COLCHESTER United head coach Hayden Mullins was pleased with the way his side performed in their pre-season friendly against Spurs.

The U's were beaten 3-0 by their Premier League visitors in front of their returning fans at the JobServe Community Stadium, following first-half goals from Son Heung-Min, Lucas and Dele.

Colchester had to contend with some impressive attacking play by Tottenham in the first half and in particular, the opening quarter of the game.

But they performed well against Nuno Espirito Santo's star-studded side and created plenty of chances, particularly in the second half.

Mullins said: "It was a really tough test but I'm really, really pleased with how we applied ourselves, how we played and the physical output that we put into the game as well.

"We've played two Premier League clubs now and the one thing that we knew they would be the athletic ability.

"This was a totally different game in terms of athleticism, pace and power and the way they move the ball.

"We knew it would be a tough test but we knew that we'd get something out of it physically.

"In the first 15-20 minutes, we really got tested - the speed of how they move it and pass it is very, very quick.

"I think at times we got pulled around in the first 15 minutes so we tweaked it and that really helped, it settled us and helped us offer a threat going forward.

"But what was good was that when we got hit by a problem, we identified it and dealt with it.

"I think in the second half, we were the team on the front foot and unlucky not to get a couple of goals ourselves.

"The pace of their front three in particular is unbelievable with Bergwijn and Son and Lucas.

"It's a world class front three and they've caused a lot of teams in the Premier League problems.

"We knew that and at times, the boys looked tired and stretched but that's exactly what we need in pre-season.

"We don't want a game that's comfortable and we're going to dominate possession and we don't really move - it would defeat the object.

Gazette:

"We got really stretched which was good - we dealt with a lot of problems and it was tough for us, at times.

"But I really liked the way in which we dug in and turned it round a little bit, in the second half. "We did look a threat so there were loads of positives.

"I know it's a cliche but I'm really happy with the group at the moment and where we're at physically and where we intend to go.

"We know where we want to go and we're working towards that."

Colchester came close to scoring on a number of occasions, with Luke Chambers hitting the bar with a header and the likes of Frank Nouble and Brendan Wiredu also going close.

The majority of their players played for 77 minutes, before the U's made a host of substitutions and a number of their young players got a taste of the action.

"We felt we definitely deserved a goal, especially in the second half," added Mullins.

Gazette:

"With some of our set plays that we had, we were building up a lot of pressure.

"Luke Hannant and big Frank (Nouble) were causing them problems; Freddie (Sears) was getting in with some really good opportunities.

"They had a strong team out there and we pushed them quite close, in the second half.

"Spurs have got some good players, the likes of Oliver Skipp, Harry Winks, Dele Alli, Eric Dier at the back - they're all top players."