Soccer: U's slip is well-timed

Colchester United did exactly that.

While Steve Whitton's men -- second in Division Two at the start of play -- were losing their 100 per cent home League record to Notts County, only leaders Brighton managed to win while other top-five rivals Bristol City, Brentford and Oldham all dropped vital points.

For more on this story see 'Soccer: Whitton's 'worst' tag' in the drop-down list at the bottom of this article The U's are still sitting proudly in the top four today on the same number of points as Brentford, Oldham, Reading and Huddersfield, but if results had gone against them they could have been as low as sixth.

It was meant to be the day when the U's former Notts County star Kevin Rapley, tossed into no man's land by Meadow Lane chief Jocky Scott, sunk his old boss and team-mates by scoring the winning goal.

Sadly Rapley didn't get a look-in.

It was his former Magpies strike partner Danny Allsopp who scored the winner instead and County's killer blow came as a direct result of a wonder save by keeper Steve Mildenhall to keep out what seemed a certain goal from U's top scorer Scott McGleish.

The Layer Road clock had just ticked past the hour mark when Mildenhall somehow got a hand to McGleish's goalbound header and in a flash play was switched to the U's penalty box where Aussie ace Allsopp beat home keeper Andy Woodman with a stunning volley.

It was Allsopp's eighth goal of the season.

Colchester showed few glimpses of the adventurous passing football that has made them the Second Division's surprise packet to date.

For the first time this season exciting youngsters Thomas Pinault and Kemal Izzet found themselves overwhelmed in midfield by a Magpies engine room superbly stoked by former Reading star Darren Caskey.

The U's just couldn't get going, but on another day they might have raced into a first minute lead had not Micky Stockwell headed straight at Mildenhall following a great build-up on the right by Karl Duguid and Izzet.

Mid-table County quickly got to grips with the game and almost snatched the lead on ten minutes following a foul by Pinault on Caskey just outside the U's area.

Caskey got up and whacked a crisp low drive which Woodman dived full-length to claw away by the foot of his left-hand post.

The acrobatic U's keeper was in action again soon afterwards, pulling off a carbon copy save to deny former Leicester City and Aston Villa defender Simon Grayson, brother of new Essex cricket vice-captain Paul Grayson.

Mark Stallard sent another close-range chance just wide under pressure from Scott Fitzgerald, while Rapley headed wide in a rare U's attack.

An Izzet error let in Allsopp in the 42nd minute, but the striker shot straight at Woodman, while McGleish missed a sitter for the U's on the stroke of half-time.

The Layer Road top scorer was put clean through on goal, but with only Mildenhall to beat he fluffed his shot and Nicky Fenton got back to clear the ball off the line.

County skipper Gary Owers came within an ace of breaking the ice seconds into the second half as Woodman fumbled his long-range drive onto the bar. But the home keeper reacted smartly on the hour to hurl himself full-length to hold an Allsopp shot on the turn.

The big Aussie got his own back seconds later, though, with the all-important winner -- the signal for the U's to claw their way back into the game.

Alan White rose superbly to head a Joe Keith corner wide. Mildenhall pulled an Izzet long shot from under the crossbar, while at the other end a vicious Grayson shot from an acute angle hit the outside of the U's post and bounced to safety.

Sadly there was no way back for the U's despite Whitton ringing the changes.

Allsopp's great strike had done the damage and even Woodman's last-ditch sorties to join the U's attack could not prevent the visitors from recording their first win in five matches.

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