NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn admitted his side got what they deserved at Colchester United.

Tristan Abrahams put County 1-0 up in the fifth minute but the hosts levelled in the 33rd minute when former Exiles right-back Ryan Jackson saw his shot deflect off Mark O’Brien and loop over Tom King.

Ben Stevenson curled a shot into the top corner to put Colchester ahead three minutes before the break and Courtney Senior added a third on 75 minutes with a superb solo effort.

“We didn’t deserve anything,” said Flynn.

“Colchester deserved the three points and there’s not much more you can say about it.

“We lost to the better team. We gave it a go and everything started well, but they deserved the three points. It’s a tough place for us to come.

“We were too deep,” added the Exiles boss. “We gave them too much space and we didn’t talk enough as a team – the right-back and the right midfielder didn’t talk enough and the same on the left.

“In the first half, they had three shots from the edge of the area. That’s very unlike us and it goes to show how deep we were.

“The first goal was fortunate – it takes a big deflection. The second and the third, I’ll have to have a look at them but there’s a chance they could have been saved.”

A second defeat in League Two leaves Flynn’s men seventh in the table after 15 games, still three points behind leaders Crewe Alexandra.

They return to action against 12th-placed Salford City at Rodney Parade next Saturday.

“I don’t get carried away when we win and I definitely don’t get carried away when we lose,” said the manager.

“We’re still up there. We’ve started well. We’ve lost a game that we deserved to lose and we go on to next week now.”

Read more: Colchester United 3 Newport County 1 - match report