COLCHESTER United's deadly marksman, Mark Yeates, was denied a second goal by the face of Leicester keeper Tony Warner!

Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United's deadly marksman, Mark Yeates, was denied a second goal by the face of Leicester keeper Tony Warner!

Yeates stunned his old club by curling home a marvellous free-kick on 23 minutes, to hand the U's a deserved lead at the League One leaders.

Yet the bubbly Dubliner, who had a three-month loan spell at Leicester during the second half of the 2006-07 campaign, was left cursing the sparkling performance of keeper Warner.

“I should have scored a second goal, but the keeper ended up saving that one with his face!” revealed Yeates.

“He (Warner) is a very good keeper, but he didn't know much about that one. I got through on goal, and felt that I should have scored, but then he was their man-of-the-match.

“It's always nice to go back to one of your old clubs and score, so I was happy to curl home that free-kick.

“I've scored several free-kicks since I've been at Colchester, but we all feel that this is one game that got away. The fans will be happy that we gave a good account of ourselves, but this was two points dropped.

“It's been frustrating for me in the last few games, because teams have tended to double mark me. They have put two defenders on me, while I've been stuck out on the wing.

“But that's part-and-parcel of football. I've had to deal with that, and overcome it,” added Yeates.

Both Yeates and defender Alan Maybury were making welcome returns to their old club, although both endured some rather uncertain times at the Walkers Stadium, not helped by a steady flow of different managers.

Yeates admitted: “It was a strange time for me when I was at Leicester, although it started well enough.

“I scored with my very first touch against Luton, and started the first four games. But a new manager came in and everything changed.

“In fact, I had three different managers, and I was only there for three months! It was not a great time for me, but the club is great and the people are good.

“I wish them all well in the Championship for next season, but I think we gave them a few scares today.

“We created a lot of chances in the second half, and I thought our two new lads (Neal Trotman and Karl Hawley) did well.

“Trotman was excellent at the back for us. He won all his headers and he also gave us something a bit different at the other end of the pitch.

“We haven't really had that, a defender dominating in their box. It was something to aim at with my free-kicks. It was a new threat for us from set pieces.

“The play-offs are looking a bit further off (10 points adrift of the top six), but we will still be giving it a massive push. We are playing well, especially away from home.

“It's just a shame that we have dropped so many silly points at home,” concluded Yeates.