Danny Cowley felt his Colchester side lacked bravery after they conceded late to draw 1-1 with 10-man Accrington Stanley.
The U’s had led from the 40th minute thanks to Noah Chilvers’ fine 25-yard low strike after Riley Harbottle had initially brought the ball forward into his path.
Accrington were then reduced to 10 men in the first minute of the second half when Brad Hills was sent off for lashing out at Tom Hopper near the halfway line.
However, the visitors claimed a point with an 80th-minute equaliser after Harbottle diverted Kelvin Mellor’s cross into his own net.
Colchester boss Cowley said: “Sometimes, the biggest mistake you can make in football is trying not to make a mistake.
“We played with too much fear and, for us, it’s always to find the second goal in these moments.
“We were 1-0 up and were in total control of the game and the opponent goes down to 10 men. Once they go down to 10 men, you just need to find your rhythm with the ball and you need to be brave enough and we weren’t.
“We got what we deserved and we conceded a goal against a team that didn’t have a shot on target.
“It’s our job to try to change the mentality of the group and that’s what we’re working hard to do.
“The hardest to affect in terms of players is probably never technical, tactical – it’s always the mentality. We didn’t show up when the team needed us and that was the truth.”
Colchester were the better team in the first half, with Harbottle, Hopper and John Akinde all going close before the break.
However, Accrington showed character to claim a point, despite Hills’ red card, and that spirit was praised by boss John Coleman.
He said: “We were poor in the first half, I thought it was a poor game. We didn’t offer anything going forward in the first half or nowhere near as much as we should have done.
“It was a controversial goal that they’ve scored. Play is allowed to go on and the referee has obviously missed it.
“The big turning point is the sending-off. I was speaking to John Akinde when he came off and he said it was a yellow at the very, very worst. That’s not me saying that, that’s their centre-forward and he was closer than me, but that’s football.
“It wouldn’t be the first time this season that we get a harsh decision against us and it definitely won’t be the last, so you’ve just got to get on with it.
“I thought we showed terrific spirit and nullified their chances and our keeper has barely made a save.”
Simeone praises Atleti defence but wants more firepower
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was pleased with his team's defensive performance as they beat Celta Vigo in LaLiga on Thursday, but he knows they must create more chances.
Atletico managed to keep another clean sheet to consolidate their status as the best defensive side in the competition, conceding only three goals in seven games this season.
At the other end, Simeone's men only managed two shots on target and generated just 0.62 expected goals (xG) to the hosts' 1.53 xG, but Julian Alvarez's late goal inflicted Celta's first home defeat in seven months.
"Today we took the three points with great defensive patience against opponents who haven't lost since February," Simeone told reporters.
"We've been working well, but we need to improve our attacking. In the first half we performed well in defence but we didn't create opportunities to put our players in front of goal.
"There's a defensive performance that is much better, we still haven't found that area where we can play better offensively."
The Argentine was, however, delighted with the performances of Alvarez, Angel Correa and midfielder Rodrigo Riquelme, all of whom made an impact off the bench.
"In the second half the substitutions made us better, Rodrigo Riquelme, Julian, Correa... they were feeding us more in a game where both sides looked like they were going to have chances," Simeone said.
"Luckily, in the end [Antoine] Griezmann and Julian found each other."
Atletico host city rivals Real Madrid in LaLiga on Sunday, having taken 15 points from seven matches to trail Los Blancos by two points and leaders Barcelona by six.
No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus
Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned.
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.
However, he only played five matches for the club before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.
The 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and he remains some way away from a return.
Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.
Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaign before being considered.
"Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told reporters on Tuesday.
"I can't, however, specify a date as to when he will return, but we will look at the situation in January."
With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Neymar could, in theory, play in that competition if he returns to fitness before January.
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King's Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King's Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
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