Goals from Pablo Couñago and Kevin Lisbie gave the Blues a 2-1 home victory over Colchester United in the Carling Cup second round. Town were on top throughout and should have been well clear before Steven Gillespie pulled back a late goal for the U's.

Boss Jim Magilton again rang the changes with Chris Casement, Iván Campo, Liam Trotter, Alan Quinn and Pablo Couñago replacing the suspended Alex Bruce, Veliche Shumulikoski, Tommy Miller, Danny Haynes and Alan Lee.

Colchester kept the ball well in the opening stages as Town settled into a formation which might be best described as a 4-1-2-1-2 with Campo the holding midfielder, Couñago behind the front two and with Quinn and Trotter tucked in.

The Blues quickly got on top and in the eighth minute Jon Walters headed an Alan Quinn corner wide.

Town continued to take the game to the visitors, but all too often the final pass was lacking on the edge of the area. On 20 Walters managed to hit the bar, but from an offside position.

Three minutes later Dean Hammond's shot deflected through to Richard Wright, but it was rare for the Town keeper to be anything other than a spectator.

The goal the Blues' possession deserved finally came in the 29th minute when Couñago won the ball midway inside the Colchester half. The striker took a couple of touches before hitting a well struck shot which squirmed under U's keeper Dean Gerken and into the net for the Spaniard's first of the season.

Town had by now reverted to a more orthodox 4-4-2 formation with Jon Walters back in his right midfield role. On 40 the ex-Chester man crossed from the right and Kevin Lisbie thought he'd netted against his old club only for Gerken to brilliantly get down to his right to push the striker's header away.

The Blues were well worth their lead at the break with Colchester having shown little in the way of an attacking threat.

After the restart, the visitors again had the better of the opening minute or so, Scott Vernon heading wide from a cross from the left. Soon after, Alan Quinn picked up a yellow card for a foul having been caught in possession in his own half.

Again Town quickly gained the upper hand and in the 52nd minute Walters fed Lisbie inside the area, the former U's man beating a defender, then Gerken but also the post.

Quinn headed a Walters cross narrowly over, before Lisbie added the second. The striker picked the ball up on halfway on the Town left and held off a challenge before cutting into the area and lashing a shot across Gerken, off a post and into the net. The former Colchester man evidently enjoyed the goal but showed little in the way of a celebration against his old club.

Campo laid a freekick across to Thatcher in the hour, the left-back's shot going wide and catching a Colchester toe on its way. Wright saved from Hammond soon after, Casement having failed to clear the initial danger.

Couñago shot wide prior to Naylor heading a Quinn freekick just wide. Danny Haynes replaced Lisbie, then Tommy Miller took over from Campo. The former Bolton man put in a steady display, showing his classy range of passes at times and constantly talking to his team-mates. On occasion the Spaniard's legs couldn't quite keep up with what his mind wanted to do, but a few more competitive games should see him to full fitness.

Town had an amazing escape on 79 when sub Steven Gillespie got away inside the box and hit an effort which Wright could only push up into the air. Richard Naylor chased the ball in on goal and somehow volleyed it on to the underside of the crossbar and out.

Wright again saved from the lively Gillespie, before Haynes first shot straight at Gerken from a tight angle, then struck an effort wide from the 18-yard line.

The Blues had perhaps become complacent in the closing stages, such had been their earlier dominance of the game and in the 85th minute Johnnie Jackson found himself in a dangerous position but managed to hit his shot into the upper tier of the Greene King Stand.

Colchester got their reward for their late threat when Gillespie got away from Casement down the U's left and lobbed the advancing Richard Wright. The Colchester striker injured himself in the process of scoring and limped off, the League One side playing the remaining three minutes of the match with 10 men.

Late on Chris Coyne picked up a yellow card for a foul on Pablo Couñago as the U's went looking for an equaliser. However, the second goal that their travelling army of more than 3,000 craved never came.

A much better performance from Town against admittedly weak opposition. Colchester were a pale shadow of the side which beat the Blues in April and only really showed anything up front once Gillespie had been introduced.

By then Town had had enough chances to put the game well and truly beyond the Essex side, but some less than clinical finishing and one superb save from Gerken meant the lead was somewhat more slender than it ought to have been.

Campo very much looked the part in the holding midfield role, while Trotter grows in confidence the more he plays in the first team. Couñago showed lots of his clever touches and was inches from playing in the likes of Walters and Lisbie on a number of occasions.

Lisbie continues to score on a regular basis and so far looks and excellent signing, while Walters still looks a little bit short of his full powers after his recent spell away from the club.

There continue to be the occasional moments of miscommunication or lack of understanding between players, something which is no surprise given all the changes in recent months. However, today's performance was a big step in the right direction, albeit against a team significantly weaker than the likes of the Watford and Reading sides the Blues have to face next in the league.

The draw for the third round of the Carling Cup – in which Town haven't appeared since 2001/02 – takes place on Saturday at 12.15pm on Sky's Soccer Saturday.

Town: Wright, Casement, Thatcher, McAuley, Naylor, Campo (Miller 75), Trotter, Quinn, Couñago, Walters, Lisbie (Haynes 71). Unused: Supple, Lee, Balkestein, Smith, Rhodes. Att: 17,084.

Photo: Action Images

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