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There was a lot of expectation on Jevani Brown when his transfer to Colchester United was announced in the summer of 2019.
The 26-year-old built his way up through non-league football after he was released by Peterborough United in 2013. A sensational season with St Neots Town three years later saw him earn a trial with Birmingham City, before moving across Cambridgeshire to League Two side Cambridge United in 2017.
Brown scored 14 goals in 95 games spanning across two seasons for the U’s before Colchester (conveniently also nicknamed ‘the U’s’) came calling in 2019, bringing him to Essex for an undisclosed fee.
His first season under John McGreal was underwhelming to say the least. He failed to muster a single goal or assist in the 17 games he played in the first half of 2019/20, including a humiliating penalty miss against Spurs in the Carabao Cup. He was then sent on loan to fellow League Two side Forest Green Rovers for the second half of the campaign, but Mark Cooper was also unable to get the best out of the former Jamaica youth international.
At this point, questions began to be asked about Brown’s mentality and maturity. Why couldn’t he emulate his performances from his time in non-league or at Cambridge?
Eventually, McGreal’s four year stint in charge at the JobServe Community Stadium came to an end, and he was replaced by assistant manager Steve Ball. Instead of moving Brown on permanently, Ball opted to start him as a striker in their first game of the season in place of the injured Luke Norris.
Now, just 17 games into the campaign, he already has seven goals to his name. He’s finally started to fulfil the immense potential he had earlier in his career.
As a result of his recent performances, he’s picked up the Sky Bet League Two player of the month award for November, while his Colchester side have climbed up to sixth in the table.
Brown now faces a trip back to his old stomping ground, The Abbey, as Cambridge host Colchester on Tuesday night – and he’ll undoubtedly be desperate for a goal against his former employers.
Mark Bonner’s men had a fine start to the campaign, rushing to the top end of the table and keeping their place in the automatic promotion spot for much of the opening part of the season. However, three consecutive league defeats has seen them plummet out of the top three and the playoff spots into ninth place ahead of Tuesday’s clash.
Since fans were allowed back to The Abbey, Cambridge saw their 100% home record shattered by defeats to Mansfield and Oldham. Their most recent game, a trip to the New Lawn to face high-flying Forest Green Rovers, saw them slump to a 2-0 defeat.
This run of fixtures is absolutely crucial for them, as a defeat to Colchester could see them drop out of the top half of League Two. For a team with early ambitions of a top three place, that would be a crushing blow. Injuries have played their part, with the likes of Hiram Boateng and Joe Ironside sidelined in recent weeks, but it makes no excuse for the drop off in form we’ve seen from the U’s in their last three games.
For Colchester, however, this is the perfect game. They’ve been blowing hot and cold recently, winning two, drawing two and losing one of their last five games. They’ve done well to bounce back from the crushing 6-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of Exeter, but a consistent run of form is needed to stay in and around the playoff places this season. A win at The Abbey could even see them climb up to within a point of the top three.
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