Colchester United sealed a superb 3-0 victory over old rivals Gillingham on Saturday, thanks to a trio of second half goals.
The win saw Colchester secure the double and leapfrog their counterparts in the League One table.
Sanchez Watt opened to scoring for the home side five minutes after the break with a low range effort that the referee judged to have not touched his offside team mate, Marcus Bean.
The Gills were further undone by a Clinton Morrison tap in and Freddie Sears’ long range shot in stoppage time which secured three points for the Essex team.
Despite U’s boss, Joe Dunne’s concerns earlier in the week that the boggy surface at the Weston Homes Community Stadium could inhibit his team’s style of play, the U’s dominated possession for the majority of the match.
Prior to kick off, a pitch inspection had taken place due to the wet weather during the week.
However, Referee Darren Drysdale deemed the pitch playable.
The heavy pitch proved to be no problem for Colchester’s passing game, with left back and Everton loanee, Luke Garbutt, posing a constant attacking threat during the first half.
Garbutt, who has extended his loan from Everton until next month, proved to be too much for the Gills to handle as he earned the Man of the Match accolade with his tireless work rate both down the wing and in front of goal.
Peter Taylor’s side had little opportunity at the other end of the pitch, with Cody McDonald’s 25th minute wide effort the closest the Kent side came to testing Sam Walker in the Colchester goal.
Craig Eastmond also went close for the home side mid-way through the first half, with Stuart Nelson tipping his shot away from the Gillingham goal.
Garbutt was also unable to find the back of the net with a volleyed shot just before the half time whistle.
Five minutes after the break, Watt broke the deadlock with a low shot drilled in past Nelson to put the hosts ahead after a mistake in the Gillingham midfield.
The Gills were forced to defend heavily as efforts by Garbutt, Dominic Vose and Brian Wilson followed.
Danny Kedwell and substitute Myles Weston had chances to find the back for the visitors but couldn’t direct their efforts towards goal.
But it was Watt again who helped to set up Colchester’s second, as his deflected shot was put in the back of the net by Morrison’s touch with three minutes to go.
Substitute Sears sealed the victory for the home side with his injury time strike, meaning the Essex side move up to 13th in the table.
After the match, Joe Dunne said: “I’d say it was probably the best performance of my short managerial career.
“That’s how we wanted to play. Great credit to the players.
“Let’s not get carried away, it’s one win. We’re on a good run. We move on.”