All hell broke loose on the final whistle as the angry Barnsley players surrounded the referee and his linesmen near the centre circle.

The Tykes had just seen what would have been an injury-time winner controversially ruled out one of two goals flagged offside by the same linesman in the last 17 minutes.

But had even one of those goals stood it would have been the cruellest of luck on an overworked U's side, who, with their backs to the wall, defended so bravely with ten men for 74 minutes after central defender Danny Steele was sent-off for a professional foul as Barnsley's Bruce Dyer looked set to score.

First strike - Sam Stockley puts Colchester ahead against Barnsley last night

"It was just like the Alamo practically from the word go," said U's goalkeeper and man-of-the-match Simon Brown.

"But the lads in front of me defended so well, especially after Danny was sent-off."

Brown had earlier excelled himself by pulling off four outstanding saves, the first a tremendous near-post block to keep out an angled Dyer drive in only the fifth minute.

He did even better on 38 minutes when reacting swiftly to block a Chris Lumsdon point-blank header and he produced a carbon copy save in first half injury time to deny Dyer at close range from a cross by the ever dangerous Kevin Betsy.

The U's went into the match with Steele replacing groin injury victim Mark Warren and they lost no time in stunning the Tykes with a brilliant breakaway goal in the tenth minute.

Kemal Izzet laid off a great pass into the path of loanee Sam Stockley who ran on and planted a clinical low shot past the despairing fingertips of keeper Andy Marriott a U's loanee back in 1989.

It was Stockley's first goal for the club and it sparked off a hectic six-minute spell in which Steele was sent-off and Barnsley equalised.

The lively Dyer levelled the scores with a cracking ten-yard volley on the quarter-hour.

And 60 seconds later Steele was sent for an early bath for deliberately tripping Dyer as he burst through.

This was the spur for the U's to regroup and strengthen their resolve and they were unlucky not to move in front again when offside victim Scott McGleish rolled the ball into an empty net ten minutes before half-time after Marriott could only palm away a teasing crossing from Izzet.

Barnsley took the game by the scruff of the neck after the break and skipper Chris Morgan missed a close-range sitter after being set-up by former U's favourite Paul Gibbs.

Published Wednesday October 30, 2002

Brought to you by the Evening Gazette