COLCHESTER UNITED 1

QUEENS PARK RANGERS 7

Under-23 Professional Development League Two

COLCHESTER United's youngsters endured a nightmare afternoon at Florence Park in a match that saw them well beaten, despite them being level at one stage.

The U's fell behind after six minutes when Eberechi Eze bent a free-kick around the wall and into the net, just inside keeper Aaron Dillon's left-hand post.

But just after the midway point in the first half, George Brown equalised for Colchester with a low cross-shot after good work between Louis Dunne and Eoin McKeown to set him up.

Rangers quickly restored their lead though through Nigerian starlet Aramide Oteh, on work experience from Tottenham Hotspur.

He steered a shot in to the net via his knee after the visitors had broken away down the left and crossed.

And Oteh quickly made it 3-1, after Reece Grego-Cox had been too strong in the challenge for Kane Vincent-Young and picked out his Rangers team-mate.

McKeown's header skimmed the bar before Oteh drove a shot into the corner of the net to complete a first-half hat-trick, after Dan Darbyshire had cut the ball back.

Colchester trailed 4-1 at the break and things got worse for them soon after half-time when a long ball sailed over the head of Dexter Peter for Eze to bag Rangers' fifth.

Colchester triallists Kyle McLean and Zachary Birse were replaced by George Keyes and Rob Howard after that and Dunne volleyed wide.

But after Bowler's surging run, he set up Oteh to net his fourth of the afternoon to make it 6-1, just before the hour.

Darbyshire's shot rattled a post for Rangers before they wrapped up their big win with eight minutes remaining through Jeremy Arthur, who converted from Chair's cross.

McKeown was denied by Rangers keeper Timothy Seny Dieng late on but this was a day to forget for Colchester's youngsters.

Colchester United: Aaron Dillon, Nicholas Akoto, Kane Vincent-Young, Kyle McLean, Dexter Peter, Zachary Birse, George Brown, Charley Edge, Eoin McKeown, Louis Dunne, Tariq Issa. Substitutes: George Keyes, Rob Howard, Callum Jones, George Phillips, JJ Wilson.