MATTY Etherington admits winning was all that mattered for his Colchester United side after they beat Salford City 2-1 to end their losing run.
Goals from Joe Taylor and substitute Chay Cooper proved enough to secure a much-needed victory for the U's in their final home game of 2023 at the JobServe Community Stadium, despite Conor McAleny's excellent stoppage-time consolation for the visitors.
The win ended a five-game losing streak for Colchester and moved them seven points clear of the League Two relegation zone, much to Etherington's delight.
Etherington said: "The main thing for us was the three points.
READ MORE: Colchester United see off Salford City for much-needed victory
“The win tonight was all that mattered and they managed to get that.
“That’s the pleasing aspect of the evening and that ultimately is all that mattered, when we walked into the building.
“I’m emotionally drained right now because at 2-0, you think ‘that’s it done’ and then literally from kick-off, they go and get their goal and you’re back to square one again.
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions and I can’t explain it - until you live in it, you’ll never be able to feel it.
“I’m just so pleased for the players that we got the three points.
“We worked some good opportunities and being better in both boxes is probably a common theme where we should be, over the last few weeks.
“We had chances and we can still do better but I keep saying it, the win is all that mattered.”
Colchester welcomed key defenders Connor Hall and Ellis Iandolo back into their starting line-up against Salford, after hernia and ankle injuries respectively.
The pair each played for nearly an hour before being replaced and head coach Etherington was pleased to see the pair return.
He said: "It's so important to have those two players in our team and available for selection.
"You can see what they give us as a team.
READ MORE: Colchester United 2 Salford City 1 - as it happened
"I spoke to them both at half-time; they were wanting to go back out there and Hally said to me 'I've got literally ten minutes, max'.
"We got 57 (minutes) out of them and hopefully there's no repercussions - we've got a quick turnover now to Boxing Day.
"They'll be in tomorrow (Saturday) recovering and hopefully, they'll be fine to go."
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