COLCHESTER United head coach Steve Ball felt a ‘minute of madness’ cost them dearly after they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth in the EFL Trophy.

Two first-half goals in the space of barely a minute from Marcus Harness condemned the U’s to defeat in their Group A opener, at Fratton Park.

Ball told BBC Essex: “I’m really frustrated, a bit more than Saturday I think.

“I just think we played two really good teams and Portsmouth is a really big club, as we all know.

“I thought we absolutely dictated the patterns in the game in the first half an hour.

“It was like for like in the shape and I just thought that we controlled the game; they didn’t look like scoring.

“We had a couple of moments without really threatening but I just thought that we were in total control of the game.

“But in the space of a minute, things change and that’s where we have to get better and focus and concentrate, whether the players are senior or young ones.

“We all have to focus and switch on because ultimately, a minute of madness has cost us the game.

“Portsmouth are a really strong side and they’ll definitely be top three or four, this season.

“But that’s where we have to learn to be better and I’ve just said to the players, aside from that minute we’d have come away with a 0-0, albeit they had good chances.”

Ball once again fielded a number of young players in his starting line-up against Portsmouth, including Miquel Scarlett and Noah Chilvers.

“One of the whole traits of our club, even going back to people like Frankie Kent, is to learn on the job,” said Ball.

“For our young players tonight, it was a great learning curve.

“Miquel Scarlett had a really bright introduction and he was up against a good player in (Marcus) Harness, who ends up scoring the two goals.

“He’ll go away now and study it and I’ll work with someone like that because he wants to learn but sometimes, you have to learn on the job and obviously tonight, he’s had a hard time with the kid Harness but he’ll learn from it.

“I have to manage what I’ve got with the squad.

“I’ve got a good squad but I don’t want to risk injuries.

“Cohen (Bramall) has been very good pre-season but I don’t want to risk him so I just thought I’d give Miquel a try on the left side.

“I thought he did well up to a point for the first half an hour and then he found it tough but these boys have to learn.”