Well it had to happen. Colchester United were knocked off the top of the League One table by a classy Chesterfield outfit who left a hapless U's side in their wake.
The Spireites were just too much for Phil Parkinson's previously unconquered team.
The visitors were left reeling by Zoa Tcham N-Toya-s double strike either side of half-time and a senior debut Stephen Hunt will want to forget, as he was sent off within a minute of taking to the field as a second-half substitute.
Parkinson had looked to make history by being the first U's team to win their first four opening league fixtures.
Sadly, the only history made was by Hunt, who is now the quickest player to get sent off for the club.
He had been part of a double substitution by Parkinson in a bid to swing the tide of the game and bring an end to the stranglehold Chesterfield had on the match.
However, no sooner after he had come on for Gavin Johnson, with Ben May replacing Joe Keith at the same time, he was walking back down the tunnel after earning himself a red card within barely a minute.
The youngster had gone in for a tackle on goalscorer N-Toya and referee Andy Hall adjudged it to be reckless and produced the red card.
Down to ten-men and 2-1 behind, to say it was becoming a bad day at the office for Parkinson would be an understatement and the U's boss himself earned the attention of referee Hall when he ended up in a ruckus with his counterpart Roy McFarland on 80 minutes.
With the U's searching for an equaliser Parkinson was desperate to get the ball back into play.
He was so desperate in fact that when the ball was kicked off the field and into the Chesterfield dug out he raced out of his technical area and to the Spireites bench to wrestle the ball out of McFarland's hands.
There was a few heated words between the pair before Hall intervened and made the two shake hands.
It was a tawdry end to a dour affair with Johnson's goal just before the stroke of half-time the only highlight for the U's fans who over the past three games have come to expect, and should have seen, better from Parkinson and his men.
Published Monday August 23, 2004
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