COLCHESTER United boss Paul Lambert was delighted to see his U's side rattle up their 10th away league win of the season, at the expense of relegated Hereford, but was left to rue the patchy home form.

Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United boss Paul Lambert was delighted to see his U's side rattle up their 10th away league win of the season, at the expense of relegated Hereford, but was left to rue the patchy home form.

“Even if we had won only half our home games, then I reckon we would have been in the play-offs,” insisted Lambert.

“Our away form has been excellent all season and today was a job well done against a side who were fighting for their lives.

“It's never easy at the beginning of a match, but we started well and bounced back from the Brighton defeat (Easter Monday, when we let ourselves down.

“We have a makeshift team at the moment, with all the injuries, but the lads who came in did well. It was an excellent performance,” added Lambert.

Mark Yeates broke the deadlock with a superb free-kick in the 37th minute, and it was his cross that was then headed into his own net by defender Dean Beckwith just five minutes later, to seal the win.

Lambert continued: “Mark (Yeates) has a good ratio with scoring from free-kicks. There's no doubt about his ability from free-kicks, he just needs a bit more consistency with his overall play when the games get harder.”