Colchester lost at home for the 6th time this season as Hereford United won 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.

I was given a suggested headline for Saturday's match report: Bulls Hit U's. It sums it up perfectly. How can United, with a side costing over a million pound, allow a team such as Hereford to escape the WHCS with all three points. The fact is that Hereford were good value for their win by the odd goal in three. Two up at the break they did allow United to pull a goal back through Jermaine Easter but that was all that Bulls keeper Chris Weale had to do. It simply isn't good enough.

And the manager must take some of the blame - though I accept he cannot do much once the players are on the field. Again, the selection and tactics left a lot to be desired. Platt and Easter were partnered together once again with Mark Yeates down the right, Jackson on the left and Perkins and Hammond in the middle of the park. Lambert gave home debuts to Marc Tierney and James Walker in goal with Baldwin at right back, and Chris Coyne partnering Paul Reid at the heart of the U's defence.

It looks solid enough perhaps - but there was a distinct look of square pegs in round holes. Pat Baldwin will play anywhere for the U's but as we all know, he is best at centre half. Sure, he can do the job of right back in an emergency, but frankly, I reckon I could if we were absolutely pressed. However, the job of right back in today's modern football is more than just about defending - of which Baldwin did an excellent job. It's about getting forward, getting the opposition left-back out of position, delivering ball in to the box with quality and above all, giving the man in front of you and option. Pat manfully tried to deliver on all of these, but faced with someone to beat, he would always go with the safe option of the pass back. And from that position, level with the penalty area, a cross came in that was meat and drink to a solid looking Hereford backline.

Then we need to look at the midfield. Yeates seems to be a target of the boo-boys at the moment, and yes, I can admit he is the most frustrating played in the U's starting line-up. However, he is the one player that you can really say the opposition is worried about and that, in itself, should show his true value to the side. Every time he had the ball he had two men on him, always showing him inside, where he often fails to find the final ball. He knows he is the team's creator and when we are doing badly, he almost takes it open his shoulders that it must be him who makes a difference. That extra pressure weighs too heavily on the Irishman's shoulders. He must be given a simplistic set of instructions. Get the ball, get to the by-line (you don't have to beat your man every time as David Beckham will confirm) and whip crosses in for Platt to attack.

Switching to the opposite side of the team now and again, we have a problem with Jackson and Perkins. The former Rochdale man has looked half the player he was in recent weeks and that's probably because he is being played in the middle of the park when he clearly prefers the left wing. Sure, he is going to come inside every now and then and Jackson, who conversely prefers the centre of midfield to out wide, could swop if required.

Admittedly, Lambert has suffered from a bad injury crisis that has robbed of crucial players such as record signing Steven Gillespie. However, one man who might have made a difference was sitting on the U's bench for most of the game in Kem Izzet. Again, not a favourite of everyone I admit, but the ex-Charlton man knows what he is all about. Win the ball and give it. Simple. That's not to say he cannot be creative - after all, it was too sublime passes that got the two goals at Watford last season - but we miss his all-action displays in the middle of the park.

Finally, we come down to tactics and this is where Paul Lambert fails miserably in my book. There appears to be no method in United's play at current. Are we hoofing the ball to Platt (without much success) or are we playing from the back with a passing game. After four home games I really don't know but I can say with all sincerity that we have not improved since Williams left. The 5-0 win over Carlisle said more about how bad Carlisle were, rather than us.

Our play is stodgy. First touch is everything, but how often did that go astray (though I did think that the pitch looked bumpier than anything I remember in recent years at Layer Road). By the time we were ready to attack, Hereford had already got their men back in position to defend with their backs to goal. Breaking two banks of four is difficult unless you have the players capable of unlocking the defence - and we have only one in Yeates who was, as I said before, marked out of the game. However, often did U's players run across the park with the ball rather than at the heart of the Bulls defence? Great defending from the visitors, but it also means that the U's had a lack of options to give the player with the ball. Who was running the channels? Where is the wide man for the ball inside the fullback to get to the by-line. Missing I'm afraid.

