Colchester United manager Joe Dunne could not hide his disappointment after seeing his side beaten 3-1 at home by Coventry City.

The U’s were left aggrieved after William Edjenguele’s header was controversially allowed to stand for the Sky Blues, despite the assistant referee initially flagging Gary McSheffrey offside.

Colchester were already trailing to Franck Moussa’s goal by that point and went in 2-0 down at the break.

And although Tom Eastman’s header from Anthony Wordsworth’s free-kick with 19 minutes to go gave them hope, David McGoldrick’s tidy finish with two minutes to go sealed the points for the Sky Blues.

Dunne said: “I believe Coventry’s second goal was offside and he (the assistant referee) has put the flag up straight away.

“I think the assistant overruled himself with his flag still in the air.

“I always made a promise to myself as a manager to never get aggressive with officials and I think that they have a hard job.

“But we’ve had a couple of calls now in the last three games that have aided us not being able to win the game.

“It’s very disappointing because I thought up until the first goal, we were well in the game.”

Dunne felt the final scoreline was harsh on his side but admitted Coventry’s class told in the end.

“I don’t think 3-1 was a fair reflection of the game and that’s not being disrespectful to Coventry,” added the U’s boss.

“Their quality told in the end but there’s a way to lose football matches.

“I knew the initial part of the game would be tough and it was a bit tight.

“Both teams were cancelling each other out at times but I felt we were just starting to get a foothold on the game.

“We tested their goalkeeper and hit the bar and we also had a goal chalked off.

“I think that was the right decision but we were well on top.

“But then they broke quickly and all of a sudden, we were 1-0 down.

“It was a lapse in concentration and unfortunately, that’s been a bit of an Achilles heel for us of late.

“If it had stayed at 1-0 we’re still well in the game but I think the second goal changed the whole complexion of it.

“I felt we could get back into it though and after we scored, Brian Wilson had a great chance at the back post which the keeper made a great save from.

“We asked questions from their back four and got into good areas but in the end, class was the difference and (David) McGoldrick is an excellent player at this level.”

For a full match report and pictures from the U’s game with Coventry, see Wednesday’s Daily Gazette.