Platt: U's tide must start turning soon

Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United target man Clive Platt knows that the U's must turn the tide soon, before they are condemned to a season-long battle against relegation.

Platt scored for the U's in a 2-1 defeat at his old club Peterborough on Saturday, but his 61st-minute equaliser failed to stop United from nose-diving into the bottom four.

“We know that we're down there, and we have a big game on Tuesday against one of the teams down there with us, Yeovil,” insisted Platt.

“It's a home game and we need a result. We need to get on a roll, and turn it around soon.

“This was a very disappointing result, because I thought the team played well today. Conditions were not great. There was a lot of wind, but we performed well without getting the breaks that we deserved.

“It was personally satisfying for me to score at my old club. It was a great cross from David Perkins.

“We have to rise above the adversity, like getting those three injuries [to Matt Heath, John White and Lee Hills], and I think we did that. We are strong characters,” added Platt.

Marksman Platt scored six goals in 37 appearances for Peterborough during a one-year stint at London Road in 2004.

That's why his equaliser was greeted with a few boos on Saturday. Although the U's went on to lose, the new-look Platt-Jermaine Easter strike-force showed some promise.

Platt remarked: “I enjoyed playing alongside Jermaine Easter. He's a very strong, quick striker, and I think that I will benefit from playing off him.

“His pace should allow me to have a few more yards space. I think we've been missing a bit of pace up front, especially because of Gilly's [Steven Gillespie] injury.

“I've played against Jermaine several times, so I know what he can do. He's a natural goalscorer and we should work well together. He's a big goal threat,” added Platt.

Meanwhile, U's manager Paul Lambert refused to be too downcast, despite a third defeat on the bounce at Posh, and injuries to the defensive trio of Heath, White and Hills. All three are likely to miss tomorrow night's home game against fellow strugglers Yeovil.

“It's unheard of to lose three of your back four. I've never known it before. That was amazing,” confessed Lambert.

“But we're not going to feel sorry for ourselves, and I've told the lads there's no point in being despondent. We didn't capitulate when we were up against it, and our luck will turn.

“It was a big performance from us, in terms of what happened to us defensively. There weren't many chances in the game, and our biggest mistake was not getting through those next five or 10 minutes after getting the equaliser. We needed to see it through.“We may be having a lot of misfortune at the moment, but that's the nature of football.”

Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson said: “This was a hard-earned win. I knew that it would be a difficult game, and so it proved.

“It's always hard to play against Colchester. They are a handful up front, but I thought our lads did fine against Platt and Easter. I think we're good enough for a top-two place.”