Albion too predictable

The fluency Steve Coppell is looking for eluded them again at Layer Road in a messy match.

The problem for Coppell at the moment is that the components of the team are not functioning in tandem.

His main concern ahead of the match was the recent propensity to leak goals.

His players responded with a solid display in defensive terms.

It would have produced a first clean sheet in the League away from home but for the fluke goal that beat them.

Of more concern was an absence of creativity and crosses from wide areas.

The players were too disappointed to talk to the press afterwards, so it was left to Colchester's matchwinner Wayne Andrews to offer his thoughts on what went wrong for the opposition. He branded the Seagulls "predictable".

The former Oldham forward said: "They only really had Leon Knight and Henderson up front, so you knew where it was going to go.

"Most of their attacks revolved around Henderson flicking balls on, but we have got Scott Fitzgerald at the back who is a senior pro.

"Most of the time, when it was dropping, he was getting it on his chest or letting it go through to the keeper and a lot of balls were shielded out.

"The back four knew what was going to happen, so they had time to deal with it. A couple of balls were whipped in, but most of them were coming down the middle."

The goal which decided a drab game was anything but predictable.

A suffocating stalemate seemed a formality until Andrews found himself hugging the right hand touchline midway through the second half. His cross turned into a tremendous shot, struck with pace, which flew over Ben Roberts into the far corner of the net.

It was a freak way for the silver-booted Andrews to score his first home goal and Roberts could not be held accountable for such an unexpected effort.

A stone-faced Coppell emerged from the board room after the match to observe: "It was a close game and so competitive that neither side had any opportunity to play a great deal of football.

"It was 100 miles an hour in the first half. The second half seemed to be settling down a bit more and I thought we were just beginning to string a few passes together.

"Then the goal came and it was back to the frantic stuff."

It was not the type of contest that teenager Dan Harding, making his second start on the left side of midfield at the expense of Richard Carpenter, will remember.

Nor for that matter will Kerry Mayo on his 250th League appearance for the club, even though his long throws were the primary source of Albion's limited openings.

Charlie Oatway headed wide from one of them early on while Colchester were at a numerical disadvantage.

Ex-Chelsea defender Andy Myers was off for emergency repairs to a head wound, sustained straight from the kick-off, which eventually forced him off.

Another Mayo throw, not dealt with by the home defence, was stabbed just wide by Oatway after the break.

A third, nodded on by Danny Cullip, so nearly led to an equaliser with 15 minutes left. Essex boy Gary Hart, back in his home county, prodded against the base of a post from close range.

Knight was restricted to one chance to increase his tally, a shot into the ground which Simon Brown pushed one-handed for a corner.

Roberts had a single save of note to make as well, from an angled low drive by Andrews in the first half after he had turned sharply away from Cullip.

The game was not really worthy of a goal. You sensed it would take something out of the ordinary and Andrews' decisive contribution certainly fell into that category.

It was as unpredictable as a set of results supporting Coppell's assessment that the division is wide open.

Grimsby, relegated with Albion last season, were annihilated at promoted Hartlepool on Friday night.

Brentford won at Rushden and Diamonds, Wycombe drew at QPR and who would have guessed Brian Horton's Port Vale would be the early pacesetters?

The Seagulls have a good opportunity to get back on track at Withdean tomorrow night against goal-shy Chesterfield, who are winless and have slipped to the foot of the table.

Nathan Jones, sidelined from the last three matches by suspension, is likely to be back in the side for that one. Albion have missed his infectious enthusiasm.