A Jekyll and Hyde performance

COLCHESTER United looked like they were coasting to victory, at the midway point of the first half at Stevenage.

Perhaps that was part of the problem, as after that point they were strangely second best in all departments.

The U’s arguably played some of their best football of the season, in the opening quarter of the game at Broadhall Way.

But they ultimately only had Sammie Szmodics’ second-minute strike to show for their efforts.

And when the League Two’s leading scorers failed to further reinforce their advantage, they were made to pay by their hosts.

A little bit of Kurtis of old

IT was almost inevitable that Kurtis Guthrie should take centre stage against his former club.

There was never a dull moment during the enigmatic striker’s eventful time with the U’s – and the same thing applied when he played against them for the first time for Stevenage.

Guthrie was given plenty of stick by Colchester’s travelling fans, even before he had scored his side’s equaliser.

He infuriated them further when he put his finger to his lips towards them, before continuing his goal celebration not far away from the U's bench.

But most fair-minded U’s supporters will begrudgingly admit that he played a big part in his old club’s downfall.

“That was a little bit of Kurtis of old, that performance,” rued U’s boss John McGreal afterwards.

McGreal's frustration

JOHN McGreal was probably left as angry at referee Nick Kinseley as he was with his side’s lacklustre second-half performance at Stevenage.

The Colchester United’s head coach was baffled at how the Essex official had awarded a penalty against his team, when Brennan Dickenson’s challenge on Steve Seddon appeared outside of the box – and how quickly the decision was made.

“Some of the referees defy logic, at times,” reflected McGreal, after the spot-kick led to the U’s being beaten on the road for the first time this season, in League Two.

The campaign is only two months old but it's fair to say that U’s boss is getting increasingly frustrated with some of the decisions made by the officials against his side, so far.

Defensive vulnerability

HAVING conceded just five times in their opening eight games of the season, Colchester United have now shipped nine goals in their last four matches.

Six of those goals have come away from home, where they have looked worryingly vulnerable from set pieces in particular.

Impressively, the U’s kept four clean sheets in their first eight fixtures in League Two, where they looked particularly solid at the back.

Needless to say, they will have to rediscover that same kind of resilience when they host Crawley Town in their next league game, on Saturday.

Stevenage sorrow

COLCHESTER United were backed by nearly 650 supporters at a rain-sodden Stevenage yesterday.

But the U’s fans who made the short trip to Hertfordshire witnessed something they have never done before at Broadhall Way – a defeat.

That was a pity, as they provided fantastic backing for their team throughout an at times fiery contest, fuelled by Guthrie’s performance and behaviour.

Inevitably, Guthrie incurred most of their wrath.

But in the main, they got behind their side throughout and trudged away from the ground as disappointed as the players.