Glass half full

TWO points dropped – or one gained?

If you are Colchester United head coach John McGreal, it was the latter following his side’s 3-3 draw at Oldham Athletic.

The U’s frustration at the final whistle at Boundary Park was understandable, given that they had gone into the final five minutes with a two-goal advantage.

But when the dust settles on the draw, the merits of their point against the Latics will perhaps become more appreciated.

Any side would be disappointed not to see a game out from such a winning position, especially away from home.

But on the face of it, a draw was probably a fair result and Colchester remain unbeaten on their travels in League Two.

Exhausting work

FRANKIE Bunn’s body language said it all following Oldham Athletic’s six-goal thriller with Colchester United.

“I’m exhausted after that,” said the Latics boss, resting his head on the press room desk at Boundary Park before giving his post-match verdict on his side’s performance.

It was one of those games yesterday for both managers – but a pulsating game for the neutral.

You could not take your eye off the action for fear of missing something and those who were there certainly got their money’s worth, following an exciting League Two encounter.

Battling on

COLCHESTER United have already demonstrated that they hard to beat, this season.

One defeat in their opening nine league matches is an illustration of that – and so is the attitude of their players.

The likes of Harry Pell, Frank Nouble and Ryan Jackson were all carrying knocks going into their game at Oldham Athletic.

But none of them wanted to relinquish their place in the side, if they could help it.

Likewise, Luke Norris’s reluctance to come off after being withdrawn from the action late on at Boundary Park epitomized the U’s spirit under John McGreal, this season.

That’s a great sign and bodes well, with plenty of challenges lying in wait in what will be a long, hard season.

Set-piece setback

DEFENDING set-pieces can often be a side’s downfall – it can happen to the best of them.

Last season, Liverpool came in for criticism for their inability to deal with free-kicks and corners coming into their box; Spurs have recently been lambasted for a similar weakness.

Colchester are not the first team to concede in such a way and they will not be the last, following the two late goals they shipped at Oldham Athletic.

That is not to say boss John McGreal was happy with the manner of those goals; far from it.

But the U’s defensive record is still impressive this season and there is no reason why they cannot ensure that the manner of the set-piece goals they conceded at Boundary Park was merely a one-off, albeit a costly one.

Lethal Luke

IN Luke Norris, Colchester United currently have one of the in-form strikers in League Two.

The U’s leading scorer admitted himself he only had two shots on goal at Oldham Athletic – but scored from both of them.

He is undoubtedly a centre-forward in form and it is clear that even at this early stage of his Colchester career that opposition defenders hate playing against him.

Norris has been hobbling off after games over recent weeks, left battered and bruised by the close attention of opposition defenders.

But the 25-year-old gives as good as he gets and punishes his opponents in the best way possible - by scoring against them.