WALTHAM FOREST II 2

COLCHESTER 6

East Men's League division two south

COLCHESTER got the new season off to a flying start with a convincing victory at newly-promoted Waltham Forest II.

The visitors started strongly and raced into a three-goal lead, before conceding before half-time.

Colchester added a further three goals after the break and although Waltham Forest pulled another goal back before the end, it was only a consolation.

Tim Wright scored in each half and Lloyd Dennis, Richard Sexton, James Barber and Hugh Pearce were also on target, in the league opener.

Colchester captain Dean Campbell said: "It was a pretty emphatic win for us.

"Waltham Forest got promoted last season and are still finding their feet in the division, so in a way they were perfect first opponents for us.

"We felt that they might be a bit slow out of the blocks, so we tried to go out quickly from the start, especially with the pace we have up front.

"We went ahead quite early on and we had a lot of opportunities throughout.

"We tired a little towards the end of each half and we only had one substitute.

"But I felt that we controlled every aspect of the game and took control when we needed to.

"It was a good all-round performance and tactically, we got it spot on and executed it well, particularly in the first 20 minutes of each half.

Colchester's player of the match was left half Rory Hamilton on his debut.

Campbell said: "It was a good solid debut performance by Rory and he did really well."

Keeper Jamie Mortimer also performed well on his first-team debut and is set to keep his place in goal, this weekend.

Colchester host Wapping III at the Garrison on Saturday and Campbell is expecting a stiff test.

"I'm sure there'll be up there challenging at the top this season," added Campbell, who confirmed Richard Chapman will come in against Wapping and replace Hamilton, who is unavailable.

"It'll be a good test for us to see where we are.

"The club's set a target for the season; we feel we're playing in leagues below where we should be at the moment.

"I think the minimum for us is to compete for promotion.

"But I don't want to put pressure on the boys too early and we'll cut the season into fours and get the points on board."