The league table has a very pleasing look about it today - Colchester United are riding high in the top four with almost a quarter of the season gone.

And with several key players - Karl Duguid, Kemal Izzet, Craig Fagan, Liam Chilvers and Sam Stockley - still to come back from injury. the future promises to be even brighter.

Two-goal wizard Neil Danns is the latest hero. The Blackburn loanee's double strike in the opening 19 minutes proved enough to undo a struggling Port Vale side who started the game ten places, but only three points, adrift of the U's.

The difference in class really showed in the opening half as the U's, superbly spearheaded by the jinking runs of man-of-the-match Joe Keith, ripped the sleepy Valiants' defence apart.

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Published Monday, October 4, 2004

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