Lee Bell praised his men for ‘keeping their heads and discipline’ to pick up three points against Colchester United.

Crewe Alexandra led 2-0 after just eight minutes thanks to a Christopher Long double at Mornflake Stadium.

But The U’s pulled one back after the break through Samson Tovide and applied a lot of pressure.

However, The Railwaymen stood strong to make it 10 points from the last 12 on offer.

Manager Bell said: “I’m absolutely delighted. We put in a lot of effort and put our bodies on the line. I’ve told the players that these are the best wins - when you are able to work your way through hard times to get a result. I told them to enjoy it like we won 5-0. 

“We were under pressure but their kept their heads and discipline. We stayed strong.

“(Colchester) had the chance near the end when the skipper cleared it off the line which was a brilliant recovery from him to never give up.”

He added: “We couldn’t stop their flow and they play good football – if they keep playing like that they will climb the table.

“We wanted to attack. After our second goal I thought we should have stayed on the front foot but we sat back a bit and allowed them into the game.”