Crewe boss Lee Bell saluted his players for showing gritty resistance as the Railwaymen held firm in the face of a strong Colchester fightback to claim a 2-1 victory.
Chris Long struck twice in the opening minutes to put Crewe in early control but Samson Tovide set up an intriguing second half when he cut the arrears soon after the break at Gresty Road.
Crewe were hanging on at times as Colchester dominated before the hosts were able to record their third win in four games.
Bell, whose side were indebted to captain Luke Offord’s goal-line clearance from Joe Taylor, said: “These are the best type of wins when you have to work your way through to get a result. We couldn’t stop Colchester’s flow, but we worked so hard.
“They played some good football and I don’t think their current position is a reflection on them at the moment. After the early goals we wanted to carry on with our attacking but we sat back a bit and let them back into the game.
“We did stay strong in the second half and our skipper cleared that one off the line late on with a brilliant recovery. We under a bit of pressure, but the lads kept their heads and discipline which was really pleasing.
“I was delighted with the early goals. Mickey’s [Demetriou] throws are a real threat and then Longy took his penalty really well. But I thought everyone in the team put in great effort and they were all excellent.”
Demetriou’s long throw caused problems for the Us defence and Long fired the loose ball into the corner of the net to give the hosts a third-minute lead.
Long then took his tally for the season to five by converting from the spot in the seventh minute after Shilow Tracey was bundled over in the box.
Colchester’s response saw Taylor volley over and Noah Chilvers crack an effort onto the post.
But it was after the break the Essex side stepped up their onslaught after Tovide finished off Taylor’s driven cross over the six-yard box in the 53rd minute.
Tovide, Arthur Read and substitute Jay Mingi all went close before Taylor was thwarted in stoppage time.
Colchester boss Ben Garner said: “We won’t concede a worst goal all season for their first and I thought the penalty was really soft. But after that we were brilliant and we absolutely killed them.
“The number of chances we created, we dominated the ball and for 80 minutes that was our best performance of the season.
“When we got the goal I thought we’d go on and win the game, but we couldn’t just get the next goal. We got into some really good positions and had one cleared off the line.
“If we’d performed like that over the whole 90 minutes we’d have won the game comfortably.
“The second half was as dominant display as you will have seen. It was just a case of whether we’d get the goals, but I thought Crewe defended set-pieces well and threw their bodies on the line, but we should have taken at least a point.”
Simeone confident for Madrid derby despite lack of rest time
Atletico Madrid's lack of preparation time has not dampened Diego Simeone's confidence ahead of Sunday's clash with Real Madrid, with the Argentine hoping their past derby successes can provide inspiration.
Atleti are unbeaten through their first seven games of the season in LaLiga, winning four and drawing three to sit third in the table, two points behind their cross-city rivals.
Los Colchoneros have, however, had two fewer days to prepare for the first Madrid derby of the season, having beaten Celta Vigo 1-0 on Thursday. Carlo Ancelotti's champions, meanwhile, downed Alaves 3-2 on Tuesday.
Atleti do boast a strong record against Los Blancos, being the only team to beat them in any competition last season – once in LaLiga last September and again in the Copa del Rey in January.
Simeone has masterminded 12 wins in his 43 Madrid derbies as Atletico coach (15 draws, 16 losses), as many victories as they managed in their previous 77 prior to his arrival.
Speaking at Saturday's pre-match press conference, Simeone told reporters: "A lot has changed up to this moment.
"It's an aspect in which we’ve improved, and that’s why the club has grown as it has, and the team is held to the standards it is.
"Everything starts in the mind. Beyond the physical aspect, which can have an influence at times, motivation is an important weapon for everything in life."
The Argentine did admit the lack of preparation time posed a unique challenge, adding: "It's tough to change things in two days, based on what we've been doing.
"We are still in the process of finding our balance, we are adapting and we get it right more or less. But it is true that we need more time.
