TEENAGE sensation Hogan Ephraim is convinced that Colchester United can reach the Championship play-offs.Ephraim rounded off a superb week by scoring his ever senior goal to put the seal on the U's best away performance of the season at woeful Barnsley on Saturday.

By Carl Marston

TEENAGE sensation Hogan Ephraim is convinced that Colchester United can reach the Championship play-offs.

Ephraim rounded off a superb week by scoring his ever senior goal to put the seal on the U's best away performance of the season at woeful Barnsley on Saturday.

The West Ham loanee, who played for England Under-19s in midweek, netted the U's third with a wonderful finish at Oakwell. Geraint Williams' men are now just two points adrift of the top six.

“We've got 51 points now, so we're safe, which is a relief, but I'm looking up the table,” insisted Ephraim. “I think that the top two is beyond us, but I think that the top six is a realistic aim. We are playing well, and we looked very dominant today.

“It felt like a home game. We scored twice early on, after which it could have been any score. It was a great afternoon for the club. I was desperate to get on. The chances were coming thick and fast, and I'm disappointed that I didn't get a second goal at the end.

“It's been a good week for me. I played 45 minutes for England Under-19s, and now I've scored my first goal for Colchester. I feared that the ball would get stuck under my feet, and it seemed a lifetime before I managed to shoot.

“We're on the up, and we're definitely not going down!” added Ephraim.