Kurtis Guthrie's return to first-team action gave everyone a lift, according to Colchester United head coach John McGreal.

The striker made his long-awaited comeback by making his first senior appearance for the U's in seven months after coming on as a late substitute in their 1-0 win at Yeovil Town, last weekend.

McGreal said: “It was fantastic to bring Kurtis on and it’s been a long time for him.

“He’s been out since February and we also had the likes of (Sanmi) Odelusi and (Nicke) Kabamba on the bench but I thought we’d get him on just to give us a lift and to get our crowd back on it again and it just seemed to give everyone that little bit of a lift.

“They were putting the ball in, in the last five or ten minutes.

“The ball just seemed to land at Kurtis for whatever reason and he’s just that type of player.

“I’m really pleased that he’s back in and around the first-team squad."