Matty Etherington insists his Colchester players “let themselves down” after suffering a chaotic 5-3 League Two defeat at AFC Wimbledon.
Josh Davison and Joe Lewis both grabbed doubles for the hosts at Plough Lane as Asian Cup-bound Iraqi international Ali Al Hamadi also netted.
Cameron McGeehan, Joe Taylor and Tom Dallison all scored for the Us, though McGeehan was sent off in the closing stages for a second bookable offence.
Colchester have now suffered five away league defeats on the spin and Etherington criticised his players for their character in the capital.
The former West Ham and Stoke winger said: “I have been a player, they don’t want the manager coming out and saying they have let me down – but I think they have let themselves down.
“What will be will be with me, but they have let themselves down.
“If they play like they did second half it is going to be a long season, if they play like they did in the first half, they will be absolutely fine.
“It was a fairly even game first half, but for some reason we decided to come out in the second half and be really naive in our first few moments.
“It set the tone for the second half – it was poor. There was no excuses for it, it was really poor second half.
“Maybe fatigue set in a little bit and maybe poor decision-making.
“We have lots of young players in the team, really good young players but they need to grow up at this level. The whole team does.”
Both teams scored inside the opening seven minutes as Davison and McGeehan got the game off to a thrilling start.
The away side took the lead when Taylor beat Alex Bass before Wimbledon found an equaliser when Lewis headed home.
Davison fired the hosts back into the lead before Al Hamadi scored their fourth.
McGeehan was shown a second yellow card late on as Lewis netted a second in stoppage time, with Dallison’s goal nothing more than a consolation.
Dons boss Johnnie Jackson, whose side now sit in the play-off places, said: “I’m delighted – I thought we were brilliant from nearly start to finish.
“There was a period of the first half where they were slightly on top, but I thought we gained in control towards the end of the first half and in the second half we have been completely dominant in the game and scored five goals.
“We could have and should have scored more and looked a real threat all night.
“Coming here off the back of a difficult day three days ago and get the response that I have got, I cannot ask any more.
“I thought both lads (Davison and Lewis) were brilliant and delighted that they have got the goals. I have been asked for defenders to chip in more, hats off to Joe for that.
“Obviously, you want your strikers to be scoring the goals and for Josh to get his brace tonight, and I’m delighted for him.”
No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus
Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned.
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.
However, he only played five matches for the club before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.
The 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and he remains some way away from a return.
Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.
Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaign before being considered.
"Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told reporters on Tuesday.
"I can't, however, specify a date as to when he will return, but we will look at the situation in January."
With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Neymar could, in theory, play in that competition if he returns to fitness before January.
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King's Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King's Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
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