"We accept it as it is. We said it before when we went to play against Athletic Bilbao in the (Copa del Rey) semi-final, them with five days and us with two days of rest. No-one cares."
Atleti's only home defeat so far this year came in February's Copa del Rey semi-final against Athletic, who went on to win that trophy.
While Madrid have plenty of firepower despite Kylian Mbappe missing out due to injury, Simeone feels Sunday's visitors will miss the influence of retired midfielder Toni Kroos.
"The opponent has lost a very important player like Kroos," he said. "I think they are looking for that player who gives them that calm to take advantage of all their offensive power."
International record goalscorer Sinclair to retire after NWSL season
Christine Sinclair, the all-time record goalscorer in international football, will retire at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League in November.
Sinclair, 41, has 190 goals in 331 appearances for Canada, making her the top scorer across both men's and women's football.
She has played for the NWSL's Portland Thorns since 2013, helping them to win the inaugural title that year. She added further league crowns to her collection in 2017 and 2022.
The Canadian great has had similar success with her national team, winning a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is also one of three players to score at five World Cups, alongside Brazil's Marta and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sinclair retired from international football in December 2023, and will now call time on her club career.
"Portland, thank you will never be enough. Soccer has been my passion since I was four years old and it has taken me on a journey I could never have imagined," Sinclair wrote on Instagram.
"As I finish out this last ride, I want to say what a privilege it has been to represent this unique, beautiful, and passionate city that I will always call home."
St. Louis City v Sporting Kansas City: This rivalry is important to MLS, says Hackworth
John Hackworth believes St. Louis City's derby with Sporting Kansas City is key to MLS as they resume their rivalry on Saturday.
The last two meetings between the sides have finished level, with both ending in dramatic fashion.
St. Louis City come into the latest edition having lost just one of their last six outings, though that was their last home match.
They sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, level on points with Sporting above them, and Hackworth is now keen to build on the momentum from their win over San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday.
"We talked about trying to finish these last five games with a lot of momentum, showing our fans what we were capable of," Hackworth said.
"We knew we had to go on the road in one of these three games and be successful, and now we just need to build on that.
"This rivalry is really important to our league. It's two teams who are going to go after it and play by their principles, leaving it all out there to see what happens - two dramatic draws set us up for this contest."
Meanwhile, Kansas City have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions and suffered a 3-1 defeat to Los Angeles FC in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday.
Head coach Peter Vermes was left disappointed by the result but believes there are positives to take from the performance.
"I give the guys a lot of credit. I'm very proud of the effort that the guys put into that game," Vermes said.
"It never feels good to lose. But I also think that the group did themselves proud in the way they performed. We had good responses in that game, but in the end, we fell short."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert
Cedric Teuchert scored in the fourth minute in each of St. Louis City's last two matches.
Teuchert is one of six players to score more than one goal in the opening four minutes of matches this season and the second to do so in consecutive matches (Mikael Uhre).
Sporting Kansas City – Tim Melia
Both goals Sporting Kansas City conceded in their loss to Minnesota United on Saturday came in the final 30 minutes.
Sporting have allowed 31 goals in the final 30 minutes of matches this season, only San Jose (33) has allowed more, and Tim Melia will be hoping his concentration levels can improve ahead of Saturday's match.
MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN
St. Louis City have lost only two of their last 10 matches in all competitions (W4 D4), including picking up a 2-1 win at San Jose on Saturday. St. Louis have not won two straight matches in all competitions since wins over Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City last September.
Sporting have lost 10 of their last 12 regular-season away matches, including a 2-0 loss in Seattle in their last league road match. Only league-worst San Jose (11) have lost more away matches this season than Sporting (10).
However, Kansas City are unbeaten in four straight meetings with St. Louis (W2 D2) after St. Louis won two of the first three encounters. This will be the eighth meeting between St. Louis and Kansas City, totaling 10.4 % (8/77) of all of St. Louis' games in all competitions up to this point.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 43.4%
Draw – 26.7%
Sporting Kansas City – 29.9%
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