Colchester United goalkeeper Owen Goodman has impressed

It’s testament to the teenage goalkeeper’s talent and maturity that he has settled so quickly at Colchester United, after joining them on a season-long loan from Premier League side Crystal Palace in July.

The 19-year-old is now flourishing with the U’s, helping them keep two clean sheets in their last three matches, securing a spot in the League Two Team of the Week following his fine performance against Tranmere Rovers and also earning international recognition, with England under-20s.

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But Goodman knows this is just the start of what has the potential to be a very successful career.

“I’m no finished article,” admits Goodman.

“I want to get to the top and to do that, I need to work my way through.

“I’m only 19 and playing in League Two.

“My dad tells me every week that I’m the youngest keeper playing in the league, so I should be proud of myself.

“I just want to get better in every game and every day.

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“For me personally, consistency is something I want to build on this year.

“As a team, we want to build consistency as a group and get results and get points on the board and finish as high as we can in the table.

“Being included in the Team of the Week shows that I’m performing well.

“The Team of the Week is based on ratings and I must be doing something right to get the highest rating to be in that team of the week.

“So it’s something I’m proud of and hopefully, there are many more to come.

“But mainly for me, I just want to get results and get the team up the board and do what I can, on the pitch.”

Goodman has played his part in Colchester’s improved defensive form, which has seen them concede only once in their last three games.

But it is a sign of the high standards the youngster sets himself that he should be self-critical regarding the one goal the U’s have conceded in that period, Isaac Hutchinson’s long-range screamer in the 1-0 defeat, at Walsall.

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Goodman said: “I feel as though we should have had three clean sheets, in the last three games.

“If you look at the Walsall goal, it was very preventable in a lot of areas.

“It’s one of the best goals I’ve conceded in years and he’s hit it so pure, in the top corner.

“I still believe that if I’d seen it earlier with my athleticism, I could have got something to it.

“I did get a finger to it but it was an unbelievable strike.

“Two clean sheets in the last three is still something to be proud of.

“It feels even better when you win a game and also keep a clean sheet.

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“It’s a massive incentive for where we’ve been as a team, over the last two weeks.

“The start we had wasn’t great, wasn’t up to par but I think now we’re in a place where we’re gelling as a group and becoming much closer as a group and hopefully, it’s showing on the pitch.”

Goodman’s parent club, Crystal Palace, are keeping a close eye on his progress at Colchester.

The 6'4' goalkeeper has been an unused substitute for the Eagles on a number of occasions and was on the bench for their games against Arsenal, Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton, last season.

He said: “After the Gillingham game, I had an online meeting with Mark Bright, Julian Speroni and one of the analysts, Deondre (Dewar).

“We went over some clips and there were a lot of questions but I do speak to a lot of people, at the club.

“They message me after games asking me how I was and how everything was, so I’m getting support from people at the club which is good.”

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Goodman has recently returned from St George’s Park, where he spent three days at a training camp with the England under-20 squad.

The shot-stopper returned early from the camp following an agreement between the U’s and The FA, so that he could play against Tranmere.

He said: “There are camps coming up in October and November which could be a bit different because there are competitive games and the Nations League and if I do end up going, I’ll probably end up missing a game here.

“But for me, it was still good that I could go and still come back and play against Tranmere.

“I want to play as many games as I can, put on a performance every week and just try my best in every game.

“It’s really exciting being with England.

“You work with different players and different coaches.

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“At this camp, I knew a few different players and had played against a lot of them for Palace, growing up.”

Goodman has a good relationship with his England under-20 goalkeeper coach Anthony White, whom he has worked with for several years at Young Lions camps.

“He’s come to Palace a few times and worked with us and he’s a very good guy,” said Goodman.

“He messages me at the club and goes over Colchester games with me.

“He’ll call me and text me after games about them.

“We look at areas where I can improve, areas where I’m doing really well – there’s a lot of positives in it.”

Goodman is now preparing for Colchester’s home clash with unbeaten Mansfield Town, where the U’s will be aiming to secure back-to-back wins, in League Two.

He added: “We want to go into any game no matter the circumstances and put on a performance for the fans and get the result that we believe that we deserve.

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“We’ll give it our best against Mansfield and hopefully, we’ll come out at the end with a positive result and points on the board.

“Before we went to Gillingham, we knew they hadn’t lost or conceded.

“But anything can happen in League Two and we won 3-0.

“It was unexpected from an outsider’s point for you but not for us - we want to win every game and we set those levels for ourselves.

“We’ve got a lot of talented players.

“People might look at our age and think ‘they’re young and we can run all over them’ but we just have legs to run all over teams and we’re physically strong.

“We’ve got a variety of players in the squad – older players, younger players, experienced players.

“I think we’ve got a whole variety and I think we have a really, really good squad.

“We have to be fearless in every game.

“The moment we have fear in us is the moment we start making mistakes.

“We need to be fearless in every game and I think having younger players is very key to that, because we’re all still learning but we can’t be afraid to make mistakes.

“Being fearless allows us to go out and play our game.”