Danny Cowley likened Arthur Read’s match-winning free-kick to a Paul Gascoigne special as the new Colchester boss picked up his first win since taking charge of the League Two strugglers as they edged a 1-0 victory at Morecambe.

Read produced the game’s telling moment with a 27th-minute free-kick that flew into the top left-hand corner of the Morecambe goal with Cowley likening it to a Gazza effort at his peak.

Cowley said: “I’m delighted with the three points and they came from a goal worthy of winning any game at any level.

“When Arthur stepped forward to take it, I said ‘Gazza only scores from here’ and he nailed it with a brilliant execution that took us to a really good place in the game.

“Owen Goodman made a fantastic penalty save early in the second half and it was a brilliant outcome for us.

“I’m delighted with the performance and I’m delighted with the process for us from a team that is coming together and growing.

“There were times in the game when we had real control and it was a good day for us with some incredible performances.”

Morecambe boss Ged Brannan was left fuming with his side’s performance, saying the first half was “unacceptable” and bemoaning Ged Gardner’s penalty miss.

He said: “It was very disappointing today, especially the first-half because we weren’t at the races.

“We have got a few injuries and we missed a few players and it showed because we were nowhere near the levels we need to be, before the break.

“We had players just jogging around the pitch which was unacceptable and we will go through the match on Monday with the players.

“We had a right go in the second half and missed a penalty which was vital because I’m sure that if we had scored that, we would have gone on to win the game.

“We are going through a bit of a bad run at home at the minute and we are looking a bit nervous in front of our own fans for some reason and we need to change that sooner rather than later.”