Ben Garner dedicated Colchester’s first win of the season to their travelling fans after watching his team storm to a shock 3-0 victory at Gillingham.
Colchester had propped up Sky Bet League Two before their trip to the leaders but goals from Fiacre Kelleher, Samson Tovide and Bradley Ihionvien sealed a sensational win.
Garner believes there is work to do in the transfer window before his squad is in the shape he wants, but has now challenged them to kick on up the table.
“It’s a win for the supporters today as the start to the season has not been easy for them,” the head coach said.
“I’ll have four or five hours of relief before I’ll get back to it. We believe in the group and what we’re doing, but this is a big week for us now.
“We’re three players away from what we want to be as a squad, so hopefully we can strengthen in the last week of the window.
“That was thoroughly deserved. I’m really pleased for the players as they all put a huge shift in today. It’s fantastic to come here, play in that manner, and score three goals. We’ve got to kick on now.
“We spoke in the week about how Gillingham haven’t conceded a goal in the league, and asked the group what difference it would make if we went there and scored.
“Gillingham haven’t had to chase a game, they’re very good defensively, and they’ve shown that they’re difficult to break down if they go ahead. We weathered the early storm and dealt with their threats really well.
“I’m delighted with the clean sheet as that was our target at the start of the week; to get the three goals on top was lovely.”
Meanwhile, Neil Harris denied Gillingham had been served a reality check but admits his team “crumbled” in front of their own fans.
The Gills were top of the table and had won their first four League Two games 1-0, but crashed back down to earth and Harris insists Saturday’s result serves a reminder of how unpredictable League Two can be.
“I’ve been honest after the games we’ve won this season, which served as a reminder of the standards we set and how we need to maintain them,” he said.
“The first goal was vital and we had three chances in the first half to score it. Today we couldn’t break down Colchester’s defensive block, so that’s something we need to learn to do.
“I wasn’t surprised by Colchester’s counter-attacking threat today. But I’m disappointed that we didn’t hang in there after conceding the first goal. We crumbled a bit in the last half hour.
“We’ve got 12 points after five games, so I’m still really happy. That’s a magnificent return. We just need to park this one.”
Euro 2024 social round-up: Scotland take in the views, Pepe hits top speed
Saturday's Euro 2024 action was headlined by some of the game's biggest stars, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin De Bruyne grabbing the attention.
Ronaldo recorded his record-breaking seventh Euros assist – and was inundated with requests for photos from pitch invaders – as Portugal clinched top spot in Group F with a 3-0 win over Turkiye.
De Bruyne then joined Youri Tielemans on the scoresheet as Belgium beat Romania 2-0, teeing up a tense finale in Group E.
Georgia and Czechia, meanwhile, played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in Hamburg, leaving both teams needing a victory on the final matchday to have any chance of advancing.
But what else was going on around Euro 2024? Here, we run through the best social media posts of the day.
Eze and Konsa pool together
England's social media accounts have been a trove of entertaining content throughout this tournament, and on Saturday's edition of their Lions' Den livestream, Eberechi Eze and Ezri Konsa took centre-stage.
Eze and Konsa took on the 'what a clearance' challenge, looking to clear a pool table as quickly as possible as a pairing.
A respectable score put them third on the leaderboard, but they were unable to match the top two pairings – Declan Rice and Ivan Toney, and Jarrod Bowen and Marc Guehi.
Kante shows off
France's goalless draw with the Netherlands on Friday may not have been a game for the neutrals, but we were at least treated to another tireless display from N'Golo Kane.
Even at the age of 33 and after a season in the Saudi Pro League, Kante remains one of the game's top box-to-box midfielders, covering every blade of grass against the Oranje.
On Saturday, France's official X account proved once and for all that a year out of the European game has not affected Kante's physique…
It's fair to say he remains in tip-top condition.
Cologne turns yellow for Romania
A sizeable contingent of Romanian fans made their opening game at Euro 2024 a real spectacle, forming a wall of yellow in Munich as they crushed Ukraine 3-0.
On Saturday, they headed to Cologne for their second match against Belgium, which ended in defeat despite a spirited performance.
The highlight of the day for many supporters will surely have been the pre-match scenes, as they turned the historic city centre yellow.
Ronaldo's pride as Portugal progress
Portugal's game against Turkiye was interrupted on several occasions as pitch invaders attempted to grab a photograph with one of the world's most famous players.
Ronaldo had already made his mark on the pitch with an assist for former Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes, as the Selecao demonstrated their credentials with a 3-0 victory.
After the game, he took to social media to share a few snaps of his own, as well as some words of congratulations for his Portugal team-mates.
Scotland savour the view
Scotland's Euro 2024 adventure could come to an end on Sunday, with Steve Clarke's men requiring a victory over Hungary to have a chance of reaching the last 16.
If they are sent packing after this weekend, they will definitely miss the scenic views at their Garmisch-Partenkirchen base camp.
They will be hoping Saturday's training session was not their last set to this jaw-dropping mountain vista.
Like a fine wine
Portugal's victory over Turkiye featured another composed performance from 41-year-old centre-back Pepe.
The former Real Madrid man displayed his excellent reading of the game to cut out one menacing counterattack from Turkiye with the score at 1-0 and was generally excellent throughout.
Pepe may be no slouch, but we're pretty sure UEFA have done him a favour with this picture…
Page sacked as Wales manager
Wales have sacked manager Rob Page following the country's failure to qualify for Euro 2024.
The 49-year-old was initially given the job on an interim basis in November 2020, taking over from Ryan Giggs, before being appointed permanently in September 2022.
Page took charge of 45 games for the national team, winning 15 of those matches.
He oversaw the team at two major tournaments, reaching the round of 16 at Euro 2020, and led Wales to the World Cup for the first time in 64 years, though they exited in the group stage after earning only one point.
Wales were agonisingly short of qualifying for a third consecutive European Championships, losing on penalties to Poland in their play-off final in March.
Despite being backed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) following that result, Page then came under heavy criticism following a goalless draw with minnows Gibraltar and a 4-0 thrashing by Slovakia in their June friendlies, leading to his contract being terminated.
Romeu named new head coach of Barcelona Femeni
Barcelona have announced Pere Romeu as their new head coach following Jonatan Giraldez's departure.
Romeu, who was an assistant coach at the club in the last three seasons, has signed a two-year contract until 2026.
The 30-year-old takes over following a successful season for Barcelona in which they won the quadruple, lifting the Champions League, Liga F, Copa de la Reina and the Supercopa de Espana Femenia.
Giraldez had confirmed in December 2023 that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign, and it was announced in January he would be joining NWSL club Washington Spirit.
"I have been with the team for three seasons, and I know their day-to-day life. I'm 100 per cent ready," Romeu said in his first interview as head coach.
Romeu coached in Barcelona men's youth set-up between 2017 and 2020 before joining Romanian side Viitorul Constanta as an assistant coach before making the move back to Catalonia to join Barcelona Femeni in 2021.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
