Three goals in first match.
U's first half: Bransgrove, Vincent-Young, Elokobi, Peter, O'Donoghue, Loft, Garvan, Sembie-Ferris, Guthrie, Dickenson, PorterU's second half: Barnes, Brindley, Wynter, Prosser, Briggs, Lapslie, Slater, Bonne, Szmodics, Wright, Johnstone
A very useful exercise for McGreal's men, who go to Needham on Tuesday.
Then Matt Briggs stepped out of defence before stepping over the ball with his left foot and crashing home a shot with his right to finish the game on a high.
Szmodics, typically busy in midfield, won the ball back and unselfishly set up Bonne, who smashed home to make it two to the U's.
Maldon had had chances of their own, notably through former U's man Jamie Cureton who turned out for the Jammers in this game, but the U's were eventually to make their quality tell.
It wasn't until the U's entered the last ten minutes of the game that they extended their advantage, however.
A complete change at half time saw a younger U's side take to the pitch, but they started with a vibrancy that had Maldon on the back foot in the early stages, with Sammie Szmodics and Denny Johnstone combining well in those early stages.
Brennan Dickenson, Chris Porter and Doug Loft all had efforts on goal, with Peter's defensive partner George Elokobi also forcing a smart stop out of the goalkeeper.
The goal came from the boot of young defender Dexter Peter, although his ball into the box was intended for the waiting forwards before it caught the wind and deceived the keeper as it found the back of the net.
Missing one or two players with minor injuries, John was still able to name a strong side for both halves and the first half U's took a one goal advantage into the interval.
It was a competitive match for the new look U's, though, and an ideal test to kick off proceedings for the 2016/17 season.
Head Coach John McGreal was able to pick two elevens to contest the fixture against the Ryman League outfit and the U's ran out 3-0 winners by the final whistle.
Colchester United got their pre-season fixtures off to a winning start on Saturday afternoon, as they overcame Maldon & Tiptree.