Colchester United head coach John McGreal was pleased to see Mikael Mandron get off the mark after the French striker netted his side's equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Stevenage this afternoon.

Mandron finished emphatically from Drey Wright's pass to rescue a point for the U's at the Weston Homes Community Stadium, after Danny Newton had given the visitors the lead just after half-time.

It was Mandron's first goal since his summer move from Wigan Athletic and head coach McGreal said it was good to see his new striker find the net, particularly after his penalty miss in the Carabao Cup against Aston Villa, on Wednesday night.

McGreal said: “Drey (Wright) showed a lot of composure for the goal and picked out Mika, who despatched it brilliantly well.

“It wasn’t Drey’s best game and things didn’t come off sometimes for him but a key moment in the game when we needed him.

“We could have won the game in the end, with the chances that we had.

“Mikael missed a penalty the other night but he doesn’t let things get him down.

“He’s a boy that gets himself about and gets himself into goalscoring opportunities.

“We could have scored in the first few minutes and he put it away quite well for the goal."

McGreal admitted he was content with a point against Stevenage, especially following Colchester's energy-sapping Carabao Cup tie against Aston Villa in midweek.

“We’re happy to come away with a point, after that first-half performance," added McGreal.

“It looked as though some of our boys had left their legs on the pitch from Wednesday (against Aston Villa).

“It was a big game for the club but we were playing against a tough Stevenage team – they were there last year and they’re going to be in and around it.

“We conceded a poor goal with people knocking off and we were a little bit sleepy.

“People were a little bit leggy but the boys bounced back and put in a terrific last half hour."