Colchester ‘kept believing’ as interim boss Wayne Brown oversees rare win

Posted Sunday, January 23, 2022 by PA

Interim boss Wayne Brown praised Colchester’s belief as the League Two strugglers secured a stunning 3-0 away win at Salford.

Captain Luke Chambers opened the scoring before Myles Kenlock fired home on his debut and substitute Corrie Andrews clinched the victory late on in the first game since the departure of boss Hayden Mullins.

Victory was Colchester’s first since November and, in his third stint in temporary charge, Brown was delighted the players took his message on board.

He said: “It is easy to get into a negative mindset when you haven’t won a game in eight.

“We could have come to shut up shop and get what we can but I think had we done that we would have been sitting ducks.

“I wanted us to take the game to them and we did. We missed early chances and I wanted us to keep believing as it would have been easy to go under. But they kept believing, and kept creating.”

Brown was full of praise for Alan Judge and Freddie Sears.

He said: “Judge doesn’t disappoint. He was great from set pieces and put a great shift in from the team.

“Freddie Sears was absolutely immense. It was important to hit him, when we could. We needed energy levels and from the first minute he was running channels. All he lacked was a goal.

“Chambers was immense. The goal is the icing on the cake. Both centre halves were in a tough game with big (Matt) Smith and I thought we dominated at times.

“Kenlock I was really happy with. He hasn’t played much football but is an experienced boy and managed himself well.

“It was about trying to keep that line at the back as high as we could and not get too deep.

“The worst thing we could have done was drop and give them territory.”

Salford boss Gary Bowyer was left looking for positives after a first home league defeat since October.

He said: “You always are what you are on the scoreboard and I thought the first two goals were poor. We have been good at set plays all season.

“We didn’t really create an awful lot first half, we were getting used to playing with Matt Smith who I thought won everything in the air.

“At the start of the second half the keeper makes two great saves and then we get done on the counter as we are chasing the game.

“Smith hasn’t and won’t change the way we play. He just gives us a different option but we just need to get used to playing with him.

“There were positives. Matt Smith will be better for that 90 minutes on debut. Some of the balls we put in for him were terrific deliveries, we just need to get a better understanding of playing with him. But apart from that, not many positives. Fair play to Colchester.

“I think what is happening at the moment is that games are coming thick and fast so we can now get rid of that one and focus on Tuesday. Games coming as fast as they do now allows us to switch our focus straight away.”