Danny Cowley was pleased with his Colchester side’s “relentless performance” after they beat 10-man Morecambe with a 1-0 League Two victory at the JobServe Community Stadium.
Mandela Egbo’s 65th-minute deflected shot flew into the net after substitute Oscar Thorn had picked him out in the area, to seal victory for the U’s over the struggling Shrimps.
Morecambe had played for more than half of the game with 10 men as striker Lee Angol was sent off after connecting with Ellis Iandolo as the duo went for a loose ball.
U’s boss Cowley said: “It was a very deserved win and I was proud of the players. It’s not easy to play against a Morecambe team who went down to 10 men.
“I’m very proud of how brave the players were, on a very difficult surface.
“I just thought that we stuck to our game plan, kept trying to pass the ball, didn’t get caught up emotionally or caught up with frustration.
“We just stayed really focused and really determined and I thought it was a relentless performance and we thoroughly deserved the win.
“I think Morecambe had only had 15 defeats and 10 of them had been 1-0.
“I’m actually really proud of the club because last year, Morecambe went down to 10 men and they won the game 3-1.
“We went there earlier in the season and they went down to 10 men, we were 3-1 up and in control of the game and we drew 3-3, so it shows you how far we’ve come.”
Morecambe were still in the contest right until the end and boss Derek Adams was disappointed with referee Sam Purkiss’ decision to dismiss Angol just before half-time, which left his side up against it.
Adams said: “We’ve looked at the footage and it’s not a sending off – it’s two players going for the ball.
“The referee has chosen to send him off.
“It wasn’t the linesman, it was the referee.
“Sam Purkiss was the referee here the last time we both met and he sent off James Connolly in the first half as well.
“It gives them a huge advantage – last time, we went on to win the game, this time we didn’t and Colchester scored with a deflected goal and we really contained them.
“They should have probably gone on and scored a few more goals.
“They were timewasting at the end, they were kicking the balls off the marker and getting booked for that.
“I got booked because I called it embarrassing because a player, who in the dying stages of the game kicks the ball off the marker when we’re down to 10 men.
“If that’s the state of football, then that’s the way it is.”
