COLCHESTER skipper Dean Campbell admitted all the damage was done early on as his side were “blown away” by Blueharts twos.

The Garrison-based team lost 8-1 in their East Men’s League division two south contest on Saturday afternoon.

They were five-down by half-time.

“Blueharts were a very good side and, man-for-man, much better on the day,” said Campbell.

“We’ve got some skilful players but just weren’t at their level.

“We didn’t stick to our game-plan and Blueharts walked all over us, especially for the first 40 to 45 minutes.

“The majority of their goals came from set-plays and we were effectively blown away.

“If we’d managed to score early on, it might have been a different game.

“But we have to start better against quality sides like this.”

Campbell felt his team restored some pride after halting the flow of goals in the second half.

He scored his side’s goal from close range, finishing off a flowing team move, to make it 6-1.

Blueharts went on to add a couple more but it was certainly a closer second period.

“We made some position switches and that stemmed the flow of goals,” he said.

“Richard Sexton moved back into a defensive position and was man-of-the-match.

“That was the catalyst for a much-improved and closer second half.

“We had passages of good play and scored a good team goal.

“The score could have been more positive.”

Campbell hopes his side, who won their opening game of the new season, bounce back from this setback.

They visit Bedford’s second team next Saturday.

“We had a couple of players unavailable, a new defensive line-up and a young, debutant goalkeeper,” he said.

“It was a tough day for them but they’ll learn and improve from this experience.

“I’ve still got a lot of confidence in the team and I’m hoping extra competition for places, when the players become available again, will give us even more impetus.”