COLCHESTER, England (Interstat) — Colchester United opened its League Two season with a 1-0 victory over Milton Keynes Dons on Thursday at JobServe Community Stadium, defying a projected draw.

Jack Payne provided the decisive performance, scoring the game’s only goal and adding an assist on the play. Substitute Jonathan Leko recorded an assist, while fellow substitute Luke Offord also contributed an assist on the 78th-minute winner.

The result improved Colchester’s record to 1-0-0, while Milton Keynes Dons fell to 0-1-0. The match featured three yellow cards, issued to Offord in the 60th minute, Leko in the 90th and Payne in stoppage time.

The narrow win came despite a Interstat projection favoring a 2-2 draw, though its ELO system gave Colchester a 73.5% probability to win.