Grimsby Town 0-1 Colchester United

Tom Hopper's goal was his first for Colchester since joining them from Lincoln City

Colchester United made it five away victories on the spin in League Two with a gutsy 1-0 success over Grimsby Town at Blundell Park.

Tom Hopper settled the scores with a close-range header in the first half as the Essex side leapfrogged their opponents into 16th position in the standings.

Chances were at a premium during the opening stages but Colchester took first aim after 13 minutes when Luke Chambers glanced narrowly over from a corner.

It looked increasingly like set-pieces were going to be their best action plan in search of an opener and so that proved when Hopper nodded home.

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.

Match report supplied by PA Media.