Interim head coach Scott Marshall says it has been a difficult time at Colchester but their 1-0 win over in-form Accrington has given them a welcome boost.
Ben Garner was sacked on Monday, with Matthew Etherington overseeing their win over Grimsby in midweek.
However, they found out on Friday night that Etherington could not take charge again due to a contract dispute with his previous club Crawley.
It meant Marshall was in the hot-seat and, despite 31 shots for Stanley, it was an inspired performance from U’s goalkeeper Owen Goodman and Joe Taylor’s 57th-minute solo strike that proved the difference.
The on-loan Luton striker raced from his own half, with his initial shot saved by Jon McCracken but he fired in the loose ball for his eighth goal of the season.
“It’s a difficult situation, it’s something above my head,” said Marshall. “We are happy to come away with a victory but it needs to play out and I will just have conversations about football if that’s OK?
“Ben suddenly being removed from his post gives everyone a reality check in terms of the seriousness of it. It’s been a disappointing time as well as proud of getting six points.
“To go away to Grimsby and Accrington and come away with six points is fantastic. The boys dug in and showed huge amounts of character, rode their luck, made some good saves and some good challenges at the right time.
“Once we got the goal you could see the grit and determination in the group to hang onto it.
“Owen has been fantastic and enjoying being in the thick of it. He did his bit as well as everyone else.
“We will take that, we worked hard, it’s not been easy with the travelling and the situation we are in and everyone deserves the credit for it.”
Stanley saw their four-game winning streak come to an end but they remain in the play-off places.
Manager John Coleman said: “We didn’t start well and in the first 15 minutes they could have scored two goals.
“We then had a procession of missed chances. Players don’t miss chances on purpose and, when you miss a few, you snatch at a few more as you are getting anxious and that’s what happened today.
“Sometimes you just have to take it on the chin. It was the most threatening we have looked all season against an opposition who have been in turmoil themselves, but you have days like this, they will come when you are not expecting them.
“We’ve been on a great run but it hasn’t been ended by a bad performance, it’s been ended by one of those days when you can’t put the ball in the net.
“The time to worry is when you are not creating chances. The lads gave their all and are devastated as they know it’s a missed opportunity to cement ourselves in the play-offs.”
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
McTominay has no regrets over Man Utd exit
Scott McTominay says he has no regrets about leaving Manchester United to join Napoli after a lightning-quick start to life in Italy.
He has scored three goals in 10 appearances for the Italian club in all competitions, netting twice in Serie A to help them sit top of the table after 12 games.
Only Romelu Lukaku has scored more league goals for Napoli than him this season, while McTominay has also had the second-most big chances (four) among his team-mates, scoring two of them.
Before his transfer deadline day move, McTominay had spent 22 years at United, joining their academy aged five before making his debut in May 2017.
The Scotland international made 255 appearances for the senior team, scoring 29 goals, including 10 during his most prolific season in 2023-24, and providing eight assists.
While McTominay admitted leaving his boyhood club was not an easy choice, he is pleased with the outcome of the choice.
"Obviously, it's a big decision, there's no denying that. It was a huge decision for me and my family and my friends," he told The Times.
"At times like that in your life, you just have to say, 'Do I want to do it? Absolutely,' and go for it. There's no looking back. I've never had any regrets in my life, or my career and I continue that way to this day.
"I want my career to be successful, and I'm going to go out of my way to try and push myself to be the best football player and best person that I can possibly be."
Watkins start for England in Greece was 'no slight on Kane' - Carsley
Outgoing England interim manager Lee Carsley says his decision to start Ollie Watkins over Harry Kane against Greece was 'no slight' on his captain.
The Three Lions had suffered nine withdrawals from their initial squad announced last week, although Kane remained available for selection and came on for Watkins in the 66th minute.
But Carsley's decision paid off, with Watkins putting England ahead after just seven minutes, with his fifth international goal setting them on the way to a 3-0 win in Athens, with an own goal and Curtis Jones rounded off the scoring.
"It was brilliant for Ollie to get a goal," Carsley said. "It's important that I think if we are going to put these players in a position where we are going to go and win the World Cup, then these players need to have as many experiences as they can.
"So, it was no slight on Harry. He'll start the next game and I think there are a lot of positives to take from that performance."
When asked how the England captain reacted to not being named in the starting XI, Carsley explained that Kane had no issues with it.
"He was absolutely fine. It would be fair to say he wants to play every game, like all top players do," he said.
"I think he understands that it's important that other players experience that kind of experience that we had tonight.
"He's a great example to the rest of the players and I expect him to start on Sunday and play well."
The decision to start Watkins over Kane came alongside other selection decisions, as Rico Lewis, Noni Madueke, Jones, Lewis Hall and Morgan Rogers all featured for a youthful England side, with the latter three making their senior debuts.
Despite Carsley's roots as England Under-21 coach, he assured the post-match media that there was no nepotism on his part to include the more inexperienced players.
"No, none at all, to be fair," the interim boss said. "None at all.
"I see the quality that the players have got. You're now seeing it in terms of the younger ones, that they're more than capable with the mentality and quality they've got to play in stages like tonight.
"I thought a lot of the players, especially the younger ones - well, all of the players, to be fair - played with such quality tonight.
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