Colchester United fan Si Collinson gives his U's views

On the way up, the weather progressively got worse and there was a worry that the game may fall foul to the conditions.

But fair play to Grimsby, who provided social media updates on the state of the pitch and in the end, it was game on.

I do wonder that if in this situation, the early kick-off went in our favour.

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The way the rain came down over the course of the 90 minutes, it may have been more likely for the game to have been called off for a waterlogged pitch, come 3pm.

It was game on and other than the bitter cold, it was an enjoyable game with some genuinely nice interplay football between the lines by the U's which caused Grimsby no end of issues.

Tactically, we set up well for the conditions and had a game plan that considered all variables, even going as far as swapping ends when we won the toss to use the wind to our advantage.

As the game progressed, the substitutes were used to great effect and it was a combination of two that produced the only goal of the game when Jack Payne was on hand to assist JK Gordon for the winner.

(Image: RICHARD BLAXALL)

So, all in all, the trip to Grimsby achieved its key aims; we went there, executed our game plan and came back with three points.

Other than a limping Lyle Taylor (due to Grimsby kicking him rather than the ball on numerous occasions), we came away without any injuries to add to our list.

However positive this performance was, there is always a part where you sit there thinking, 'if only'.

In my opinion, our Achilles heel seems to be that we are not positive or creative enough in front of goal.

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This has been our problem throughout the season so far; we can dominate the ball, control the game but are unable to capitalise, when on top.

It's like we're trying too hard for the perfect team-worked goal, rather than taking half chances.

At Grimsby, we were at times screaming out for a player to just have a go, with the conditions meaning that there was a chance of the keeper slipping or the ball bobbling under him.

Even when it isn't wet, we should still look to these opportunities. I know it's a cliché but you can't score from the shots you don't take.

(Image: RICHARD BLAXALL)

Teams have done this to us and we've been on the wrong end of deflected goals and conceding from soft shots, so why can't we be doing the same thing?

Yes, you might miss but in the same breath, we may score, force an error that the follow up can take advantage of or just get a bit of luck and see the ball ricochet into the net.

I understand the thought process of not rushing it and looking for the opportunity but we're not winning games in a manner where we have this luxury.

Opposition teams have benefited from this, both from scoring in this way and also from their defenders having more time to control the situation and shut down our attacking angles.

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I understand this seems to contradict what I said about how we played against Grimsby but had we added this to our game, then we'd be coming away three or four-goal winners.

Plus, I believe several of our draws this season would have been wins, had we had more shots.

As always, I know it's easy to point these things out when watching and with the benefit of hindsight but I doubt I'm the only one who has this view.

After the delights of last weekend's 12.30pm kick-off, we have the London bus effect and another one comes along immediately.

This time, we have the joy of a 4am start to travel up to Fleetwood, this Saturday.

Let's hope the early start rewards us with another three points as a win makes any away day that much shorter.

Up the U’s.