COLCHESTER United manager John Ward was left more than satisfied with his side’s goalless draw at Oldham this afternoon.

Following the set-back of last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat to Huddersfield, the U’s responded with a solid defensive display against Paul Dickov’s in-form Latics.

“I’m pleased with that after last week,” said Ward. “We got very stretched against Huddersfield and subsequently worked very hard in training this week to make sure we were much harder to beat today.

“We stopped Oldham playing in the first half and although we got a bit more stretched in the second half we still kept them down to long range shots.

“I’m pleased with the reaction of the whole group and how they’ve gone about the game.

“We’ve played the ugly stuff well today and, although I’m disappointed with our ball retention in the second half, I don’t want to be critical after this one.

“Coming off the back of a 3-0 home defeat I thought the whole approach of the team was really good.

“You learn a lot about your team when they are up against it and today we’ve been able to come away with a point from a difficult venue.”

Meanwhile, there appears to be bad news for U’s midfielder Andy Bond who had to come off with a serious looking injury following a rash challenge from Dean Furman.

“He’s twisted his knee,” said Ward. “It’s a nasty injury and we won’t know the full extent of it until early next week.

“It looks like he’s going to miss a little bit of football at this juncture though and I’ll certainly be surprised if he’s available next week.”

Wide forward Ashley Vincent also had to come off after catching a boot to the ribs but he should recover in time for next weekend’s visit of Notts County.

– Full reaction in Monday’s EADT.