Femi Akinwande netted an 87th minute penalty as Town’s U21s were beaten 1-0 at Colchester United this afternoon, skipper Joe Robinson (pictured) having been shown a straight red card in the incident which led to the spot-kick.

Mark Kennedy named an unusually experienced team with Paul Digby partnering Robinson at centre-back, Jay Tabb and Larsen Touré featuring in midfield, and Luke Varney starting up front.

The former Blackburn striker came close to opening the scoring early on when Shane McLoughlin played him through, but Varney's left-foot shot across Dillon Barnes struck the far post before the ball was cleared to safety.

Town looked comfortable for much of the first half and should really have been ahead by the interval - Northern Irish U17 international Conor McKendry flashed a couple of efforts wide and Toure blazed over from the edge of the box when he should've hit the target.

Colchester sub Tyler Brampton ensured the scores remained level a few minutes after the restart when he diverted Robinson's goal-bound header over the bar, but then as the hour mark approached the Essex side started to gain the upper hand.

Louis Dunne released Akinwande who was thwarted by Jon Henly in the Town goal, and the stopper did well to collect Dion Sembie-Ferris's follow-up effort.

Henly again came to the rescue to deny Sembie-Ferris from a one-on-one chance a few minutes later after the wideman had beaten Myles Kenlock for pace.

Town offered little threat aside from set pieces and the U's collected all three points with a penalty three minutes from time.

A ball over the top found Akinwande who used his strength to hold off Robinson and get a shot away, which was kept out by Henly.

However, referee Oliver Morris-Sanders adjudged Robinson to have fouled the striker and pointed to the spot, much to the disgust of a number Town players.

To make matters even worse for Kennedy's side Robinson was shown a straight red card. Akinwande picked himself up and sent Henly the wrong way from the spot.

The blustery conditions made it difficult for both sides and a draw would probably have been a fair result, although Henly made a number of good saves to keep Town in the game during the second half.

Akinwande provided a good test for Digby who will have been pleased to get 90 minutes under his belt, while Tabb and Touré failed to make much of an impression on the game.

Varney worked hard up front and was unlucky not to score but he saw little of the ball during the second period.

U21s: Henly, Emmanuel, Kenlock, Tabb, Digby, Robinson, Toure, McDonnell, Varney, McLoughlin (Blanchfield 60), McKendry (Hammond 76). Unused: Marsden, C Smith, Guldbrandsen.

Photo: Action Images

Mark added 17:15 - Feb 15 So today the under-18s lost to Millwall and the under-21s lost to Colchester. It's been a disappointing few days at all levels. Is it time to ask whether something is going wrong with our academy system? Perhaps it is bad luck, but we have no youngsters anywhere near pushing for the first team (apart from the injured Teddy Bishop). Here we are with many injuries piling up, yet still youngsters are not deemed good enough to feature. Promotion is looking unlikely this season, but I wonder how we will progress in future years without the young players coming through to make it happen? Most of our team are at their peak or beyond, so without the room for improvement that players in their early 20s would have. Look at the ages of those who played Saturday, excluding loanees: Bialkowski (28), Foley (31), Chambers (30), Berra (31), Smith (25), Knudsen (23), Bru (27), Sears (26), Murphy (32), Pitman (28), Varney (33), Touré (31). Average age = 29.

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Mark added 17:16 - Feb 15 I meant Saturday the under-18s lost to Millwall.
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jas0999 added 17:25 - Feb 15 Strong squad? I don't think so!
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Stato added 17:31 - Feb 15 The club has a lack of a coherent strategy. We want to stick within a relatively restricted budget for first team squad members but there has been almost total apathy towards the academy. We made a good turn on Mings but we've made no progress in securing the services of any further young talented players who might likewise develop into Premier League players.
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TractorCam added 17:31 - Feb 15 "strong squad" lose to "young Colchester squad"
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cats_whiskers added 17:35 - Feb 15 The current football mediocrity has spread right down to the roots, these are becoming such woeful times when they can't achieve results against such smaller clubs, and the Ipswich side included experienced players too. What is Kennedy actually doing? He has done little it appears over his time in charge.
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cats_whiskers added 17:35 - Feb 15 The current football mediocrity has spread right down to the roots, these are becoming such woeful times when they can't achieve results against such smaller clubs, and the Ipswich side included experienced players too. What is Kennedy actually doing? He has done little it appears over his time in charge.
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muccletonjoe added 17:56 - Feb 15 This club has not only been under funded at first team level but throughout the levels as well. I would be very surprised if we are not in a relegation fight next season
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shefkuqi32 added 18:00 - Feb 15 I appreciate at youth level its not always the result that matters, as Barca B, Jong Ajax demonstrate. I doubt the youth teams here are playing 'total football' so this is just plain dissipointing.
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jpring89 added 18:15 - Feb 15 Maybe by strong squad they meant in the gym i.e bench press squat or deadlift. Footballing wise a wet fart is stronger than some of our squad
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good_at_COD added 18:29 - Feb 15 Under-funding at academy level? Surely not - what about all that money some FA s are contributing on a regular basis and the thousands being raised by Simon Milton? Surely that couldn't be going straight into the general club coffers, could it?
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good_at_COD added 18:30 - Feb 15 FA s - fans!
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runningout added 18:54 - Feb 15 U21's have been shockingly bad.. I could sort them out, and I know jack s**t about football coaching
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rinkydinkpanther added 18:56 - Feb 15 The winning mentality just goes on and on!
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dannyrr added 19:10 - Feb 15 Over the last two seasons I along with my son have had an expensive season ticket and also additionally support the academy. The notion of a percentage of the academy product being in the first team seems like a pipe dream. What I do see is no actual improvement in the league position and no improvement in the quest to become a category 1 academy. Arsenal Tottenham Chelsea and the big clubs will take a chance on a youngster but I don't see that happening at Town either being got rid of by mutual consent or on loan probably never to return or play for Town. I can't see what vision we have to take things forward in the future. Last season people were saying there was promise in the academy and the future was bright but I'm not seeing that reflected in the academy product.

