Derek Adams saluted his “outstanding” Morecambe side after JJ McKiernan’s hat-trick secured them a deserved 3-1 win at Colchester, despite playing for more than an hour with 10 men.
McKiernan headed home Adam Mayor’s 21st-minute corner to give Morecambe the lead but the visitors had James Connolly sent off in the 36th minute after the defender appeared to leave a boot in on Samson Tovide.
McKiernan stabbed home from close range in the 53rd minute after Yann Songo’o had helped on Mayor’s corner and completed his hat-trick in the 61st minute when he collected Donald Love’s pass and ran almost the length of the Colchester half before firing past Owen Goodman.
Adams said: “The performance was outstanding and we opened up Colchester so many times and had so many opportunities on goal.
“The way we passed it, the way we pressed them, the way we allowed their goalkeeper to come to 30 yards out and not affect us and the way we picked them off.
“We hit the post, we made their goalkeeper make saves, we missed chances and then there was the sending off.
“We were already 1-0 up at that time and we had to make two substitutions and take (Jordan) Slew and (Tom) Bloxham off, two of our best players.
“So it was a big shuffle up at that stage and we then got into half-time and kicked on in the second half.
“The goals that JJ scored today to get a hat-trick were excellent.
“He has really found form and found a position that really suits him in the side.”
Colchester bagged a consolation from Cameron McGeehan’s 73rd-minute header following Brad Ihionvien’s assist and Noah Chilvers blazed a stoppage-time penalty over for the hosts, after Songo’o had handled Ihionvien’s shot in the area.
Colchester boss Ben Garner said: “It wasn’t good enough, frankly. Right from the start of the game, we were second best.
“We weren’t competitive, we weren’t intense, people not doing their jobs, people not doing their jobs off a set-piece cost us a goal.
“They then get the red card and we finish the first half well and then in the second half, we don’t do what we spoke about doing at half-time.
“The players want to go and do their own thing and so the team shape goes and we let two really poor goals in and gave ourselves a mountain to climb.
“I apologise to the supporters as it was nowhere near good enough. It’s a million miles away from where it should be but we’ve all seen how good it can be and how good it has been.
“It’s very frustrating that there’s no level of consistency or minimum standard.”
Euro 2024 social round-up: Bellingham's new celebration and Kane in the Haaland role?
Day three at Euro 2024 brought plenty of action.
Jude Bellingham was the main man for England as the Three Lions beat Serbia 1-0.
Earlier in the day, Denmark drew 1-1 with Slovenia, and the Netherlands came from behind to beat Poland.
But there was also plenty of action on social media, and not just on the pitch. Here, we round up the best posts from Euro 2024.
Wolfpack
Bellingham celebrated his goal for England with Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the pair debuted a new "wolf" celebration.
They embraced before they each got down on one knee and placed a hand over their face.
Explaining the celebration, Bellingham told BBC Sport: "When we play Wolf, one of the staff loves that face when he doesn't have a clue what's going on! So that was kind of, a little group celebration for the wolf crew!"
Man on a mission
Bellingham may have grabbed the headlines, but Declan Rice was vital for England in midfield.
Indeed, only Bellingham (92) had more touches than Rice (90), while the Arsenal man led the team for passes (81), accurate passes (78) and interceptions (two, along with Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker).
And the official England account made sure to give Rice some love.
Harry Haaland?
At half-time in the England match, pundit and former Three Lions defender Jamie Carragher posted on X that Harry Kane was "playing the Haaland role".
By that point, Kane had only touched the ball twice, and the captain would go on to finish with 24 touches, exactly half the amount of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who ranked 10th in that metric of the 11 England players to start the game.
Carragher suggested that, like Erling Haaland at Manchester City, Kane was being instructed to stay high and wait for the ball to come to him, though does not feel that role suited him.
Kane, who was making his record-breaking 23rd appearance for England at a major tournament, nearly scored in the second half, but saw a header saved onto the crossbar.
How to save a life
A genius idea in the fan zones in Germany, is that there are CPR training units set up, so that supporters can learn the basics if they need to act quickly.
UEFA broadcast this on their official account.
Eriksen's emotional Euros return
The need for CPR training is only hit home when thinking about Christian Eriksen.
June 12 marked the third anniversary of Eriksen collapsing on the pitch in Copenhagen, during Denmark's opening game of Euro 2020.
Thankfully, and due to the swift actions of the medical staff that day, Eriksen survived the cardiac arrest he suffered, and on Sunday, matters came full circle as the 32-year-old scored his nation's opening goal against Slovenia.
Dress sense
Some managers go for a tracksuit. Others go for a smart casual look. Plenty wear a suit.
Poland boss Michal Probierz falls into the latter category, but he made sure to stand out with his bold choice in Sunday's clash with the Dutch.
Probierz went for an eye-catching tweed waistcoat and a brown blazer, drawing the attention of the Men In Blazer's X account, and in turn, their post was picked up by Poland's official team account too.
What do you think of the look?
Memphis' new look
Speaking of making a statement, Memphis Depay is not exactly shy when it comes to what he wears.
And for Euro 2024, it would appear the Netherlands' forward has a new look, with the 30-year-old donning a headband.
It's usually a look reserved for basketball, not football, but Depay will do what Depay wants to do. Not that it greatly helped his performance levels. The former Manchester United attacker had four shots, but didn't get any of them on target.
Tadic tips 'hungry' Bellingham to win the Ballon d'Or
Jude Bellingham "has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or", Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic insisted after his side fell victim to England's star midfielder.
Bellingham was the hero with his first-half header ensuring Gareth Southgate's side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024, as they edged out the Eagles 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.
The Real Madrid midfielder built on the momentum from his memorable debut season with Los Blancos, for whom he scored 23 goals and helped win LaLiga and the Champions League.
The second player after Michael Owen to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, he is also the first to do so for the Three Lions while playing his club football outside of England.
And Tadic, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Serbia's first match at the European Championship as a unified nation, paid tribute to the 20-year-old.
When asked whether he thought Bellingham was the difference in the Group C contest, the Eagles skipper told reporters: "Yes, definitely. I think he is a great player and a great personality. I think he has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or.
"I think everything that he did was great today, he showed personality, he took England to the next level. He was always asking for the ball and I think he had a great game.
"What I think is most important for such a young player is that he always takes responsibility. That is amazing to see, and you can see he is very hungry."
Tadic tips 'hungry' Bellingham to 'win next Ballon d'Or'
Jude Bellingham "has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or", Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic insisted after his side fell victim to England's star midfielder.
Bellingham was the hero with his first-half header ensuring Gareth Southgate's side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024, as they edged out the Eagles 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.
The Real Madrid midfielder built on the momentum from his memorable debut season with Los Blancos, for whom he scored 23 goals and helped win LaLiga and the Champions League.
The second player after Michael Owen to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, he is also the first to do so for the Three Lions while playing his club football outside of England.
And Tadic, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Serbia's first match at the European Championship as a unified nation, paid tribute to the 20-year-old.
When asked whether he thought Bellingham was the difference in the Group C contest, the Eagles skipper told reporters: "Yes, definitely. I think he is a great player and a great personality. I think he has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or.
"I think everything that he did was great today, he showed personality, he took England to the next level. He was always asking for the ball and I think he had a great game.
"What I think is most important for such a young player is that he always takes responsibility. That is amazing to see, and you can see he is very hungry."
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