COLCHESTER United boss Phil Parkinson was frustrated that another decision from a match official, this time an offside flag, denied the U's what would have been a precious victory at Glanford Park on Saturday.

By Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United boss Phil Parkinson was frustrated that another decision from a match official, this time an offside flag, denied the U's what would have been a precious victory at Glanford Park on Saturday.

United have had several “goals” wiped out in recent weeks, including two at promotion rivals Huddersfield Town in a 2-0 defeat, and a Chris Iwelumo header deemed to be offside at Swansea in the LDV Vans Trophy southern area final.

“It was the same referee (Paul Taylor) that cost us at Swansea. We scored a perfectly good goal that day, and the same seemed to be the case today,” blasted Parkinson.

“I don't know if it was the same assistant referee as well, but I thought that we had scored. That would have capped what was a tremendous away performance.

“We worked so hard at Doncaster (0-0 draw) on Tuesday night, without playing that well, but we played far better today. So many things were against us, not least because Scunthorpe were fresh after having a free week.

“We had four-and-a-half hours on a coach this morning, but we turned in an excellent performance. The back-four again did well, and Aidan (Davison) pulled off some good saves.

“That's three matches unbeaten, and three clean-sheets. It's getting even tighter in the promotion race. Teams are packed together and finding it difficult to win.

“I think that many of our rivals are slipping up because it's the time of year when other teams are scraping for points at the other end of the table,” added Parkinson.

The U's boss gave a debut to Ipswich Town loanee Billy Clarke, as a 61st minute substitute. His other new recruit, Rotherham loanee Jamal Campbell-Ryce, made the trip to north Lincolnshire but was not in the final 16-man squad.

Parkinson explained: “Billy (Clarke) did well when he came on. It's a big learning curve for him, playing at this level against strong and aggressive defenders.

“He's as bright as a button. He's very sharp in and around the box, and hopefully he can get us a few goals.

“I felt that Jamal (Campbell-Ryce) needed 90 minutes for the reserves under his belt before he came into the squad. He should get that on Tuesday. I intend to use him during the run-in.

“Mark Yeates also looked bright. I gave him a rest on Tuesday (at Doncaster), and he seemed he have benefited from that rest,” concluded Parkinson.