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Kirbmeister added 19:44 - Feb 15 A friend of mine went to Colchester at the weekend and said they were terrible. We lost to the U21's. I've tried to stay positive and look on the bright side but I'm starting to struggle.
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bluey123 added 19:44 - Feb 15 Doesn't this show how poor the set up is at this club with an useless chairman and manage meant team just look at the results from all the age groups . The clubs needs rebuilding from head to toe
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groundhog added 20:10 - Feb 15 Last person out. Please turn off the lights.
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TimmyH added 20:28 - Feb 15 embarrassing!...wake up and smell the coffee Mick (if you want to).
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dirtydingusmagee added 20:55 - Feb 15 anyone looking foreward to next season ?
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BrettenhamBlue added 23:38 - Feb 15 Does anyone actually know what style of play we used and how we played? The U18's have clearly reverted to pure "hoofball" tactics. Are the U21's doing the same or is it a bit of mix and match? Just growing increasingly concerned that our style of anti-football seems to be spreading across all levels. dirtydingusmagee Hopefully we will have the East Anglian Derby back and I hope we decide to take the cup competitions a bit more seriously so we can generate some extra money. I am still holding out that we have a chance for 6th spot. I don't think we have any chance of hell of getting promoted but 6th spot would generate cash revenue of at least 750,000 which would prove useful when it comes to signing our usual free transfers in the Summer. The more money we can generate the better.

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MicksZzzTactics added 03:37 - Feb 16 Kirbmeister: Ever heard of Murphy's Law ... or "Applied Murphology"??? :-) Well "Applied Murphology" obviously evolves around the basic notion that: "If anything can go wrong .... it will!"(or words to that effect), aptly APPLIED to not only any and all absurd degree you can possibly concoct, but also commonly among "thinkers" to just about any and all possible situation in our daily life. There actually exist various collections in book form on this truly wünderbar subject , but here is just a few classic examples -- some of them chosen for their obvious 'weirdness' -- common to all of them though is that they COULD very well be applied to the current 'State of Ipswich Town Football Club' .... and/or our ultra stubborn not giving a flying f*** about NOTHING dinosaur manager! ..... who to my recollection has NEVER ONCE publicly looked inward or himself (alongside his faithful and likewise hoofball advocating prehistoric football fossil TC) in the mirror, when trying to explain why things don't go our "way" : O'Toole's Commentary: Murphy was an optimist! Gattuso's Extension of Murphy's Law: Nothing is ever so bad that it can't get worse! Finagle's 4th Law: Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve matters only makes things worse! Farnsdick's Corollary: After things have gone from bad to worse, the cycle will repeat itself! Anthony's Law of Force: Don't force it, get a larger hammer! Burke's Rule: Never create a problem for which you do not have the answer! Ogden's Law: The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up! Durcharm's Axiom: If one views his problem closely enough, he will recognize himself as part of the problem! Terman's Law of Innovation: If you want a track team to win the high jump you find one person who can jump seven feet, not seven people who can jump one foot! Frisch's Law: You cannot have a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant! Grandma Soderquist's Conclusion: A chicken doesn't stop scratching just because the worms are scarce! Dolly Parton's Principle: The bigger "they" are, the harder it is to see your shoes! :-):-):-)

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battyblue added 06:30 - Feb 16 The club needs a good clear out of dead wood and a new start with new management all round or the slide will continue ,first team squad players not good enough to in under 21 team shocking and we have a strong squad ha ha shocking.
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essexboy added 08:11 - Feb 16 We just go from bad to worse.This club needs a clear out from top to bottom,and that includes MM.
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planetblue_2011 added 08:34 - Feb 16 Oh dear can't even beat a reserve team who's first team are going down!! Thought we had a strong squad!!!!
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