That brings me to another problem that the U's have with this lethargic approach to their football. At no point did we turn Hereford's back four. Not once did a Hereford player clear a cross whilst facing his goal, or have to head over his own bar. That stems from where 90% of our crosses are coming from - twenty yards from the by-line, level with the penalty box. My old man was a centre half of some repute (well, on his lifetime admittedly), but even he could have defended against the U's on Saturday as it was just a case of head, head away. Too simple, too predictive, too much rubbish.

So plan 'A' failed to work for the opening half with the Bulls sitting on a two goal thereby doubling the number of away goals they had scored this season in the league. Lambert's master-plan was to go narrower. Yeates played in a whole behind the front two with Hammond, Perkins and Jackson as three narrow midfielders. I ask you, we paid for a wide pitch, let's use it.

Hereford’s back four just got narrower themselves and snubbed out the danger by winning the percentage of long balls from the back. When Yeates and Perkins (probably rightfully and thereby, Lambert's only correct decision of the afternoon) were withdrawn around the hour mark for Wordsworth and Izzet the U's did spark in to some life. They pulled a goal back but in truth it was Jackson's mis-hit shot from 30 yards which Platt laid off to Jermaine Easter who finished smartly from the edge of the area that caused the problem. However, it's funny but when you do have shots from distance, odd things like that happen. The ball might deflect in to your path or past the goalkeeper - unless you try your luck, you'll never found out the reason why.

I read on the EADT website that Lambert gave the U's a rollicking following the game and that they didn't start on the front foot. Well, I'm sorry Mr Lambert but that is what YOU are paid to do before the game. You should have got them fired up, and you had the opportunity to do so at half time as well. That is your responsibility as manager of the football club.

So to the goals - I think you've probably worked out that the U's were not good enough by now to save me writing a full length match report - and perhaps Lady Luck didn't shine on the home side. Ainsworth's corner was flicked on by Paul Reid to the far post with Walker in no man's land. Platt tried his best to prevent Josh Gowling (a member of that Carlisle side a few weeks ago) from sliding the ball home at the far post but he could only divert the ball in to the path of Steve Guinan who lashed the ball from eight yards.

The second was equally as simply. This time, Reid's header out of the box following a left-wing cross was returned by the unchallenged Toumani Diagouraga who caught United square at the back. Lionel Ainsworth fired home with Tierney struggling to get back to him. It had taken the Bulls just 40 minutes to double their away tally for the season and despite United's goal from Easter which I described earlier on 71 minutes, they recorded their first away win of the campaign. Hereford keeper Chris Weale made just one save of note all afternoon, a late second half drive from the right that he palmed away for a rare U's corner while in the first half, Yeates' attempted lob landed on the roof of the net. Platt headed over in the first half while headers from Tierney and Hammond both caused anxiety in the visitors defence though Weale saved comfortably from the U's fullback, and Hammond's effort was cleared off the line. At the other end, Walker made two fine saves when faced with Hereford players bearing down on goal
and just him to beat but even he could not prevent Hereford becoming the 6th side to win at The West Homes Community Stadium this season. Worryingly, the U's have scored just twice in the last four home games to boot.

Shot of the Match: I can only think of Wordworth's second half effort that Weale palmed away for a corner but from angle I couldn't tell whether it was going in or not.

Save of the Match: Walker saved twice from Ainsworth when one-on-one with the U's loanee goalkeeper.

Moan of the Match: Probably got that out of the way haven't I?

Man of the Match: Difficult to pick some out from the mediocrity. However, for his two vital saves when the U's were still in the game I'll go for JIMMY WALKER in goal with Pat Baldwin a close second.

Colchester: Walker, Baldwin, Coyne, Reid (Vernon 89), Tierney, Yeates (Wordsworth 59), Hammond, Perkins (Izzet 60), Jackson, Easter, Platt.
Subs Not Used: Gerken, White.

Booked: Hammond.

Goals: Easter 71.

Hereford: Weale, Jackson, Beckwith, Gowling, Taylor, Ainsworth (Johnson 84), Smith, Diagouraga, Done (Gwynne 84), Guinan, Williams.

Subs Not Used: Samson, Rose, Chadwick.

Booked: Taylor, Williams.

Goals: Guinan 29, Ainsworth 39.

Att: 4,794

Ref: Andy Hall (W Midlands).

Photo: Action Images

Colchester United Polls