Defiant Colchester United midfielder Tom Lapslie insists his side’s play-off dream is still alive and kicking - despite being held to a goalless draw by Plymouth Argyle.

The U’s are now 12th and three points off the top seven after Saturday’s absorbing League Two contest at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

Lapslie felt his side did everything but score in one of their most complete performances of the season.

While disappointed not to be rewarded with maximum points, he still believes they can make up the ground and secure a play-off spot.

He said: “It’s so tight at the top. Three points can easily be made up and if we win next weekend, we could be in the top seven.

“We were going for nine points from these last three fixtures but now we’re hoping seven will be enough.

“We’ve got to target six points from our next two games and hopefully a couple of the other teams will slip up.

“Performance-wise, we played really well at the weekend and were disappointed not to win, given the circumstances and how badly we wanted the points.

“But we were very happy with the way we played and did everything but score.

“We defended well and created a lot of chances. It was just one of those days when the ball wouldn’t hit the back of the net for us.”

Plymouth are already assured of automatic promotion and are in a race for the title with Doncaster Rovers.

However, Lapslie felt his side were superior to the Devon side, who boast the best away record in League Two.

He said: “We knew it was going to be a tough game.

“They’re a good side and we could hear their manager screaming at the players that Doncaster were losing to Wycombe.

“They were really going for it and there was no question of them being on the beach, because they’re already up. They played well – but we were better.

“It was one of our best performances of the season.

“It was as good as the 4-0 against Stevenage and as good as the Doncaster, Carlisle and Luton matches.

“It’s just a shame we didn’t get the goal to reflect that.”

Lapslie returned to the side in place of Doug Loft, having missed Monday’s 1-1 draw at Morecambe because of a shoulder injury suffered in the Good Friday fixture against Doncaster.

He said: “I haven’t really trained this week so was hoping it would go okay. When the ball started zipping around and the adrenaline was pumping, it wasn’t too bad.”