Norwich City loanee Jacob Murphy was a long term target, revealed Colchester manager Tony Humes, after the teenager's starring role in a vital League One 2-0 win over relegation rivals Yeovil.

Murphy sealed a priceless midweek victory that kept the Us hopes of beating the drop alive after former City midfielder David Fox had scored a penalty.

The teenager is two games into an initial one-month loan deal, which Humes tried to set up earlier this season before Murphy linked up with Blackpool and Scunthorpe.

'We did try to get him earlier in the season and it didn't quite come off,' said Humes. 'We've known his talent - I've known him since he was a 12 or 13 year-old at Norwich City. Both he and his brother have always been very talented players, so we know what he's capable of and the quality he has.

'He fits in to how we want to do things here and I'm really delighted that he's performed as he has (against Yeovil). He was a constant nuisance for them all evening. Jacob had an impact on the game, through winning the penalty and then scoring a fantastic goal. He showed composure in a pressurised game and has shown what a good quality player he is. We were really pleased to get Jacob.'

Colchester remain five points from safety but Humes believes his side can now kick on over the run-in.

'It was a massive win - if we hadn't won we'd have been under massive pressure to win more games with fewer and fewer available,' he told the Colchester Gazette. 'But this gives us a huge lift and we have to go again now. We're delighted - it was tough game from two nervous teams. We weren't great in the first half - we didn't have control of the game. Yeovil caused us problems from set-pieces and pinned us in, but without massively working our keeper.'