League campaign back on track

The pair had drawn 10-10 a fortnight earlier, but Colchester took amore patient and measured approach this time and a tidy lob from Craig Snowdon put them 1-0 ahead.

Chelmsford responded from a penalty, but Colchester continued to play the game at their own tempo and Eddie Corcos put two goals away.

However, he missed the chance for his hat-trick when he slammed a penalty against the woodwork.

In the previous encounter, Colchester had struggled to keep pace with Chelmsford's younger players, but Colchester dominated from the start in their own pool.

Simon Lecomber continued his scoring form with a well-taken shot and David Nicholson was also on target for a 5-1 half-time lead.

However, Chelmsford fought back in the third quarter to leave the score at 5-3 going into the final phase of the game.

Colchester started to resume control, though, and Barker and Associates man-of-the-match, James Tomlinson, was rewarded with a goal.

Martin Vinter rifled a shot past the Chelmsford keeper as Colchester finished the game in high spirits and were happy to get back to winning ways.