Boss Dean Saunders insisted the referee got it right by awarding Crawley the controversial penalty which earned them a vital 3-2 victory at Colchester United.

Colchester were incensed when referee James Adcock pointed to the spot after Izale McLeod had gone down as he attempted to go around goalkeeper Sam Walker.

McLeod stepped up to convert from the spot to make it 3-2 and Reds held on for the final 15 minutes to secure a massive three points in their battle to avoid relegation.

The result saw Crawley climb three points ahead of Colchester to 22nd place in League One although they remain three points adrift of safety.

Saunders said: “It was a penalty. I’ve not seen it again but from my view Izale has knocked it past the goalkeeper and he has caught him.

“Even if it wasn’t we had a perfectly good goal ruled out before that when Ryan Dickson was half a yard onside.

“I don’t think the free kick they scored from at the start of the second half was a foul either as Lee Fowler got the ball.

“I thought we deserved to win. We’ve played a lot better in the last four games but I didn’t care how we got the result.

“It is a massive win for us and gives us a real chance of getting out of the position we are in. We need another four wins but this was a start.”

Colchester had taken the lead through Sammie Szmodics but goals from Ryan Dickson and Gavin Tomlin gave Reds a 2-1 advantage at half-time.

David Fox equalised straight after the interval before McLeod scored the winner from the penalty spot.

Dickson said: “It is a big win. We can take a lot of confidence from this and it puts a gap between us and Colchester.”