Colchester United's hopes of avoiding relegation suffered a blow this afternoon after they were beaten 1-0 at fellow strugglers Coventry City.

Jim O'Brien's first-half strike was enough to give the Sky Blues victory at the Ricoh Arena and condemn the U's to their first defeat in five games.

It was a nervy start to the contest for both sides which was understandable given what was at stake, with just three points separating the clubs at kick-off.

Both teams took time to settle but as the first half wore on, the Sky Blues looked the more likely to make the breakthrough.

Coventry skipper O’Brien’s glancing header flew straight into the arms of Sam Walker, in the 13th minute.

And although Gavin Massey fired straight at keeper Lee Burge after pouncing on Jordan Willis’s poor clearance, the U’s disappointingly struggled to find much tempo and vibrancy in their game.

Colchester almost fell behind when former Ipswich Town striker Frank Nouble found space in the area and forced a save from Walker.

But the Sky Blues took the lead nine minutes before the break when O’Brien drilled low into the far corner, after being found by Chris Stokes’ cutback.

Colchester struggled to find any tempo and lacked creativity in the first half, with Chris Porter cutting an isolated figure at times in attack.

But they improved after the break and were unlucky not to be on level terms, in the early stages of the second half.

Burge denied both George Moncur and Gavin Massey in the space of a couple of minutes, as the U’s went in search of an equaliser.

But they had a let-off soon after when Nick Proschwitz escaped the Colchester defence and rounded Walker, only to hit the outside of a post with the goal gaping.

Colchester sent on Sammie Szmodics and Matthew Briggs just after the midway point of the second half, in a bid to find an equaliser.

Richard Brindley fired wide of the target but Walker did well to push Coventry substitute James Maddison's fierce effort onto the post with ten minutes remaining, to keep the U's in the game.

Szmodics’ acrobatic hooked effort clipped the top of the bar after Coventry had failed to clear a Massey corner, with five minutes remaining.

But despite putting pressure on the Coventry goal, the U's were unable to muster an equaliser and fell to a disappointing defeat.

For a full match report, pictures and reaction to Colchester’s game at Coventy, see Monday’s Daily Gazette.