COLCHESTER United slumped to their third Coca-Cola League One defeat in a row when they lost 1-0 at Brentford today.

The U's had already suffered a string of home defeats when Barnsley and Hull City both beat them at Layer Road.

Brentford added more pain for Colchester despite a second-half revival from the U's.

A poor first half saw either side make any impact until stoppage time.

It was in this period that former England international John Salako struck for the Bees from the edge of the area.

After the restart Colchester took the game to their opponents and a string of chances went begging.

Craig Fagan returning to the squad after his recent one-match ban after receiving a red card against Barnsley last week headed wide and also struck the post.

The U's battled on through the second half and in the dying minutes they forced a succession of corners.

However, they failed to find that scoring touch to secure a share of the spoils which they deserved.