Pompey fell to yet another defeat thanks to an atrocious first half display that gave them too much work to do in the second half.
In fact, I would personally say that the first half was the worst half of football I have ever seen produced from a Portsmouth team. Colchester may have scored three goals but could have had six or seven due to the more than generous defending.
The first goal came after two minutes and it was a simple finish for an unmarked Gavin Massey after Freddie Sears beat Dan Butler down the wing and crossed the ball for him to score a simple goal.
Pompey hit straight back when Jed Wallace volleyed in Dan Butler's corner three minutes later. But that would be the only real bright point for the hosts as the visitors took control of the game.
The U's were gifted a penalty after debutant Sam Sodje slid in on Sears. Despite his protests it was a definite spot kick and the former West Ham man made no mistake in striking the ball past Eastwood and then doing his best to incite the Pompey fans with petty gestures that guaranteed him abuse for the rest of the game.
Pompey's plight further deepened when Massey's shot from outside the box took a huge deflection off Ricardo Rocha and looped over Eastwood and into the back of the net.
Our full backs couldn't cope with their wingers, the clearances from our centre backs were falling straight to gold shirts and Jabo Ibehere was giving the defence a torrid time whilst his supporting acts were exploiting Pompey's lack of pace with considerable ease.
One pass was all it took to open up the Pompey defence on too many occasions and had the likes of Ibehere took his chances then Pompey could have conceded far more than the three they did.
To compound the misery in the first half there were no more chances to come for Guy Whittingham's men in the first half thanks to some terrible passing from midfield.
Pompey began the second half much brighter due to the extra pressure our players were putting on theirs and that led to Josh Thompson almost scoring an own goal for his old employers when he was rushed into a header past his own keeper but he managed to get to the ball before it crossed the line.
The positive play continued and the home side did pull a goal back courtesy of some beautiful football. Johnny Ertl's backheel led to substitute Liam Walker producing a fine pass over the head of Thompson and into the feet of James Keene who drove the ball into the corner of the net.
With the defecit down to one the Pompey players surged forward in search of an equaliser but couldn't find that crucial pass or were wasteful with set-pieces.
Colchester weren't helping things with their blatant timewasting and gamesmanship but they held on despite barely threatening in the second half as Pompey were made to rue the damage done after a truly woeful first half performance.
Pompey Player Ratings
Simon Eastwood: 6 - Let down by his defence again.
Yassin Moutaouakil: 5 - Better going forward.
Sam Sodje: 4 - Not a debut to remember.
Ricardo Rocha: 4 - Poor clearances before early exit.
Dan Butler: 4 - Struggled against Colchester wingers.
Ashley Harris: 4 - Ran around a bit but virtually anonymous.
Johnny Ertl: 4 - Terrible passing in the first half.
Shaun Cooper: 5 - Didn't do much.
Jed Wallace: 7 - At the centre of everything good Pompey did.
David Connolly: 4 - Barely involved.
James Keene: 6 - Nicely taken goal.
Substitutes
Phil Smith
Adam Webster
Gabor Gyepes (Rocha 27): 6 - Shored things up.
Liam Walker (Connolly 46): 6 - Passing made a difference.
Adam Reed (Cooper 68): 6 - Got involved.
Frankie Sutherland