John Ward backs Colchester United-Ipswich abandonment
Last updated on .From the section Football
Colchester United manager John Ward says it was the right decision to abandon the pre-season friendly against Ipswich on Tuesday.
The game was called-off after 78 minutes when U's midfielder Andy Bond suffered a serious head injury in a collision with team-mate Mark Cousins.
Ward told BBC Essex: "The referee made the correct decision in saying we don't need to continue.
"The decision was agreed by [Town boss] Paul Jewell and myself."
Jewell told the Ipswich website: "The lad was in a bad way and his well-being is the main thing.
"The referee said it was pretty serious so it was the right call."
The match was level at 0-0 when the abandonment was called in front of 6,268 fans.
Bond, 25, eventually walked off the pitch after lengthy treatment but was still taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Ward added: "It could have been a lot worse, he's had a bit of concussion, he's lost a tooth and there's cuts around his face. He was totally disorientated, and in a very bad way."
The U's boss said he was happy with his team's display in the game: "It was a really good game, exactly what Paul and I wanted. There was a lot of good football from both teams."
Jewell, who was able to give new signing Jay Emmanuel-Thomas a 68-minute run-out added: "Jay only trained with us for the first time Tuesday morning and it's going to take time for things to gel but we will get there.
"Fitness wise we got something out of the game but you can't read too much into pre-season games."
