Colchester United secured a narrow victory over Oldham Athletic in the second round of League Two, winning 2-1 at home on Saturday. The match ended with a late twist when Lewis Temple headed an own goal into his own net in the 90th minute, confirming the three points for the hosts. Both sides came into the fixture with identical records of two wins, one draw and one defeat from their opening four games.
Keenan Appiah-Forson opened the scoring in the 20th minute, giving Colchester an early lead that they would extend through Harry Anderson's goal in the 63rd minute. Oldham's hopes of a comeback were dented by Gus Scott-Morriss's red card in second-half stoppage time, which left them playing with ten men for most of the period. Jack Payne missed a penalty in the 75th minute, a chance that could have sealed the result earlier.
Colchester dominated possession at 64 per cent and registered eight shots off target alongside five on target. Oldham managed only two shots on target from their 91 attacks, compared to 125 for the home side. The visitors also struggled to win aerial duels, conceding eight corners while managing just two of their own.
Both teams made several changes during the match, with Oldham forced into an early substitution when Calum Kavanagh was replaced by Rob Hunt in the 46th minute. Colchester brought on Paul Digby, Mike Fondop and Bradley Ihionvien in an effort to see out the game. The result leaves both sides on seven points, though Colchester sit eighth while Oldham occupy fifth place in the table.