Watford’s Under-21s battled to a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Colchester United despite being down to 10 men for over 75 minutes at the London Colney training ground.

Referee Eugene Robinson gave forward Michael Adu-Poku his marching orders in the early stages of the clash for an alleged trip as the last man, but the Young Hornets stood up in the face of adversity to take the lead through Charlie Stallard.

Senior defender Mattie Pollock - who boosted his match fitness by featuring for the first 45 minutes, alongside Rhys Healey - signed off with Watford’s second in first-half stoppage-time, having already had a hand in the first goal and forced away stopper Sam Hornby into a good save from a corner.

The best chances continued to fall to the hosts, and - with Head Coach Valérien Ismaël and the likes of Tom Ince and James Morris watching on - James Collins rattled the woodwork with a blocked effort in the 52nd minute.

Colchester did make their numerical advantage count with 20 minutes to go, when T’Aizo Marcel-Dilaver halved their deficit to set up a nervy finish, but the Golden Boys held firm to earn a third successive PL Professional Development League win.

Under-21 Lead Coach Charlie Daniels said: “It was a really good test for the lads. The sending off was unfortunate, and it was a bit like the Birmingham game a few weeks ago because we had to play with a man down for a long time.

“We did really well to score our goals, and though we were up against it for a lot of the second half - which is natural - I think we could have even had a couple more. They [Colchester] had a couple of opportunities, but I didn’t think any of them were really clear-cut - I thought our lads defended brilliantly and worked really hard for each other.

“I think we saw the good camaraderie in the group, and they were really helped by having the likes of Mattie Pollock, Rhys Healey and Myles Roberts in the side today with their experience and know-how. In the second half the introduction of Jonathan Lawson and Leo Ramirez-Espain helped us consolidate control, so overall I’m really pleased.”

Agreeing that the inclusion of a handful of first-teamers positively influenced the performance, midfielder Aidan Coyne said: “It’s great just being able to watch them and learn off them - seeing the way they conduct themselves and communicate on the pitch is really helpful, and they definitely helped us establish control in the game.

“It was a good, challenging game and everyone had to work very hard. We sat in a block and worked side-to-side, everyone put in a shift and I think we fully deserved the win at the end of the 90 minutes.”

The fixture marked the side’s first since they embarked on a training camp in Gibraltar last week, which Daniels believes will stand his players in good stead with the 2023/24 season now firmly in full swing.

He added: “It was a really good trip, and a good chance to do some warm weather training. We played two matches, against a men’s side and then a 21s team from Spain, and it was a good opportunity to test ourselves against different styles. We all enjoyed it, and we’re all looking forward to keep progressing throughout the campaign.”