Colchester United manager Danny Cowley praised the performance of his players in their 1-1 draw with Mansfield Town when speaking to the official club media.
Danny and brother Nicky have only managed one win from their 11 games in charge but have only lost twice in that period.
The draw will be seen by fans of the Stags as a missed opportunity to maintain the breathing space between themselves and the chasing pack.
For the U’s, however, getting a point away at the league leaders will be seen as somewhat unexpected in their battle to avoid the drop.
Speaking to Col U TV, Cowley said, “For us, we are disappointed we didn’t win it because we were leading for so long. I thought we were at a really good place in the game. When they scored I didn’t feel their threat.”
The former Lincoln City was full of praise for his opposite number and his own players, “Mansfield Town are a really good team, Nigel Clough has done such a good job here and has such an experienced group. There’s so much goal threat in the team, I think they’ve scored 31 goals in the last ten games.”
“For us to come here and play with the defensive organisation that we did but also to carry the threat we did offensively is something the boys can be really proud of.”
The U’s boss was asked about the two goalkeepers and how they were both called into action.
“Absolutely, I think Samson has the one where I think Christy just gets a touch onto the post. Then Tom Dallison’s one from the corner, I don’t know how that doesn’t go in. So yeah we had some really good moments in the game.”
Cowley was pleased with how his side managed the game, “The group I thought showed a lot of resilience, a lot of determination, a lot of grit and I thought we were really streetwise today. Maybe sometimes in the past people have called Colchester United nice, a nice team, nice club, nice facilities, nice players. We don’t want to be nice, we want to be winners.”
The U’s have nine games left in their quest to maintain Football League status and need to start picking up wins, “We are working really hard to try to find the personality and the belief and the character to be able to win games consistently.”
When asked about the performance giving the players confidence for the run-in, Cowley said, “Well if they don’t take confidence from today they never will because it was a really complete performance both with the ball and without the ball against the best team in the division. We showed the qualities that we have as a group.”
“You only see the performance on the match day but all week we’ve been preparing for this and the boys out of the team have been pushing the ones in the team to make sure we can get to match day and find our best performances. It was a really good effort from everybody involved.”
He finished by complimenting both sets of fans for the part they played in the match, commenting how the boos should be taken as praise.
“It was great to play here, I thought it was a brilliant atmosphere. Obviously, the Mansfield Town supporters played their part. They were so for their team, really encouraging them.”
“And yeah, of course, they got a little bit frustrated maybe with us but, like I said to the players at the end when the whole stadium is booing you as the away team you know you’ve played well.”
“It’s football’s way of saying, when they’re booing and shouting abuse, you’re a really good team you’ve given us a really tough day today, you’re a really awkward opponent, well done!”
“So, yeah to the Mansfield supporters, we thank them for their support. This is what makes football football. I have to talk about our supporters because wow how good were they?”
“I don’t know how many we had and they were in the corner of the ground but from the first minute to the last they got behind the team and I just thought it was a great advert for League Two football.”
“Where else in the world do you get fourth-tier football where there’s so much passion, so much energy? Both sets of supporters fighting for their team and two high-quality teams playing against each other.”
Writer’s View
Since their appointment, the Cowley brothers have certainly made Colchester tough to beat but do need to start converting one point into three to secure safety.
The streetwise approach will have angered and frustrated Mansfield fans but this is a point that those chasing the U’s, Sutton United and Forest Green Rovers, won’t have been expecting.
It would perhaps be foolish to assume a side struggling at the bottom of the division will head to free-scoring Mansfield and go gung-ho. Having seen the Cowleys work at Lincoln City, you can be sure they will have managed the clock and tempo of the game with the various tricks available to them.
Colchester will need goalkeeper Owen Goodman to continue his form, Harry Anderson to provide a threat out wide and the young midfielders Arthur Read and Ali Smith to keep things ticking in midfield if they are to ward off the threat of National League football.
A primary school teacher turned writer, Tom has been part of The Real EFL for two years. He focuses on predictions, deep dives, and insightful content.
