John Ward believes Colchester United should have had their game at bottom club Plymouth Argyle wrapped up – before they conceded a controversial penalty.

The U's game at Home Park was delicately poised at 1-1 when Plymouth midfielder Chris Clark was sent off for a high challenge on Ian Henderson, just before the hour mark.

And when Nathan Clarke was harshly penalised for a foul on Joe Mason in the area, Yala Bolasie scored from the spot to restore the ten-man Pilgrims' lead, 16 minutes from time.

Substitutes Andrew Bond, Steven Gillespie and Anthony Wordsworth all had chances to salvage a point for Colchester near the end, as their miserable away record continued.

U's boss Ward said: “The whole afternoon has been a big downer for us.

“We contributed to our own downfall by making that penalty count, because it should have been out of the way.

“We created enough chances over the 90 minutes to win two games.

“There are no easy games – we tried to divorce ourselves from the proceedings at Plymouth.

“But the one thing their players can do is not think about the past or the future – when they put the shirt on, it's their release from their problems.

“To be fair to them, the penalty decision and the sending off galvanised them.

“The sending off wasn't something we wanted to happen, because at that stage we were doing pretty well.”

See Monday's Gazette for a full match report, pictures and more reaction to Colchester United's defeat at Plymouth Argyle.