Mark Cousins admitted Colchester United's shock defeat at hometown club Chelmsford City was a player's worst nightmare.

The U’s were beaten 3-1 by the Blue Square Bet South side, to tumble out of the competition at the first-round stage.

For Chelmsford-born Cousins and his team-mates, it was well and truly a day to forget but the Colchester goalkeeper was determined to remain positive.

Cousins said: “It’s a player’s worst nightmare to come and lose to a non-league team but you have to hold your head up high and get on with it.

“It’s not nice to lose any game, especially a cup game.

“This sort of result but we’ve got strong enough characters in the squad to pick ourselves up.

“We can’t dwell on one game - there’s no point in that.”

For the full story, along with more reaction to Colchester United's defeat at Chelmsford and a full match report and pictures, see Monday's Gazette.