Colchester manager Steve Ball believes that his side were denied a legitimate goal in their 0-0 draw at Leyton Orient

Orient striker Conor Wilkinson was twice denied by young U’s keeper Shamal George in a Sky Bet League Two game of few chances.

At the other end Frank Nouble, re-signed by the Essex club on loan from Plymouth on transfer deadline day, saw his first-half header hit the woodwork although Ball insists it should have been a goal.

The outcome left Colchester without a win in 10 matches and with just one goal in their last seven games.

“I thought that we were really good in the first half and countered Orient really well,” Ball said.

“In a great counter-attack move, in our mind, we’ve scored. The ball is just over the line, we’ve had an angle on it from our analyst which shows the ball has come down on the other side of the line.

“So that hurts a little bit. Fair play to the linesman, he probably can’t see it from the angle he was and it’s a split-second moment.

“In the second half we were under a bit more pressure and had to deal with a couple of things but on the overall scheme of things, it was a good away point.

“To come to Orient and nick a point is positive, albeit we wanted all three.

“I’m delighted to get Frank Nouble back, I was gutted that he had to leave in the summer and to get him back is a brilliant move from us and he’ll be a great asset.”

Orient head coach Ross Embleton is also desperately seeking goals from his charges, as they have now gone four matches without a victory.

“It’s two games with two clean sheets when we haven’t been at our best,” he said.

“When things like that happen and you aren’t firing you need to make sure you come out of the game with something and we did that.

“I thought our final ball let us down today and without being rip-roaring entertainment, we stayed resolute and came out of the game with a point.

“The fixture list is getting busier and we have some important games ahead.”