BEN Stevenson admits Colchester United’s players were left ‘hurting’ following their frustrating stalemate with bottom club Stevenage.

The U’s were forced to settle for a point at the Lamex Stadium, despite playing against ten men for more than 70 minutes of the match after Tom Soares was sent off for serious foul play.

Colchester extended their unbeaten League Two run to 11 matches, with the draw.

But it was the first time that they failed to score in League Two since mid-October.

And after a third successive draw, midfielder Stevenson admits it was a frustrating experience.

Stevenson said: “We’re hurting really, because if you look at the last two games (against Stevenage and Crawley) we feel like it’s four points dropped out of the six.

“We can take the positive that it’s now 11 games unbeaten but ultimately we want to go on and win games like this as we want to be successful, this season.

“But we’d scored six goals in two games against Carlisle and Leyton Orient and we just need to not get too carried away with not scoring.

“It will come and we have to just carry on working hard in training.”

Colchester peppered the Stevenage goal throughout, registering ten shots on target and 24 efforts on goal overall.

Boro keeper Paul Farman was in inspired form, denying Stevenson along with the likes of Luke Norris, Callum Harriott and Frank Nouble.

“After going down to ten men, they out their bodies on the line to try and get a point but I still think we should have gone on to win the game,” said former Wolves youngster Stevenson.

“I think the goal was the only thing that was missing.

“It makes it easier when they go down to ten men but we moved the ball around well enough and got into some good positions.

“You can’t say it was for the lack of trying and we never looked like we would lose it but it was just a question of getting on the end of something and being clinical wins you games.

“We kept creating chances and we came close enough but it was just a question of finishing.

“We all had enough chances to score and it wasn’t just the strikers.”

Colchester dropped to eight as a result of the draw and travel to play Morecambe, next weekend.

“We’ve got a big squad,” added Stevenson.

“You can see that as the gaffer has been freshening it up and the people who have come in have been putting exactly the same performances as anyone else who’s been in.

“We need to analyse the (Stevenage) game and look where we have perhaps fallen short, because games like these we have to go on and win.”