FERGUSON ROARS AS LIONS WIN
MILLWALL boss Neil Harris refused to get carried away despite Millwall racking up a third straight win in all competitions and extending their unbeaten sequence to nine games.
Lee Gregory opened the scoring for Millwall before the break, with the impressive Shane Ferguson grabbing a double and Byron Webster a late fourth, with Chris Porter scoring a consolation for Colchester.
Despite the emphatic scoreline, Harris bemoaned his side’s inability to keep a clean sheet.
“We look at the opposition diligently, focus on strengths and weaknesses, places we can exploit and where they think they might hurt us, and we work tirelessly on it as a group,” said Harris.
“We felt today that if we played as much football as we could in Colchester’s final third then we could create opportunities.
“I thought Gregory’s goal was brilliant. We were eight unbeaten before the international break and we finished it with a brilliant performance at Plymouth.
“I asked the players ‘can you do it again?’ and they answered that challenge. As good as we were at spells today; we can play better than that.
“I am disappointed that we didn’t get a clean sheet.The good teams win the next game and we have a tough trip on Tuesday night to Fleetwood.”
Colchester had already conceded 37 goals this season before this contest – the most in the Football League – and it did not take long for the hosts to open the scoring.
Shaun Williams sent a ball over the top and Gregory got away from Tom Eastman to finish comfortably past Jamie Jones for his tenth goal of the season in all competitions.
The second goal arrived when Steve Morison slipped the ball through for Ferguson to score.
Colchester halved the deficit against the run of play after the break when substitute Porter pounced on a loose ball to fire into the corner.
The home team did re-establish their two-goal lead when Ferguson found the bottom corner after the impressive Gregory played the ball between Eastman’s legs.
The pressure was relentless as Millwall found a deserved fourth goal when Webster’s shot was deflected in following Morison’s header from a corner.
Colchester boss Tony Humes said: “It was basic defending from experienced players and we just did not do it well enough.
“I do not know what to say to you because the goals we conceded were so basic it was untrue.
“It is just so frustrating and I am sure the players are feeling the same.
“We have just said in the changing room that we have got a lot of talented players out there who as we have seen this season are capable of creating and scoring goals. “But with the amount of goals that we are conceding, I am sure they are getting disillusioned with the results and performances.”