Colchester United head coach Steve Ball will have been delighted with the way his side acquitted themselves in the final-third today as they saw off a sub-par Leyton Orient outfit to seal all three points on home turf. 

With the two mid-table sides seeking to move towards the play-off places, many of the few in attendance at the JobServe Community Stadium would've expected a fast start from both sides in deepest Essex, however it was the hosts who had the best of the early running, with the attacking quartet of Jevani Brown, Michael Folivi, Courtney Senior and Kwame Poku causing all sorts of problems for the Orient backline.

The away side - set up in a slightly rigid 4-3-3 system - rarely forayed forward in the opening stages of the first-half, with only Jobi McAnuff's long range effort really testing Dean Gerken in the Colchester goal after five minutes on the clock.

It was the home side who justly rewarded their early dominance after 10 minutes played as a neat move involving Folivi and Brown resulted in the former lofting a beautifully weighted through ball through to the in-form U's striker who took the ball down well on his chest before firing clinically into the far corner past Lawrence Vigouroux in the Orient goal.

McAnuff continued with his attempts to get his side back into the contest in the first period's closing stages, but it was to no avail as the teams went in at the break with the scoreline staying firmly at 1-0.

Moving into the second-half and it was more of the same from a Colchester United perspective as Brown continued to be chief tormentor of the opposition, with the forward again beating the Orient offside trap on two occasions to test Vigouroux in the opposing goal - with the shot stopper, to his credit, standing up well to repel both efforts.

However Brown needn't have worried as he added to his tally soon after, with the Colchester man firing in a powerful effort after a half clearance from the O's on the volley, which was far too tough for Vigouroux to keep out.

The contest seemed to be fizzling out in the closing stages until a goal from Conor Wilkinson made for a nervy finish for the hosts after the Orient number nine got a touch on Sam Ling's speculative effort to divert home past Gerken.

Despite a late flurry of floated deliveries into the Colchester penalty area, the hosts stood strong and held on for a deserved three points - thus seeing them enter the play-off places.

The result leaves Orient stuck in mid-table, with manager Ross Embleton sure to be facing an inquest into his sides lackluster showing on this cold Saturday afternoon in Essex.