Colchester United head coach John McGreal on Grimsby Town draw

JOHN McGreal admits it was 'painful' to see his Colchester United side concede a late goal to draw 2-2 at Grimsby Town tonight.

The U's led 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Frank Nouble and Luke Norris, at Blundell Park.

But James Hanson reduced the deficit for the Mariners just after the break and Matt Green's superb 87th-minute strike denied Colchester a first league win of the season.

McGreal said: "It's really difficult because we're talking about a 2-2 draw when we're 2-0 up.

"It's just after we brought the big man (Omar Sowunmi) on which is painful.

"We get the big man on just to deal with what they had.

"He's headed it but it's fallen to the man on the edge of the box and he's put it in the top corner."

Colchester looked like they were heading for their first three-point haul of the season, after going in at half-time in control.

But they were forced onto the backfoot in the second half and eventually conceded late on to draw.

"It's gutting, it really is after all of the hard work that we've done," added McGreal.

"In the first minute of the second half we dive in and give a penalty away just after we had got a great goal ourselves, right on half-time.

"I thought we were worthy of it as well and I thought we defended particularly well.

"I thought we looked a threat on the attack but their goal just gives them a little bit of impetus then and after that I just thought we were camped, slashing at balls and not being able to play.

"We stuck with it but it was incoming and I just thought we were getting deeper and deeper - I was trying to get the boys up and trying to get them on the ball.

"I just thought with the deepness of it we'd throw on the big man (Omar Sowunmi) as it was just incessantly coming in,

"He (Sowunmi) has got his head to it but the ball's gone to the edge of the box and he (Green) has put it in the top corner.

"We'd done a lot of work on them and watched videos on them and we knew they'd come at it.

"The ball is going to be incoming but I thought we dealt with it and played off it, which we did in the first half but not the second half.

"It was a great finish by Frank (Nouble) for the first goal and it was a great bit of play for the second.

"It gave us a great shot in the arm but it's disappointing conceding so early in the second half."