Police had been warned some fans on the coach were in a rowdy mood. The red coach was stopped at the gates of Southend United's Roots Hall ground, where officers served the driver with a notice under Section 27 of the Public Order Act. It was then escorted by police back to Colchester.
Essex Police spokeswoman Donna Veasey said: "Police officers acted on information which suggested some passengers on the coach were intent on causing football-related disorder. Such activities will not be tolerated."
Matt Hudson, for Colchester United, said: "The majority of our supporters who travelled to Southend for the match represented the club very well at a game."
Shrimpers were caught on the hop when full-back Dan Harding was forced off at half-time on Saturday after picking up a hamstring injury. But Tilly does not expect the defender to be sidelined for long.
"It's nothing too serious," said the Blues boss, speaking to the 'Echo'. "Dan was feeling his hamstring a bit but I brought him off so he didn't make it any worse."
Even so, with a less than secure peformance by Osei Sankofa and Simon Francis proving once again he is a liabilty at left back against a side with a half decent right handed player, is it time for a look at Johnny Herd in the weekend's cup tie at AFC Telford, especially as Harding is unable to play due to the terms of his loan deal from Ipswich Town?
A good peformance in tonights Essex Senior Cup tie at Roots Hall could see him in the squad at least.
Meanwhile Captain Adam, also speaking to the 'Echo', believes his side should be in positive spirits after picking up a point against the Farmers but that lessons should be learnt.
"I think after their first goal we became a bit ragged and showed our inexperience," said the centre-back. "We lost our shape a little bit and Colchester took full advantage. But from being 3-2 down with only 10 minutes to go we showed tremendous character. We have to be happy with a point and we certainly couldn't have left it any later because it was the last kick of the game."
The equaliser came from Jean-Francois Christophe who was right next to Barrett when the ball was bundled into the back of the net but Adam is still not too sure what happened; "The corner was slightly behind me but I managed to get a flick on it and it somehow ended up going in," recalled Barrett. "I thought it was an own goal to start with but apparently it hit Christophe and went in, even though he was actually looking the other way. In fairness though I don't really care who it hit or how it went in it was just great to see the ball in the back of the net."
And increasing Barrett's delight was Shrimpers mascot Harry Brown, who the defender knows through his work at Little Havens. The eight-year-old, who is a pupil at Richmond Avenue Primary School, Shoebury, was diagnosed with leukaemia in August last year. His mascot treat was arranged by the Echo and reported in TLG last week. Barrett was thrilled to see him looking so well.
"Harry is a real bubbly character and it was brilliant to see him again," said the 28-year-old. "He looked great and was full of beans. Last time I saw him he was in his Chelsea shirt and we played football together at Little Havens as well going on the go-karts and the swings. But it was much better seeing him in a Southend shirt and I hope he and his family enjoyed the day."
Captain Adam's defensive partner-in-crime Peter Clarke hopes plenty of good will come from Saturday's thriller with Colchester United and he is not just talking about his team's challenge for promotion.
For Southend's players wore commemorative shirts, which included a specially-embroidered poppy, for the derby clash which was their nearest home game to Armistice Day. The shirts will now be auctioned to raise money for the poppy appeal, which is a cause close to Clarke's heart.
"One of my friends is in the marines and what these people do is amazing," said the centre-back to the Echo, who pointed to the poppy on his shirt after opening the scoring at Roots Hall. "They really do put their lives on the line for us and it puts into perspective what we do at the end of the day. That's why I pointed to the poppy like I did and hopefully now we can raise quite a bit of money from auctioning our shirts because that would be great."
Clarke is now also relishing a slight break in the Shrimpers season following a hectic recent schedule of four games in 12 days. "I think the matches have maybe taken their toll on us," said the defender. "Perhaps you could see that in the second half but we showed great character to get a point and now we have a bit of rest before we regroup and go again."