COLCHESTER United drew 1-1 with Accrington Stanley in League Two, on Saturday afternoon.

Here are Jon Waldron's five U's observations after they battled back to claim a point, at the Wham Stadium.

(Image: MATT WILKINSON)

IT’S been a demanding week for Colchester United’s players – and it showed against Accrington Stanley.

The U’s lacked their usual energy and intensity in their 1-1 draw at the Wham Stadium, after demanding games against Harrogate Town and then Premier League side Brentford were followed up with a gruelling eight-hour journey up to Lancashire on Friday.

It was a bit of a flat performance but the biggest positive was that Colchester were able to take something from the game, despite not being at their best.

That bodes well for the rest of the season, as there will be other times when they do not meet the standards that they have set but still need to get something out of every game.

(Image: MATT WILKINSON)

BEN Goodliffe was primarily signed to help Colchester United keep goals out.

So it is something of a surprise to see him currently leading the way not only in the U’s goalscoring stakes but also one of the top scorers in League Two.

Goodliffe came off the bench to equalise at Accrington with a well-taken strike that any forward would have been proud of.

“We said when we signed him that we wanted eight goals and he’s got three in 90 minutes,” said boss Danny Cowley, after the former Sutton United man followed up his brace on the opening day at AFC Wimbledon with another goal.

(Image: MATT WILKINSON)

ONE of the standout moments of Colchester’s draw at Accrington Stanley was Mandela Egbo’s incredible first-half run, which took him from inside his own half into the hosts’ penalty area in the space of a few seconds.

It was a shame it did not result in a goal, with his shot turned away by home goalkeeper Michael Kelly for a corner.

After the game, Egbo was a little frustrated with himself that the fine run did not end in a goal.

But the defender can be pleased with his performance at Accrington and he has shown already this season tremendous athleticism and power in his play, following his welcome return from two serious knee injuries last season.

(Image: MATT WILKINSON)

IT was great to see Lyle Taylor finally out on the pitch for Colchester United.

U’s fans have had to be patient in order to wait for their summer signing to appear in their team’s colours after his calf injury in pre-season, so the sight for the experienced forward on as a half-time substitute at Accrington was a welcome one.

Taylor made a few games to get up to the full match speed that he desires.

He did not get too many sniffs of goal on his debut but he did play his part in Colchester’s equaliser, laying the ball off to Arthur Read whose shot was saved, leading to Goodliffe finding the net.

Taylor will be an important player for Danny Cowley’s team this season and the hope is that he will get better and better, the more games he plays.

(Image: MATT WILKINSON)

IT was extremely sad to see Colchester striker Samson Tovide so visibly upset in the closing stages of their game at Accrington Stanley.

It was also sad to hear the reaction of some of the home fans near the dugout, when U’s boss Danny Cowley politely tried to explain to them just why his young forward was so distressed and unhappy.

Any racism in football – and in society in general – is unacceptable and wrong and it is hugely depressing that such an alleged incident is being reported within an EFL ground, in 2024.

Accrington chairman Andy Holt has moved quickly to issue an update this morning, stating that his club have extensively looked into the racism allegation following EFL protocol and have found that they and their fans have 'no case to answer'.

To have ‘extensively looked into’ an allegation as serious as this in the space of less than 24 hours frankly seems remarkable.