Colchester United manager John Ward was pleased to see his side bag the three points after seeing off ten-man Walsall.

The U's secured their first win in five matches in League One after Anthony Wordsworth's penalty just after the half-hour mark proved the difference between the two sides, at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

Walsall defender Andy Butler was sent off after bringing down U's winger Michail Antonio for the penalty, leaving Colchester to play against ten men for more than half of the game.

Ward said: “It was an excellent result for us and it now makes it one defeat in six.

“That’s a nice place to be at the moment.

“We had a fair amount of possession and we tried to increase our lead.

“But the important factor as well is that you don’t lose it.

“Walsall were very well organised and very diligent in what they tried to do.

“We’ve created one or two things at the other end and found Jimmy Walker in good form.

“We knew that we had to carry on what we were doing 11 versus 11 and that we shouldn’t stop trying to do that.

“We knew there would be certain frustrations if things didn’t come off but it was important that we got our thinking right and decision-making.

“We did some good things and we made some mistakes – the most important factor was that when you look at the scoreline, we’ve managed to win 1-0."

See Monday's Gazette for a full match report, pictures and reaction to Colchester's 1-0 win over Walsall.