Richard Hall was pleased with the application of his players after leading his Colchester United reserves to victory at neighbours Southend United.

The U’s’ second-string side made it two wins out of two in the Football Combination northern division, following a 2-0 triumph at Roots Hall.

Second-half goals from John White and young striker Freddie Ladapo sealed Colchester’s win over the Blues.

Boss Hall said: “I felt we did well - we had a less experienced team than the one that played at Stevenage but I was really pleased with the way we applied ourselves.

“It wasn’t an easy game - we were playing against a physical team, the conditions were blustery and the pitch was firm.

“We had to work hard and there were a few more tackles flying in than usual.

“We had to match them physically but we did the nasty side of the game very well.

“We had to tighten things up a bit in the second half and we did very well.”

Hall’s U’s reserve side featured the likes of experienced players White, Karl Duguid and Ben Williams.

It also included youngsters such as Ladapo and Craig Arnott and boss Hall said he was pleased with the way they combined as a team.

“We had a chat before the game about fulfilling your responsibilities,” said former Southampton defender Hall.

“They are there battling for first-team places and they’re trying to impress the manager, Joe Dunne and Tony Humes, as well as myself.

“They have to ask themselves afterwards whether they’ve done enough to put themselves in contention for the first team.

“If they apply themselves like that in every game that they play in this season, I’ll be very happy with them.”