Tudor Mendel and Tommy Taylor were on target as Town’s U21s beat Colchester United 2-1 at the JobServe Community Stadium this evening.
It was the second Professional Development League Two South meeting of the teams this season with the first at Playford Road in December ending 1-1.
With a big vocal crowd in attendance, Colchester’s trialist C, a left-back and one of three trialists set to start with another two on the bench, was injured in the warm-up and was replaced in the starting line-up by Lennox Emery.
There was a lively start to the match with Colchester conceding a free-kick which Frankie Edwards headed clear.
With the game still in its opening two minutes, the U's then nearly took the lead after Ronnie Harvey had made a tremendous run down the right, then unselfishly fed left to Ollie Godziemski, who was denied by very good save by Town keeper Charlie Binns.
On 10 minutes, U's midfielder Daniel Banjoko caught Charlie Compton and it was the home player who came off the worst.
In the 14th minute, Ipswich, with former U's first team manager John McGreal in charge, took the lead with a superb goal. Afi Adebayo got down the left at speed and his cross was brilliantly volleyed into the net by Mendel.
A minute later, the home keeper, another U’s trialist, was in trouble, nearly caught in possession but he survived.
After a great run down the right by the full-back trialist B, he cut the ball back from the byline to Godziemski, whose shot on the turn was diverted into the side-netting by Binns.
Kai Martin fed Harvey and from his ball forward Hakeem Sandah saw his effort blocked and when Godziemski netted the rebound he was judged offside.
Town striker Jamie Mauge then got the better of Edwards on the right byline but his ball across the box saw nobody there to capitalise.
Adebayo again delivered from the left for the Blues but the shot by Taylor was blocked by trialist A in goal.
Binns did well to deny Martin’s shot on the turn, then a follow-up attempt was stopped by a defender.
Taylor saw his shot blocked in a crowded goalmouth, before Banjoko was spoken to by the referee after another foul.
After some neat interplay, Mauge’s effort was blocked by the home keeper's feet, then two minutes before half-time Taylor did really well to stop the ball from going out of play, fed it back to a teammate, who drove their shot just wide.
Early in the second half, trialist A saved from Mendel, who then headed the resulting corner over the bar.
This led to a lot of Ipswich pressure and corners, then, as Colchester responded, Godziemski's shot was blocked and the resulting cross in by Sandah was taken away from Emery.
A superb crossfield pass by Matty Roberts found Mendel on the Town right, he came back inside and his shot hit the far post. On the hour mark, Shakil Nicolaou replaced Roberts.
After a foul on Mendel, there was a home booking with the resulting free-kick superbly saved down to his left by trialist A.
Colchester got back in it on 66 when a terrible back pass was stolen by Godziemski and although his shot was saved, the ball ran out to Sandah, whose strike went between a defender’s feet on the line.
After Mauge went wide with a cross-shot, the striker, who is currently on loan at Bury Town, headed wide of the right post from a deflected cross.
On 73 minutes Nelson Eze replaced Mauge, then a minute later Colchester made three changes as Alex Kokoshi, Leo Makatta and trialist E replaced Banjoko, Emery and Godziemski.
Four minutes later, Town retook the lead with the goal which would eventually claim the three points. From a very tight angle on the right, Taylor saw his shot go in off the far post.
As the U’s sought an equaliser, Martin fed Kokoshi who came back inside onto his favoured left foot but it was an easy save for Binns.
Martin was replaced by trialist F just before Makatta was brought down by Abube Onuchukwu, the scorer of Town’s dramatic 96th-minute leveller against Millwall on Tuesday, who was booked.
In a frantic finish, Kokoshi saw his shot blocked as were the follow-ups. Three minutes into additional time, Usisya Longwe replaced Mendel for the Blues.
U21s: Binns, Elliott, Onuchukwu, Heard, Adebayo, Mendel (Longwe 93), Turner, Compton, Mauge (Shakil Nicolaou 70), T Taylor, Roberts (Nicolaou 60). Unused: Fletcher, O’Sullivan