Danny Cowley insists Colchester still have work to do to secure their League Two status despite their vital 2-0 home win over Grimsby.
Colchester took a fifth-minute lead through Tom Hopper, who ran onto Arthur Read’s excellent pass and coolly lifted the ball over goalkeeper Jake Eastwood and in.
And John Akinde sealed the Us’ victory in the 79th minute when he lifted a fine effort from just inside the area into the far corner, from Noah Chilvers’ pass.
The victory relegated Forest Green, who did not even play on Tuesday night, but Colchester boss Cowley said: “We’ve still got work to do but I think we can be really pleased with ourselves tonight.
“I thought we had a really good first half an hour and went 1-0 up, could have gone 2-0 up.
“But we didn’t go 2-0 up at that time and probably in the middle part of the game, there was a bit of a storm.
“We lost Alistair Smith which was a big loss and came out and tried to keep the same system that just didn’t quite work, with the personnel.
“So then they were quite gung-ho and loading six on the attacking line so we went to a back five and I think once we did that on maybe 50 minutes, we got a foothold back in the game and looked a real threat on the counter-attack.
“We had numerous chances and it took a Glenn Hoddle-esque chip from John Akinde to win us the game.”
Grimsby, who are not yet mathematically safe, pushed hard for an equaliser after falling behind early on and Donovan Wilson and Harry Clifton went close to levelling.
But despite Colchester defender Tom Dallison being dismissed for a foul on Justin Obikwu in stoppage time, Colchester claimed victory.
Grimsby boss David Artell said: “If I give anyone the hairdryer treatment, it’s for lack of effort and there wasn’t lack of effort tonight.
“That’s the only time I’ll get irate and it’s not my job to shout at people – it’s my job to help people get better.
“Do you ever get a teacher shouting at a 10-year-old? It’s his job to help them.
“For me, it’s about standards, it’s about making sure with that final pass and that was the difference tonight.
“It’s about having those standards from where we are to maybe that next level.
“They’ve picked a team to try to outmuscle us and win those set-pieces and we’ve stood up to all that, which is credit to the players, but it’s that difference between the ball going behind someone and not through on goal and actually someone scoring the goal.”
Courtois ruled out of Euro 2024 despite Real Madrid return
Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been ruled out of Euro 2024 by Domenico Tedesco, despite making a return to the Real Madrid squad.
The 31-year-old has missed the entire season, and after a setback in March, needed another knee operation.
Carlo Ancelotti said he hoped to have the goalkeeper back for their LaLiga match against Cadiz at the weekend, but has been able to name him on the bench for their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Despite Courtois making a return to action before the squads have to be named, Tedesco was clear that he would not be chosen.
Speaking to German media on Tuesday, he said: “On this topic, everything has already been said. I don't want a tit-for-tat situation.
"We are focusing on players who are in good shape."
Former Spain boss Del Bosque to oversee RFEF
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque will oversee a new committee supervising the RFEF.
Spain, which is due to be one of six host countries for the 2030 World Cup, announced the creation of a special committee until the federation holds elections to replace Luis Rubiales.
That is despite Pedro Rocha having this week been appointed as Rubiales' replacement, though he himself is under investigation amid a corruption probe.
Rubiales was dismissed following his unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony in 2023.
The federation's former president was then arrested in early April as part of a corruption investigation.
Del Bosque led Spain to three consecutive trophies, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, while also leading the team to their first World Cup success in 2010.
Prior to his time with the national team, he also won two Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles while in charge of Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player.
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
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