Forest Green boss David Horseman praised his side’s ‘intense and ruthless’ performance after a 5-0 demolition of 10-man Colchester.
Rovers moved off the bottom of the League Two table with goals from Callum Morton, Kyle McAllister, Matty Taylor and Matty Stevens (2).
Jay Mingi’s red card for a second bookable offence two minutes after the break left the visitors with it all to do but Rovers pounced with four second-half goals.
Horseman said: “We knew it was a massive game, if it wouldn’t have gone the way it did I’m sure people would’ve been calling for my head.
“We understand where we’re at. It’s a massive thank you to the fans because it hasn’t been easy. The last time we scored five goals was back in 2018.
“The system requires athleticism and I don’t want to morph into any coach who is scared of losing and changing who you are as a coach just to win.
“Once these players come back, we’ll be even more of an exciting team.”
A neat one-two on the edge of the box between Jacob Maddox and McAllister opened up an opportunity for the former but his effort blazed over the crossbar.
Dom Bernard was then adjudged to have back-passed to Rovers shot-stopper James Belshaw but Cameron McGeehan’s drive was blocked on the goal line.
But Tyrese Omotoye’s curling effort was parried by Smith into the path of the oncoming Morton, who hammered home from six yards just before half-time.
Morton almost doubled his tally when he was played through by Omotoye but Smith made amends for his earlier error.
U’s midfielder Mingi was sent off for a second bookable offence just two minutes after the break.
Forest Green doubled their lead after 65 minutes when McAllister received a pass from Omotoye and smashed a left-footed effort into the far corner of Smith’s goal.
A third arrived 12 minutes later as substitute Taylor drilled past Smith despite his best efforts to save.
Stevens made it four by slotting home Sean Robertson’s low cross and also added a fifth in stoppage time when he controlled and finished Harvey Bunker’s lofted pass to complete the rout.
On the back pass, Horseman added: “It would’ve changed the game with the way our form and confidence is at the moment. That was a big turning point – people put their bodies on the line.”
Colchester manager Ben Garner could not hide his frustration.
He said: “My last words at half-time to the two players on yellow cards were ‘don’t do anything reckless’.
“I didn’t think there was anything in it the first half and we edged it, we made two mistakes early in the second half and it got away from us.”
'It's an honour' - Flick delighted by Messi's Barcelona praise
Hansi Flick says it is an "honour" to hear Lionel Messi praise Barcelona's start to the season.
Flick took over as Barcelona head coach in May, with the club making an impressive start to LaLiga, as they sit top on 33 points after 13 matches.
They have won 11 of their games, losing the other two, while they are sixth in the Champions League table, just three points behind leaders Liverpool.
Messi, who spent 17 years at Barcelona before leaving to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, recently described Flick's team as "spectacular", in particular lauding his use of young players in the team.
The German has not shied away from using academy players during his time at Barcelona so far, with Lamine Yamal the standout of the bunch after he carried last season's form into this campaign.
Yamal is the only player across Europe's big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).
When asked how he felt about Messi's comments, Flick was delighted.
"It's an honour to hear the best player in history say that he likes this Barca," he told reporters.
"He follows the team closely, he has his heart set on this club, that means a lot to the youngsters and to the team."
Barcelona return to LaLiga action when they travel to Celta Vigo on Saturday, looking to extend their lead at the top of the league.
Simeone makes LaLiga history with 700th game in charge of Atletico
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has become the first manager to take charge of 700 games with the same LaLiga club.
The Argentine hit the milestone as his Atleti side welcomed Alaves to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday.
Simeone first took charge of Los Rojiblancos in December 2011 and has gone on to become the most successful manager in the club's history, having brought eight honours to the Spanish capital.
The former midfielder guided Atletico to the LaLiga title in 2014 and 2021, while also overseeing two Europa League triumphs in 2012 and 2018 in addition to helping them reach two Champions League finals.
Saturday's game is Simeone's 492nd LaLiga match in charge - the most by any manager at a single club - and he has also managed the third-most games with a single club in the Champions League (109), after Alex Ferguson with Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Atleti have won each of their last four matches across all competitions, and another on Saturday would be the 54-year-old's 300th in the Spanish top flight.
Sheffield United go top of Championship with draw despite Ahmedhodzic red
Sheffield United went top of the Championship following their 2-2 draw away to Coventry City despite twice surrendering the lead.
Chris Wilder's side are one point ahead of second-placed Sunderland ahead of Saturday's other matches although, after Tyrese Campbell put them one up after 13 minutes, they would have been hoping for a bigger lead.
Coventry forward Norman Bassette equalised nine minutes later, but Jesurun Rak-Sakyi had the visitors back in front on 34 minutes, having been set up by former Coventry man Gustavo Hamer.
Then came the game-defining incident, with Anel Ahmedhodzic sent off in the 44th minute after grabbing Bassette by his neck and throwing him to the ground. Tempers flared into half-time, but it was the home side who piled on the pressure in the second half.
The managerless Sky Blues got their reward 10 minutes from time through Bobby Thomas, meaning that they have now come back from losing positions to draw in back-to-back matches. They sit 16th in the table.
Elsewhere, Burnley went third after their second straight 1-0 victory as they beat Bristol City on the road. Jaidon Anthony scored the only goal of the game, although the home side created plenty of pressure and saw a penalty claim denied in the second half.
Scott Parker's side, nevertheless, kept their fourth clean sheet in five to get themselves back in the hunt for the top two.
Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City shared the points in a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough that does neither side many favours in their aim to climb clear of the relegation scrap.
Both goals came within two first-half minutes, with Ollie Tanner getting the visitors ahead from a Callum Robinson rebound in the 34th minute. The lead didn't last long though, with Di'Shon Bernard on hand to scramble home and restore parity almost straight away.
The result leaves Wednesday in 14th, four points above the bottom three, while Cardiff are 19th and just a point above third-bottom Luton Town.
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
