Colchester United head coach John McGreal described his side's display at Crawley Town as "excellent" after they ran out 2-0 winners on Boxing Day.

Goals from Mikael Mandron and Sammie Szmodics helped the U's seal victory at Broadfield Stadium and lift them up to fifth in the League Two table.

McGreal said: “It was an excellent away performance.

“I think it could have been a bit more clinical, with the opportunities that we had.

“But I thought from the first minute all the way through, there was a composure about the boys.

“We were creating opportunities getting into the final third and always seemed a threat, running in beyond - we also looked very sound defensively.

“We scored two great goals and this is a tough place to come and play – you only have to look at their recent results here against the likes of Mansfield, Exeter and Luton and went to Accrington at the weekend which is a tough place to go and won.

“For our boys to win and put in that shift after our second-half performance against Port Vale where we thought we could have won the game was great."

Mandron gave Colchester a fourth-minute lead when he pounced on Cedric Evina's error in the Crawley area to fire home.

“Mika slotted in his goal really well and I thought that his performance was excellent," said McGreal.

“He’s a big lad who can move himself about and he’s scoring goals and is a great foil for Szmods.

“He made the pass and followed the ball and it’s ricocheted to him, whether it’s a pass or not and he’s there to tap it in and give us a great start."

Szmodics made it 2-0 with his 12th goal of the season, just before the hour mark.

“Mika slotted in his goal really well and I thought that his performance was excellent.

“He’s a big lad who can move himself about and he’s scoring goals and is a great foil for Szmods.

“He made the pass and followed the ball and it’s ricocheted to him, whether it’s a pass or not and he’s there to tap it in and give us a great start.

McGreal added: “It was a fantastic ball by (Brandon) Comley and Sam ran through the backline of the defence which he keeps doing and it’s a great finish with his left foot.

“He also hit the crossbar and he’s just a threat at the moment and flying with confidence."

Colchester are next in action on Saturday when they travel to play Chesterfield, in League Two.