Colchester United boss Joe Dunne heaped praise on his players for tonight’s terrific performance in a pulsating 3-1 home win over MK Dons.

After five straight defeats at the hands of the Dons in recent seasons, the U’s turned the tables on their League One rivals with a dazzling display.

Goals from Craig Eastmond, Jabo Ibehre and substitute Macauley Bonne sealed only the U’s second win in 18 league and cup games.

And it was richly deserved, especially as the Essex club were again seriously weakened by injuries. The likes of Freddie Sears, Sanchez Watt, Gavin Massey, Marcus Bean, Drey Wright and Josh Thompson were all missing.

“It was a tremendous effort by all the players,” enthused Dunne.

“We have worked so hard every day, and I am pleased for them. They have earned it.

“It’s great for the club, because obviously we have been grinding out results.

“But we should have scored more goals!” added Dunne.

This was the first time that the U’s had scored three goals in a match this season.

Substitute Bonne, introduced as a 68th minute replacement, could have scored four goals during the final quarter of the game.

But the exciting 18-year-old still came up trumps with the killer third, a fantastic first-time strike from just outside the box.

It was his third goal in just six senior appearances.

Dunne was also delighted for midfielder Eastmond, the ex-Arsenal man, to bag his first goal of the campaign.

“We had to change the ream around, due to absentees,” continued Dunne.

“But we coped well and I’m pleased for Craig to get his goal, because I’ve been badgering him a bit about not scoring.

“It was a good start to the game and it spurred us on.

“Overall, we created numerous chances.

“We needed to take them, because MK Dons are a big threat, and now that point at Preston (1-1 draw last Saturday) looks a very good point.

“We hadn’t been creating many chances lately, but we did tonight. I’m not even sure the last time we scored three goals in a match, but you have to remember that we were missing 70% of our strike-force.

“So it’s great credit to the other players who chipped in,” added Dunne.

As a result of tonight’s win, the U’s have moved up two places to 15th in the League One table, and are now five points clear of the drop zone. They take on Tranmere at Prenton Park on Saturday.