Ipswich Town loanee, Jack Marriott, was in no real mood for celebrating, despite scoring his first goal in a Colchester United shirt with his late close-range effort against Crewe on Saturday.

On as a 79th minute substitute, front-runner Marriott scored just five minutes later.

It was only his second brief outing for the U’s, but his goal failed to prevent the hosts from slipping to a 3-2 defeat, at the hands of their relegation rivals.

“It’s good to get off the mark for Colchester. Obviously with Chris (Porter) up front it’s difficult for me, so I have to learn different roles in the team,” explained Marriott.

“But I was glad to get a few more minutes under my belt, and build on that with a goal.

“Scoring goals is something that I pride myself on, but I just wish that it came on better terms.

“I thought we were in a strong position at 1-0 up, playing some good stuff. Then suddenly we were 2-1 down, in what seemed like the blink on an eye.

“That’s football, I suppose. It happens even at the top level, where teams get turned over very quickly.

“We just need to bounce back at Sheffield United,” added Marriott.

The U’s, fourth from bottom, travel to Bramall Lane tomorrow evening.