Colchester United 2 Coventry City 1

Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe marked his full league debut with a goal, from the penalty spot, and then set up Mikael Mandron for a later winner at home to Coventry City tonight.

The U’s had been pegged back to draws at Port Vale and Carlisle, in their last two away matches, after taking the lead, and that looked like being the case again on home turf against Coventry, until Mandron grabbed the winner.

It had looked good for John McGreal’s men when Ogedi-Uzokwe was upended in the box by defender Rod McDonald, before Courtney Senior’s cross could even reach him on the edge of the six-yard box, on 27 minutes.

Referee John Busby had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and in the absence of regular penalty taker Sammie Szmodics, who was on the substitutes’ bench at the time, up stepped Ogedi-Uzowke to take on the responsibility.

Ogedi-Uzokwe had been plying his trade down in the Bostik North only a few weeks earlier, with Maldon & Tiptree, but he showed no sign of nerves as he stroked home the penalty, low to keeper Lee Burge’s right.

But Coventry equalised 10 minutes into the second half, through Tom Bayliss.

Sam Walker managed to beat away the initial shot by Jordan Shipley, which ironically was his first proper save of the match.

But Walker was unable to keep out the follow-up shot from Bayliss, whose first-time effort seemed to elude the grasp of the U’s keeper and fly into the net for a soft equaliser.

Another dropped two points was on the cards until Ogedi-Uzokwe swung over a cross from the right dfor Mandron to direct home a pinpoint header for a valuable home victory.

Squads

COLCHESTER: Walker, Eastman, Prosser, Kent, Vincent-Young, (sub Dickenson, 78) Comley, Stevenson (sub Murray, 82), Wright, Senior (sub Szmodics, 70), Mandron, Ogedi-Uzowke. Unused subs: Gilmartin, Lapslie, Mandeville, Inniss.

COVENTRY: Burge, Willis, McDonald, Hyam, Stokes, Vincenti, Kelly (sub Reid, 90+1), Bayliss, Shipley, Biamou (sub Clarke-Harris, 62) McNulty. Unused subs: O’Brien, Kelly-Evans, Haynes, Barrett, Poticelli.

Referee: John Busby (Oxfordshire)

Attendance: 3,319 (438 away fans)