COLCHESTER United boss Joe Dunne admitted that his players were shocked to suffer a 2-1 home defeat, at the hands of Crewe Alexandra this afternoon.

George Porter had equalised Luke Murphy’s 25th minute penalty before half-time, but Mathias Pogba squeezed home a 72nd minute shot past keeper Sam Walker to secure all three points for the Railwaymen.

Dunne insisted: “I don’t think we deserved to lose today. We were unlucky.

“I thought we were worth at least a point, and the players are all shocked in the dressing room that they have come away with a defeat.

“We didn’t play well for the first 20 minutes, which gave Crewe the impetus and the early goal.

“It was a soft penalty to concede.

“We recovered well but we just have to take this result on the chin and move on,” added Dunne.

At least results elsewhere went largely in Colchester’s favour, so they remain three points clear of the relegation zone going into Tuesday night’s visit to Coventry’s City.