COLCHESTER United’s impressive win at Gillingham was a great day for the club’s academy.

That’s the view of U’s boss Ben Garner, after five of the club’s home-grown players featured in their 3-0 triumph at Priestfield Stadium, with two hitting the net.

Bradley Ihionvien scored his first professional goal in style on only his fifth senior appearance for the club, coming off the bench to seal Colchester’s victory with a brilliant lob.

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And fellow academy graduate Samson Tovide also got on the scoresheet, to cap a fine all-round individual display, on his return to the team.

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Noah Chilvers, Junior Tchamadeu and Al-Amin Kazeem also featured for Colchester in the win, as the club’s investment in young talent shone through.

It was once again a young U’s side that took to the field with the average of their starting line-up 21 and a half but Garner believes they are quickly maturing.

Garner said: “It was a great day for the academy, when you look at how many academy graduates were on the pitch, either starting or coming on.

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“We said last week it’s a young group and even in a week, you can see how much that group has matured after the disappointment (against MK Dons).

“We didn’t look anything like that second half (against Gillingham); we looked so solid and we didn’t look like conceding.

“When we went 1-0 up, you just felt a difference that we could see this out and score more goals, which was ultimately the case.”

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Meanwhile, Garner believes Chilvers has grown as a leader since his arrival as head coach.

The 22-year-old, who has started every game for Colchester so far this season, was named as the club’s vice-captain by Garner earlier this summer.

“Noah Chilvers is a player who has come right through the Academy here,” added Garner.

“He’s been here longer than anyone, from eight years old all the way through, so he knows the club inside out.

“He’s a player that the supporters can really associate with and get behind and I think since I came in, in March I’ve really seen him grow in a leadership sense, both in terms of responsibility on the pitch and also what he does off the pitch, as well.”