‘No one knows what is going to happen’ – Szmodics on his U’s future
Sammie Szmodics celebrates scoring the first of his two first-half goals, in a final day 3-0 win at Lincoln. It could well prove to be his final appearance for the U's. Picture: PAGEPIX
Sammie Szmodics might well have played his last game for Colchester United, but it is a game he will never forget.
The 23-year-old bagged a brace in a fantastic 3-0 win at champions Lincoln City, only for his team to miss out on the play-offs by dint of Newport County’s 87th minute equaliser at Morecambe.
Szmodics has been at Colchester since the age of seven, but at various times in recent seasons he has been linked with a move away from the Community Stadium, and his current contract expires this summer.
“It’s football, and no one knows what is going to happen,” admitted Szmodics.
“It’s been a fantastic 15 or 16 years for me at Colchester. I’ve got a summer to look forward to now, and a break from everything.
- Carl Marston’s U’s Player Ratings
“Then I’m sure my agent and the people at Colchester will be working hard to come to some agreement.
“I will have two or three weeks break from football before I start my plan. I will have to see where I will be doing my pre-season, whether that be at Colchester or elsewhere.”
Most Read
- 1 Fuel protests: Twelve miles of queues reported on A12
- 2 Macauley Bonne: Town is not a closed book... I've got unfinished business
- 3 Suffolk's first blue badge prosecution for Haverhill woman
- 4 Man in 40s stabbed at town centre multi-storey car park
- 5 Road closed and person trapped in car after crash
- 6 7 of the prettiest cafes in Suffolk
- 7 Go-ahead given for 40 new homes in Suffolk village
- 8 Dobra signs for Cook's Chesterfield after Ipswich departure
- 9 Suspected drink driver arrested after three cars damaged in crash
- 10 Three Suffolk beaches named among 'most beautiful' in UK by Sunday Times
With reference to Saturday’s win, Szmodics said: “I said to the boys that I don’t think I’ve come off a pitch after winning 3-0 and me scoring a brace, and yet feeling gutted.
“We gave it all we had today. Lincoln had only lost here (at home) once, and we wanted to do the double over them.
“We’ve got to take the positives. We achieved the double over them and have missed out (on the play-offs) by just one goal. We’ve got to reflect. It’s hard to talk now, having just missed out, because we are all so gutted.
- Heartbreak and pride – Reflection on an emotional weekend
“You don’t really know what’s happening elsewhere, while you are playing out there. The Col U fans have been fantastic all season, home and away, and you could get a sense that we were in (the play-offs), the way they were singing about Wembley and that.
“As players you are just counting down the clock. The fans are still singing and the bench is still vibrant, and then we’ve heard the 9,000 or so Lincoln fans singing about the fact we were 3-0 up and it doesn’t mean anything.
“It felt like a sucker punch but we kept going and we got the double over them.
“There was no pressure on us – we were 23-1 against getting in the play-offs, and yet the first half was the best first-half we have ever had.
“We were extra up for this game. I think that showed and we have beaten the champions 3-0 on their own patch.”
