IT’S hard to think of a single half of football, certainly in recent memory, where Colchester United have been as utterly dominant as they were in the first half against Swindon Town.

The U’s were simply irresistible in the opening 45 minutes, blowing the shell-shocked Robins away with their high intensity, unwavering energy and attacking flair.

Indeed, if you were to package together a half of football that epitomised the Cowleys’ football ethos, then that would probably be it.

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Poor Swindon, perhaps still feeling the effects of their emotionally draining FA Cup defeat at Accrington Stanley three days earlier, simply did not know what had hit them.

Admittedly, the shell-shocked visitors were partly architects of their own downfall; nevertheless, their mistakes occurred predominantly as a result of Colchester’s relentless vigour, spearheaded by the outstanding Samson Tovide who was irrepressible in attack.

Tovide scored two goals and made another and his superb all-round display illustrated why the talented young striker is so highly thought of and destined to play at a much higher level than League Two.

There were some excellent performances to complement that of Tovide’s, for the U’s.

(Image: STEVE BRADING)

Jack Payne seemed to enjoy every single second of the first half as he pulled the strings in the final third, Owura Edwards terrorised the Swindon defence with his positive left-wing runs and JK Gordon offered good attacking balance, on the opposite flank.

Jamie McDonnell was outstanding once again in midfield; there was a moment in the second half when the on-loan Nottingham Forest youngster made four tackles in quick succession, a moment that epitiomized his tigerish, never-say-die attitude.

At the back, Colchester claimed a third successive clean sheet in League Two, with their new-found defensive solidity there for all to see.

As is so often the case when a first half is so utterly one-sided, the second half doesn’t always quite live up to what has gone before and frankly, Swindon could not have been any worse than they were in the opening period.

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Ian Holloway, appalled by his side’s dire first-half display, made half-time changes and it was a much-improved performance by the visitors, after the break.

Indeed, U’s goalkeeper Matt Macey made several decent saves in the second half but Colchester might easily had added to their four-goal tally, had it not been for some fine stops by Swindon shot-stopper, Jack Bycroft.

All in all, it was a pretty memorable night for Colchester and their fans.

(Image: STEVE BRADING)

It feels like things are finally clicking into place for Danny Cowley’s side and they are now showing their true colours; this performance and result offered evidence of that.

It followed on from two good away performances and seven points out of nine in their last three games is an excellent return for the U’s.

Colchester’s improved form has coincided with injured players such as Tovide and Edwards returning; there are still players sidelined but the last few weeks have shown that perhaps the squad has more depth than first thought.

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It’s Notts County next up for Colchester this weekend and they will head to Meadow Lane in confident mood – and why shouldn’t they?

The U’s have shown that they can compete with any team on their travels and while the sixth-placed Magpies will be a tougher nut to crack than bottom club Swindon, there’s no reason why Danny Cowley’s side cannot maintain their new-found momentum.