Ben Garner praises team spirit after Colchester rescue point against Tranmere

Posted Sunday, March 26, 2023 by PA

Ben Garner was pleased with the spirit his Colchester side showed after they battled back to claim a point in their 1-1 League Two draw with Tranmere.

Rovers had led from the 13th minute through Harvey Saunders, who pounced on Josh Hawkes’ through ball and went past goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara, before tapping into the vacant net.

But Colchester salvaged a point through Noah Chilvers after he netted from the penalty spot in the 65th minute, following Josh Dacres-Cogley’s foul on Connor Hall in the area.

U’s head coach Garner said: “We’re disappointed because we wanted to get the win but to come back again shows the spirit we’ve got and the positive today was we created so many more chances.

“We made it hard by conceding a disappointing goal from our perspective in the first half but in the second half, I was pleased with the spirit, the commitment and the effort.

“We need to add a little bit of quality in certain areas and in certain situations but we didn’t get to grips with them in the first half well enough and conceded a really soft goal.

“They played a diamond and we didn’t get to grips enough with it defensively and we changed a couple of bits at half-time and were much better in the second half.

“They had a couple of counter attacks when we were pushing for the win but we created a couple of good opportunities.”

Prior to their equaliser, Colchester felt they should have been awarded a penalty after Samson Tovide went down under goalkeeper Joe Murphy’s challenge.

But Tranmere were denied a spot-kick late on, after Saunders tumbled in the box following Luke Chambers’ tackle.

Tranmere interim head coach Ian Dawes said: “It’s always disappointing not to win a game of football, regardless of how it goes.

“We always want to win and I think that’s got to be the mentality of our club and our players and staff.

“But at the same time, we’ve got to look at the bigger picture of how we’re playing.

“Both teams went out to win the game.

“We’re building something new here and how we want to play and I see there are some really positive outcomes.

“It’s a great foundation to work from and I can’t wait to work with them again on Monday.

“We worked really hard on getting into the final third in possession of the ball this week, because it’s so important that we get control.

“It’s then that final bit of movement and decision making in the final third, which I think this group will get better at and we’ll create more chances from it.”