Colchester still holds sway for Parkinson
HE assembled what was arguably Colchester United’s most successful side, after leading them to a historic promotion to the Championship in 2006.
So it is perhaps unsurprising that Phil Parkinson still has a soft spot for his former club.
Parkinson returned to Colchester with his Bradford City side and claimed a hard-earned point following a goalless draw at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.
And although the U’s are currently languishing in a position in League One’s bottom four, they have a bright future according to Parkinson, who was given a warm welcome.
Parkinson said: “Colchester have got some good players and we saw last year when we played them in the youth final what they’re doing.
“You’re seeing the results of that now with the young players and that’s what Colchester are all about.
“It was like that when I was there, when we had the likes of Greg Halford, Garry Richards, George Elokobi, Dean Gerken and John White.
“Those players gelled together really well and they gave us a team spirit and contributed to the success we had.
“I’ll never forget my time there and they’re one of the clubs whose results I will always look out for.
“But for us to follow the win at MK Dons with a point here was good, considering the fact that we have three or four key players missing.”
Colchester boss Tony Humes was pleased to see his side register another clean sheet, despite the draw keeping them in the bottom four.
“It was a good, solid performance and we were patient,” said Humes.
“It was really pleasing to keep a clean sheet and that’s three in four games now. The first half was a really cagey, cat and mouse affair and neither side gave anything away.
“In the second half, we put a few different things in place and I thought the players took it on really well.
“Bradford defended well and were very compact, which is what we expected but we got more success in the second half.
“Their goalkeeper made some good saves and at least we had some opportunities and some efforts on target.”
Colchester had the better of the chances in a game where defences were largely on top.
Bradford goalkeeper Jordan Pickford denied Sanchez Watt and George Moncur early on, while at the other end Freddie Sears fired wide.
Mark Yeates tested Sam Walker early after the break but Moncur’s shot flashed wide and Sears’ effort was cleared off the line as it ended a draw.