Matt Briggs believes Colchester United’s performance against Bury was one of their best of the season – even though it ended in a 1-0 defeat.

The U’s were narrowly beaten by Bury, despite enjoying the bulk of possession and forcing goalkeeper Rob Lainton to make a number of vital saves.

Colchester’s defeat against the Shakers was their first in seven matches and ended a run of four straight wins.

But after picking up the sponsors’ man of the match award, Briggs feels their performance was good and still believes the U’s are on the up.

Briggs said: “It was one of the best games we’ve played – we had probably 15 shots and quite a few on target and it was just one of those days when it didn’t go for us.

“If you lose, you lose but sometimes when you put in a performance and a shift, you can’t ask for much more than that.

“This team has progressed a lot since last season and we have so much more depth now.

“We’ve brought some quality players in and we’re all gelling as a group, so that’s good.”

For much more on this story and five pages of coverage of the U's game against Bury including reaction, pictures and analysis, see Monday's Daily Gazette.