Swindon Town fell to a third consecutive defeat in League Two as they let a half-time lead slip to lose 3-1 against Colchester United.

Jake Young gave Town the lead with a fabulous goal midway through the first half, but the U’s surged back after the break courtesy of goals from Cameron McGeehan, Samson Tovide, and Noah Chilvers to keep the three points in Essex.

So, how did the players get on as individuals during the defeat at the JobServe Community Stadium?

GK: Murphy Mahoney – 5

I don’t want to overreact to two games, but Mahoney has probably just had his worst two performances for Swindon in the last few days. The goals cannot really be placed at his door, but there were rare moments of shakiness in him with dropped catches and sloppy passes. Everything in front of him does not help, but Town kind of need the world-beater that began the season right now.

RCB: Udoka Godwin-Malife – 6

I felt Godwin-Malife was Town’s second-best player at the weekend, which is probably the smallest amount of praise it is possible to give a person, but he followed that up with another good performance. When Swindon played well in the first half and controlled the game, that was largely down to the decision-making and authoritativeness of Godwin-Malife.

CB: Tom Brewitt – 5

This was a very tough assignment for Brewitt as the middle of the pitch was left exposed too many times. He was forced into tough positions, but ultimately, he did not make the interventions to make up for his teammates' mistakes. I am probably being too harsh on him again.

LCB: Frazer Blake-Tracy – 5

Like Brewitt, players in front of him made this a difficult assignment for Blake-Tracy. Shade did not have his finest game defensively and Blake-Tracy could not cope with the space that was created at times.

RWB: Remeao Hutton – 6

Hutton linked up with Godwin-Malife very nicely throughout this game and had the beating of Jayden Fevrier whenever he liked. He put in at least a handful of crosses that deserved better than they received in the middle.

CM: Liam Kinsella – 4

I felt that Kinsella, much like at MK Dons, started this game very well and his energy was a big asset to sustaining pressure. However, he does not seem to be able to keep that up across a whole game right now and that was a big cause of Jay Mingi, in particular, being able to drive through the middle of Swindon whenever he pleased.

CM: George McEachran – 5

On the ball, especially in the first half, McEachran was very good. He spread the play and kept it ticking as Town hoped to slowly pass their way back into confidence. I don’t want to criticise him too harshly without the ball as I believe he is being asked to press high, the problem is that this created lots of space behind him that Colchester exploited to devastating effect. It could be decision-making or it could be instruction, either way, it was a big problem.

LWB: Tyrese Shade – 4

There were one or two good moments on the ball for Shade, but not enough to make up for his defensive positioning. Fevrier and then Will Greenidge were able to exploit him on the flank and created the first two goals from those positions. Shade would greatly appreciate a switch to a 4231.

CAM: Dan Kemp – 6

Colchester did a good job of shackling Kemp for periods of this game, but he is too good for this level, and you can never do that for a full match. Much like against Aldershot, when the chips were down in the second half, he was the one most likely to bluff his way out of it.

ST: Charlie Austin – 4

Austin seems to have this sort of game every couple of matches, where he just can’t find the space. He makes all the same movements he does when he plays well, but the ball either does not find him or he can’t find a red shirt when he does get it. This coupled with a header he could probably have scored, means it was not a great shift from him.

ST: Jake Young – 7

Even if you take the goal out of it, this was the best Young has played since September. The confidence on the ball to drive at people was there and then he got into areas where goals would come from. His goal was exceptional, and he could have had a second with another top strike. The only true positive to take from Tuesday was Young’s performance in the first half.

Subs:

Harrison Minturn – 5

The game was at a strange point when Minturn came on as defensively, Town did not have much to do. He was asked to keep the ball moving from the back and he did that, but his chances of an eye-catching display were slim.

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy – 5

The one thing you can say for sure when Hepburn-Murphy comes on is that he will create at least one big chance. Like a League Two Darwin Nunez, his pace makes him an agent of chaos and that is a valuable trait, no matter what anyone says. In the last few weeks, he has not been taking those chances, but it did take an incredible challenge to deny him this time around.

Fletcher Hubbard – N/A