COLCHESTER United boss Paul Lambert described Mark Yeates' winning free-kick at Leeds as “like a Ronaldino effort!”

Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United boss Paul Lambert described Mark Yeates' winning free-kick at Leeds as “like a Ronaldino effort!”

The U's were trailing to a 35th minute opener from Robert Snodgrass, but they equalised on the stroke of half-time through Dean Hammond's precise header.

And just seconds after Leeds midfielder David Prutton had been sent off for a second bookable offence, Mark Yeates crashed home the ensuing free-kick to bag a 66th minute winner.

Lambert enthused: “That was an extraordinary performance, certainly up there with the best of my managerial career.

“To come back from one goal down at a fantastic stadium like this was a brilliant achievement. I thought we got a grip of the game early on and Leeds scored their goal against the run of play.

“But we got the equaliser just before half-time and we then drove on from there. It was a big, big effort.

“You could trawl through all the TV channels all weekend and you'd still struggle to find a free-kick as impressive as the one from Mark Yeates. It was Ronaldino like!

“Jimmy Walker made a top draw save late on, and Dean Hammond cleared one off the line, but you expect that because the crowd act like a magnet here, trying to suck the ball in,” added Lambert.

The one disappointment for the U's was a knee injury to Jermaine Easter, who looks set to have a scan and so looks sure to miss the Johnstone's Paint Trophy fixture at Luton on Tuesday evening.