Colchester 1XI 2 Bury St Edmunds 1XI 2BURY entered this game with almost half their usual starting line-up missing, which meant that veteran Ian Konrath was called up for his annual match from the seconds.

Colchester 1XI 2 Bury St Edmunds 1XI 2

BURY entered this game with almost half their usual starting line-up missing, which meant that veteran Ian Konrath was called up for his annual match from the seconds. Bury started with a change in formation and early signs were that this would bear fruit. A goalmouth scramble allowed Mike Skelton to score at the second attempt.

Colchester fought back, gaining penalty corners which Bury successfully defended, until Colchester found a way past Aaron Blumfield to draw level.

The second half started well for Bury as they managed to have large periods of position with lots of chances being created. Colchester capitalised by hitting Bury on the break and the five-on-three ended with Colchester scoring an an excellent goal.

A hotly contested decision saw one of the Bury side sent off after Colchester appealed vigorously for a card to be shown for a decision that only the offended player seemed to see.

Five minutes later, with the full 11 back on the field and with only minutes to go, Richard Pinneo hit a quick free into the D and Konrath scored with a deflection to continue to show the youngsters how it is done.

A 2-2 draw seemed a fair result and with Bury having players returning next week, the competition for places is fierce and this will hopefully start a run of results up the table.