Colchester United caretaker manager, Wayne Brown, praised his players for their “character” after today’s dramatic 3-2 win over Altrincham in an FA Cup second round tie.

The U’s twice came from behind, via equalisers from Callum Harriott (14 minutes) and Tom Lapslie (53 minutes), before Harriott buried the winner with a spectacular right-footed finish in the fourth and last minute of injury-time.

“The result was the be-all-and-end-all,” insisted caretaker boss Brown.

“I didn’t care about the performance, it was all about getting the win.

“Altrincham had nothing to lose, while people were expecting us to slip up, especially with our current (poor) form.

“Some people had questioned this team’s character, but we showed great character today, to get such a late winner.

“It was not a fluent performance, but I just wanted us to get into the third round of the FA Cup,” added Brown.

Brown confirmed that he would like the U’s job on a permanent basis, and he now faces a busy week preparing his side for a key league match against bottom club Barnsley next Saturday.