Colchester United have been beaten 1-0 by Gillingham at the JobServe Community Stadium.
Matty Etherington made three changes to the starting eleven from Friday night’s clash with AFC Wimbledon. Cam McGeehan was suspended, with Will Greenidge also missing out on the matchday eighteen; Matt Jay dropped to the bench.
Tom Dallison, John Akinde and Marley Marshall Miranda all came into the eleven, in a 3-5-2 formation. Mitchell, Dallison and Hall were the central defenders, flanked by Iandolo and Fevrier. Marshall Miranda, Read and Chilvers sat in the middle, with Akinde and Taylor up front.
Owen Goodman had to be at his best early on to deny Dom Jefferies, with the visitors creating a chance in the third minute. The Gillingham midfielder broke through to make it one-on-one with the ‘keeper, but Goodman was down quickly to prevent and hold the shot.
The U’s soon created a chance of their own and should have taken the lead. John Akinde did well to flick a header on to Noah Chilvers, who kept the forward momentum going to deliver a low cross in the direction of Joe Taylor. However the Luton Town loanee couldn’t apply the finish as the ball rolled out for a goal kick.
Play settled into a rhythm with the visitors edging the attacking play. Ellis Iandolo was booked on the hour mark for a tactical foul, before Owen Goodman was called into action again. The U’s ‘keeper made a couple of important saves when required to keep the scores level.
It remained level until the halfway point, and neither side opted to make a change at the break.
An end-to-end opening five minutes of the second half saw chances come and go for both teams. Oli Hawkins, Scott Malone and Dom Jefferies all went close, with the visitors striking the woodwork within three minutes of the restart.
But the deadlock was broken shortly after as Scott Malone put the visitors ahead. He got the better of Jayden Fevrier on the left flank, with his deflected effort squeezing in at the near post.
Matty Etherington opted for a double change, with the strike-force swapped. Joe Taylor and John Akinde were withdrawn, as Tom Hopper and Bradley Ihionvien came on for the last half hour. Two changes were also made by the visitors, with Hawkins and Nadesan replaced by Nichols and Bonne.
Another change soon came for the visitors with George Lapslie on for Dom Jefferies, with the U’s also replacing Ellis Iandolo with Owura Edwards.
The U’s kept the pressure on with Tom Hopper and Noah Chilvers both going close to finding an equaliser, but the hosts rarely tested Jake Turner in the away goal.
Two more changes came with five minutes to play as Matt Jay and Chay Cooper were introduced in place of Noah Chilvers and Marley Marshall Miranda.
A couple of half chances came at the end with Hopper and Cooper almost on target, but there was no breakthrough for Matty Etherington's side, who were beaten.
The 1-0 defeat sees the U's remain in twenty-second, taking on Swindon Town on the road next weekend.
Colchester United starting XI: Goodman, Iandolo (Edwards 76’), Hall, Dallison, Chilvers (Jay 85’), Mitchell, Read, Akinde (Hopper 63’), Taylor (Ihionvien 63’), Marshall Miranda (Cooper 85’), Fevrier.
Subs: Hornby, Jay, Edwards, Hopper, Kazeem, Cooper, Ihionvien.
Gillingham starting XI: Turner, Alexander, Masterson, Ehmer, Nadesan (Nichols 62’), Jefferies (Lapslie 70’), Hawkins (Bonne 62’), Malone, Coleman, Ogie, Mahoney (McKenzie 84’).
Subs: Morris, Clark, Lapslie, Nichols, McKenzie, Clarke, Bonne.
Attendance: TBC