A new season is upon us and with the pre-season friendlies now complete we opted to for some groundhopping to Colchester United at the JobServe Community Stadium – however things didn’t go quite to plan!
Colchester United
Colchester United participate in EFL League Two, the fourth tier, where they have been since relegation from League One at the end of the 2015/16 season. In the 2022/23 season Colchester United finished in 20th position (in a league of 24 teams).
Getting to Colchester
Groundhopping to Colchester should be quite an easy feat being based in Norwich and in-fact the train takes almost exactly one hour.
We were advised by the train operators after booking train tickets that the return trip would be cancelled which was slightly annoying and meant that well oiled plans could potentially see us having time to kill after the match (that was an understatement…)
Arriving in Colchester was easy enough however be prepared that the stadium is 3km away so either allow plenty of time to walk, or prepare to order a cab. We opted for the latter due to the driving rain and arrived around 2.15pm.
The Stadium
Colchester United moved into the JobServe Community Stadium when it was built in 2008. Then it was named the Colchester Community Stadium, with JobServe taking the named sponsorship in 2018.
Previous to this, the club played at Layer Road so many ground hoppers will have added that to their list before needing to add this newer stadium (see more about this list later!)
We headed to The Legends Suite for a beer and they offered lager and an IPA in plastic bottles at a reasonable £4. Here we chatted with Colchester fans and it is fair to say that those we spoke to had low expectations for the season and finishing 22nd would be OK.
Pitch Inspection
Due to the intense rain throughout the day, a pitch inspection had been ordered for 2.30pm and on our walk to the stand from the bar people were seen to be exiting the ground – the match had been called off.
Pitch Inspection was set for 2.30pm
Swindon Town Fans
Special mention must go to the travelling Swindon Town fans who remained inside the stadium, chanting and not wanting to leave, after all the next stage was the long trip home. The players were cheered and this was reciprocated back to the fans.
Futbology App
We planned to attend this match after using the Futbology App and searching the matches local to us. Once at the match, open the app and you will be prompted to “check-in” at the stadium and match.
The Futbology Logo
Are you alone at Colchester, or are there other groundhoppers at the venue? The app will show you who else has checked in whilst your attendance will provide you with a permanent stamp that you were there for future reference. You can download this for Android here or for iPhone here.
The wait is now on for details of when this match will be rescheduled….
Mystery Football Weekends
Covert Football Trips offers a new method of ground-hopping across Europe. Just select your weekend of travel and we do the rest, sending you to fantastic matches whilst taking care of your flights, accommodation and match tickets.
When booked we will send you Ticket Stubs so you have something tangible whilst you wait for the big reveal!
Colchester fans displaying our new ticket stubs
