Colchester United head to Yeovil Town on Easter Monday with their League Two play-off hopes still alive.

The U's beat Grimsby Town 1-0 on Good Friday, thanks to Frank Nouble's first-half winner.

In the mix

GET ready for a shoot-out to claim a coveted League Two play-off place.

That was the call of Colchester United boss John McGreal, after his side kept their chances of a top-seven finish alive with victory over Grimsby Town.

The U’s win – coupled with seventh-placed Exeter City’s shock home defeat at the hands of Crawley Town - has made things very interesting.

Colchester are one of three sides who lie two points off the Grecians with three games remaining and a point adrift of eighth-placed Carlisle United.

The U’s are level on points with Stevenage and Newport County, who have four matches still to play.

At least McGreal’s side are still in the mix, heading to relegation-threatened Yeovil Town tomorrow.

Fantastic Frank

IT is no secret that Frank Nouble’s preferred position is up front, rather than in a wide attacking position.

And the powerful forward showed how much he enjoys leading the line with his display against Grimsby Town.

Nouble produced a composed finish to score Colchester United’s all-important winner against the Mariners.

He has nine goals for the season now and reaching double figures would be a decent return for a player who has spent the majority of the campaign on the wing.

A dangerous scoreline

THERE’S no question that Colchester United were the dominant side throughout their game against Grimsby Town.

They made all the running and keeper Dillon Barnes had very little to do throughout the 90 minutes.

Once they got their noses in front through Frank Nouble’s first-half strike, it looked as though they might go on and score more.

But 1-0 is a dangerous scoreline and as toothless as Grimsby were, there was always a nagging feeling that they might salvage a draw.

Thankfully, the U’s saw the game out without any major scares to gain what could potentially be a crucial three points.

Play it again, Sam

SAM Saunders made his first home start for Colchester United in their win over Grimsby Town.

But the way the experienced midfielder performed, it looked as though he had been playing at the JobServe Community Stadium for years.

Saunders was named man of the match by the sponsors following a slick display and few in the ground would have disagreed with that verdict.

“You could see some of his class on the ball and he’s brought that bit of calmness to the boys,” said McGreal of the former Brentford man, after he helped the U’s claim victory.

Handling the pressure

IF Colchester are to make the play-offs, they will have to do so without three of their most experienced players.

It seems as though both club captain Luke Prosser and goalkeeper/player-coach Rene Gilmartin have joined Harry Pell in being sidelined for the remaining games.

That is a lot of knowledge and authority to be missing, which is why the likes of Sam Saunders, Frank Nouble and Ryan Jackson will be crucial in the coming days.

This is a U’s side with young players, some of whom are yet to experience the pressure that comes with a final run-in such as this.

They may be unable to play their part on the pitch at present but hopefully the likes of Prosser and Pell can still have an impact off it, in the next couple of weeks.