Colchester United boss, John McGreal, praised his defence after his side’s gutsy 1-1 draw at Blackpool this afternoon.

Kurtis Guthrie netted an 18th minute equaliser, just six minutes after Nathan Delfouneso had broken the deadlock with a soft goal.

McGreal explained: “We defended resolutely at times, but had several good opportunities to put the game away when we were under the cosh, against the run of play.

“Blackpool had more of the ball, but I thought we had the better chances.

“We defended really well, especially young Frankie (Kent), who really stepped up to the plate in this game.

“And Matt Briggs did well to come back in after all his injuries and play the full 90 minutes, even though he was suffering from cramp at the end.

“We are still in and around it (the play-off race) after this result, and now we have a run of home games to look forward to,” added McGreal.

The U’s ended the match with nine men, due to Tom Eastman’s injury when the three substitutes had already been used, and Sean Murray being sent off in stoppage time on his U’s debut.

McGreal confirmed that Eastman had turned his ankle.