Colchester United 2 Yeovil Town 0

BILLY Clifford smashed home a contender for goal-of-the-season as Colchester United claimed a vital victory, at the expense of promotion-chasing Yeovil Town tonight.

Clifford broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time with a fantastic strike, beating keeper Marek Stech all ends up with a 25-yard rocket.

It was the Chelsea loanee’s first goal in professional football, and it might be several more years before the classy midfielder scores a better goal!

Freddie Sears made the game safe by bagging his eighth goal of the season, to put the U’s 2-0 up in the 63rd minute.

The goal was created by a magnificent run from Bradley Garmston. The West Brom loanee shrugged off the challenge of Lewis Young and ran half the length of the pitch, before cutting inside to deliver a cross to the feet of Sears.

And ex-West Ham attacker Sears made no mistake, drilling home from eight yards out to give the hosts some much-needed breathing space.

There was no way back for Yeovil, who had won eight and drawn one of their previous nine games. For the U’s, this was a big three points in their quest to avoid relegation.

Squads

COLCHESTER: Walker, Wilson, Okuonghae, Eastman, Garmston (sub Thompson, 79), Clifford, Bond, Porter (sub Drey Wright, 90+2), Sears, Massey, Ibehre (sub Morrison, 86). Unused subs: Gilbey, Compton, Bean, Cousins.

YEOVIL: Stech, Ayling, Webster, Burn, Ralph, Dawson (sub Dolan, 76) Edwards, Upson, Foley (sub Young, 57), Appiah (sub Williams, 64), Madden. Unused subs: Hinds, Blizzard, Stewart.

Referee: Steve Ashton (Staffs)

Attendance: 2,367