MATTY Etherington insists he will not allow what happened in the latter stages of Colchester United’s defeat to Barrow to define them ahead of their trip to Doncaster Rovers tonight.

The U’s are looking to bounce back at the Eco-Power Stadium, following their 4-1 loss to the Bluebirds at the weekend.

Colchester conceded three times in the latter stages of the Barrow game, after Jayden Fevrier’s red card had left them down to ten men for the closing stages.

U’s head coach Etherington said: “I said to the boys at the end of the game, don’t let the way it ended define us as a group and what we’ve done as a group over the last seven or so games – do not let that happen.

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“I’m going to make sure I don’t let it happen, because there’s been some really good stuff in that period.

“All we can do is pick ourselves up and move on, because there were plenty of elements of that performance that were good.

“On the whole, I thought that we dealt with the adversity in the game really well and there was lots of good stuff.”

Gazette:

Fevrier will miss tonight’s game against Doncaster as he serves a one-match ban for his dismissal against Barrow.

Striker Samson Tovide is also missing tonight due to suspension, after picking up five league bookings.

Colchester will check on the fitness of goalkeeper Owen Goodman, ahead of tonight’s game.

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The on-loan Crystal Palace keeper missed the U’s defeat to Barrow due to an ankle injury.

Meanwhile, Doncaster boss Grant McCann says he is aware of the threats that his former striker Joe Taylor will pose to his team tonight.

The U’s leading scorer, who is on loan from Premier League side Luton Town, played under McCann during his time at Peterborough United.

McCann told the Doncaster Rovers website: “Joe’s a good player; he was a young player when I was at Peterborough and he’s obviously got his move to Luton which he’s done really well with.

Gazette:

“A loan spell for him now is definitely helping him – he’s scoring goals and he’s playing with confidence.

“I know what Joe’s about and so will the boys but ultimately, it’s all about what we do.”

Like Colchester, hosts Doncaster will be aiming to bounce back tonight following a defeat at Crewe Alexandra, last weekend.

The sides lie side by side in the League Two table.

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McCann told the Doncaster website: “I think they’ve got threats.

“I think Matty Etherington has done a very good job, since he’s gone in.

“They look strong; I know Saturday’s performance and result people think they’ve got hammered by Barrow; watching the game back and obviously Lee Glover was at the game, they probably could have been out of sight in the first half with the opportunities that they had and the way they played.

“The sending off in the second half hasn’t helped them but it’s another tough game.

“Every game in this division is tough and I don’t think there’s much in the division.

“They’ve obviously got threats that can hurt you but we’ll be focusing on ourselves.

“We want to respond and try and get ourselves the three points.”