Danny Cowley likened Arthur Read’s match-winning free-kick to a Paul Gascoigne special as the new Colchester boss picked up his first win since taking charge of the League Two strugglers as they edged a 1-0 victory at Morecambe.
Read produced the game’s telling moment with a 27th-minute free-kick that flew into the top left-hand corner of the Morecambe goal with Cowley likening it to a Gazza effort at his peak.
Cowley said: “I’m delighted with the three points and they came from a goal worthy of winning any game at any level.
“When Arthur stepped forward to take it, I said ‘Gazza only scores from here’ and he nailed it with a brilliant execution that took us to a really good place in the game.
“Owen Goodman made a fantastic penalty save early in the second half and it was a brilliant outcome for us.
“I’m delighted with the performance and I’m delighted with the process for us from a team that is coming together and growing.
“There were times in the game when we had real control and it was a good day for us with some incredible performances.”
Morecambe boss Ged Brannan was left fuming with his side’s performance, saying the first half was “unacceptable” and bemoaning Ged Gardner’s penalty miss.
He said: “It was very disappointing today, especially the first-half because we weren’t at the races.
“We have got a few injuries and we missed a few players and it showed because we were nowhere near the levels we need to be, before the break.
“We had players just jogging around the pitch which was unacceptable and we will go through the match on Monday with the players.
“We had a right go in the second half and missed a penalty which was vital because I’m sure that if we had scored that, we would have gone on to win the game.
“We are going through a bit of a bad run at home at the minute and we are looking a bit nervous in front of our own fans for some reason and we need to change that sooner rather than later.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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