Colchester United defeat Reading in the Carabao Cup

Nights like last night will go a long way to helping him achieve that objective.

There was a feel-good factor at the JobServe Community Stadium after the U’s beat League One side Reading on penalties, in the Carabao Cup.

READ MORE: When Colchester will discover next Carabao Cup opponents

Colchester fans had been starved of action all summer in the absence of any pre-season friendlies at the stadium, due to substantial work on the pitch.

But this entertaining first-round tie certainly blew away any cobwebs, as the U’s sprung a surprise to reach the second round for the first time since their memorable triumph at neighbours Ipswich Town, in 2022.

Just like in their opener at AFC Wimbledon, they were out of the blocks quicker than Noah Lyles.

Tom Hopper’s third-minute header paved the way for an excellent first-half performance where Colchester were the dominant side.

They doubled their lead after the break through Jack Payne’s penalty but after a number of changes allowed Reading a route back into the tie, although Charlie Savage’s magnificent 25-yard strike was admittedly pretty unstoppable.

(Image: STEVE BRADING)

Nevertheless, it paved the way for the Royals to equalise eight minutes later through Lewis Wing and perhaps the one downside from the evening from a Colchester point of view was the way they surrendered a two-goal lead for the second successive game.

That may be a concern to the Cowleys, although the way they relinquished their advantage was different in nature to that of the AFC Wimbledon game, where they frankly struggled to recover once their hosts had embarked on their recovery.

Reading naturally had the momentum after scoring two long-range strikes to get back in the tie in the second half but to their credit, a Colchester side sporting a number of young, inexperienced players stayed in the game.

READ MORE: Colchester United player ratings after Carabao Cup victory

It’s probably fair to say that by the dying embers of the tie, the U’s wanted penalties more than their visitors.

But game management is an important part of modern-day football and they did it well, ultimately helping them to accomplish their objective of securing a place in the next round.

Colchester’s penalties in the shoot-out were faultless not least that of 18-year-old academy product Milton Oni, who was tasked with taking a spot-kick just minutes after coming on for his senior debut.

(Image: STEVE BRADING)

Cowley reserved his biggest smile of the night for the moment when Oni safely slotted away his penalty past goalkeeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke; he was pleased as punch.

After the disappointing opening-day defeat at AFC Wimbledon, this win was a nice boost for new-look Colchester.

They await to discover their second-round opponents in tonight’s draw but more pressingly, will attempt to transfer the euphoria created by this triumph into this weekend’s important home clash with MK Dons.