There was no happier man on the pitch than livewire man-of-the-match Karl Duguid once the final whistle signalled a tremendous Colchester United victory.

The never-say-die, all action striker said: "The lads played brilliantly and the margin of victory could have been more even though we were bombarded at the end.

"The gaffer told us we had to do better after losing at home to Port Vale last Wednesday and we've shown many times already this season we can do that against the top teams.

"It hasn't been one of the best seasons for me and I know I haven't scored enough goals, but I'm playing a different role this season to the role I have performed before."

Delighted that his best game of the season coincided with a success for Colchester, Duguid described the all-important winning goal as: "Some great defending, a great ball out, a great cross in from Joe Dunne and a great header from big Barry Conlon.

"Our fans were brilliant and stuck with us all the way. They were right behind us from start to finish and it was great to send them home happy.

"The ball is in our court now because we've got to play most of the teams below us at Layer Road. We can only win those games from now on in to make sure of our Second Division status."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.