Matt Bloomfield heaped praise on his in-form Colchester side after they picked up their fifth straight League Two away win against Grimsby.
Tom Hopper settled the scores with a point-blank header, the only goal of a game which was low on quality from both sides.
Colchester leapfrogged Grimsby into 16th position with another gutsy display on their travels, in the process equalling the club’s record run of away wins.
Head coach Bloomfield said: “We had some really tough games on the road earlier in the season and this was something for supporters to cheer about.
“I thought the boys were very good, apart from one goalmouth scramble.
“We controlled the way we defended and worked on that in training. We spent a lot of time on that knowing the threat Grimsby were going to bring.
“But they took the plan on, executed it and we are really pleased.
“We work hard on our set-pieces and spend a huge amount of time researching things to come up with a plan for who we are playing. It was part of our recruitment strategy during the window to bring in players who hold physical threat.”
Chances were at a premium during the opening stages but Colchester struck first when Hopper nodded home following a free-kick.
Grimsby pushed for an instant leveller and might well have found one when Michee Efete scuffed off-target following a classic goalmouth scramble in the Colchester area.
John McAtee clipped wide shortly after the restart as Grimsby worked hard for a way back into the game, while Fiacre Kelleher and Noah Chilvers both went close at the other end as Colchester held on for another deserved win on the road.
Grimsby manager Paul Hurst added: “Our message to the players was to try and maintain that positivity from our cup run.
“But sat here now, there are no real positives to take. It was very disappointing and I have no qualms in terms of the result.
“We lost to a set-play and we should have scored from a set-play. Somehow, we managed not to put the ball in the net on two occasions when it looked to harder miss, certainly from where I was stood.
“I will take nothing away from Colchester. In terms of an away performance, by keeping the clean sheet and winning a game, I am sure they will be extremely pleased.”
