.

Highlights will be available to watch online via iFollow a few hours after the match.


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