Colchester United suffered their first home league defeat of the season this afternoon when they were beaten 2-1 by old foes Wycombe Wanderers, at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

Craig Mackail-Smith bagged the Chairboys' winner in a closely-contested affair, which might have easily have gone either way.

Colchester head coach John McGreal made four changes to his starting line-up for their game against Wycombe Wanderers, lining up with a 3-4-2-1 formation.

Doug Loft made a surprise return to the side after injury in midfield, while Frankie Kent came back into the team after missing two games with an ankle problem.

Brandon Hanlan was handed his first-ever league start in attack while Drey Wright was recalled.

Cameron James, Brandon Comley and Nicke Kabamba all dropped to the bench, while Mikael Mandron missed out through suspension following his red card against Cheltenham.

There was also a place among the substitutes for loanee Kyel Reid, following his recent hip injury.

Colchester made a bright start and were almost ahead in the tenth minute.

Sammie Szmodics skipped past former U’s midfielder Marcus Bean in the area before firing in a low shot that Wycombe keeper Scott Brown did well to save.

And two minutes later, Doug Loft exchanged passes with Wright from a corner and curled a shot just over the far post, from the edge of the area.

But Wycombe almost took the lead just before the half hour when Craig Mackail-Smith volleyed a good chance past the far post after Ade Akinfenwa had helped the ball into his path in the area.

And the U’s fell behind just after that when Nathan Tyson headed in the rebound, after U’s keeper Sam Walker had done well to save Mackail-Smith's fine long-range strike.

Colchester responded well to the setback and Brown made a fantastic save to tip over Szmodics’ fine 20-yard effort over soon after.

And a minute before the break, the U’s were level.

After Ryan Jackson fed Wright his pass picked out, Hanlan’s shot went in off the underside of the crossbar for 1-1.

Hanlan was denied by Brown on the stroke of half-time and Colchester pressed for another goal, as the second half wore on.

Loft’s free-kick from the edge of the area deflected over for a corner and Wycombe captain Joe Jacobson had to make a spectacular clearance from near his own goal-line to deny Ryan Inniss’s goalbound header, after Kent had lifted the ball into the box.

But Colchester fell behind again midway through the second half when Mackail-Smith hooked home from close range after Dan Scarr’s header from Jacobson’s free-kick had come back off a post.

Colchester came close to equalising soon after when Hanlan’s low shot was well saved by Brown low down after Jackson had picked him out in the area.

And Brown then made a fine diving save to deny Wright's 25-yard rasping shot, as the U’s pressed.

But with 15 minutes remaining, Walker had to be alert to deny Akinfenwa from close range following Tyson’s teasing ball into the area.

Colchester sent on Kyel Reid, Nicke Kabamba and Sean Murray in a bid to secure an equaliser and Reid’s left-foot first-time effort flashed across the face of goal and wide, after Jackson’s throw into the area.

Referee Brett Huxtable added on five minutes of stoppage-time but the U's were unable to muster an equaliser as they suffered their first home league loss since March.