COLCHESTER United boss Joe Dunne praised his Arsenal loanee duo of Craig Eastmond and Sanchez Watt for their influential roles in a 2-0 home win over Carlisle this afternoon.

Winger Watt set up both goals, the first for his Gunners’ team-mate Eastmond and the second for fellow loanee Jabo Ibehre.

“The crowd was singing 1-0 to the Arsenal, but it was actually Colchester United who took the lead today!” enthused Dunne.

“To be honest, I’m just happy with the three points, because Carlisle had their chances.

“I thought it was a really good learning game for us, having to adapt to an opposing team, not once but two or three times.

“I’m certainly not going to complain about the win! We’ll take it.

“You saw out there the essence of what we are trying to do, to not only have a passing game but also be prepared to stand toe-to-toe, to grind out a result.

“We played in the zone for a while in the first half. There was some terrific movement and a lot of tricks. It was amazing to watch.

“But Carlisle will also wonder how they didn’t score. They could have scored two or three goals.

“I’m bitterly disappointed that we gave them three free headers.

“But let’s dwell on how well we played, especially in that first half,” added Dunne.