Following a positive point at home to Rotherham on Tuesday, U’s overcame Coventry to get back to winning ways and move away from the bottom four.
Freddie Sears gave Colchester an early lead with just four minutes gone and midway through the half Gavin Massey had doubled that lead thanks to some excellent finishing.
Just before half time Coventry got a goal back through Callum Wilson but the striker failed to finish his opportunities in the second half as Colchester held on to an impressive victory.
Coventry edged out Colchester with the possession but U’s were dangerous on the counter with their pace through Freddie Sears, Sanchez Watt and Gavin Massey.
Just four minutes in Sears grabbed the opener as he slotted in through Joe Murphy’s legs after chasing down Ryan Dickson's pass and working a shooting opportunity from a tight angle.
The goal really lifted Colchester’s early performance and within minutes of the goal Sears worked another great chance in the centre of the box but his shot looked finesse and was easily caught.
Coventry responded with some chances of their own but a John Fleck free kick and Callum Wilson shot were routinely saved by Sam Walker in the U’s goal.
Colchester’s poor scoring form of late had cost them dearly in recent games with just put two goals in the previous six games, but after just twenty five minutes U’s had a second goal through Massey.
The winger chased down a long ball from Brian Wilson and the idle Coventry defence gave Massey all the space he needed to open up his body and curl a shot to double Colchester’s lead.
The Sky Blues’ defence continued to make mistakes conceding two slopping corners but Colchester failed to capitalize on the set pieces.
Arsenal loanee Chuba Akpom proved to be Coventry’s best outlet of the first half with some good hold up play and late on he forced Walker into a decent low save.
With just minutes to go before the half time whistle Coventry pulled a goal back when Callum Wilson’s shot from the narrowest of angles was perfectly places into the far corner.
Coventry started the second half with the momentum off the back of their late first half goal and piled the pressure onto Walker’s goal.
Defending has been Colchester’s strong point in recent weeks and Tom Eastman showed why with a great last ditch tackle to stop Wilson who was racing in on goal.
Just minutes later, Walker had to make a fantastic save to deny a powerful shot from Jordan Clarke and keep the U’s ahead.
Both teams looked to the bench with rather contrasting subs as Franck Moussa replaced Blair Adams and Craig Eastmond replaced Sears for their respective clubs.
The game opened up more and more as Coventry piled men forward in search of an equalizer and sub Moussa wastefully smashed the ball high over the bar from inside the box.
Callum Wilson was next to fluff his lines in front of goal as he beat Eastman for pace into the box but his finish was poor and straight into the arms of Walker.
Manager Steve Pressley threw everyone forward but attack after attack was repelled by the Colchester defence who stood strong and countered in return.
Substitute Dom Vose added some new energy to Colchester’s midfield and his skill inside the box set up Eastmond for a shot but his effort was blocked.
Five minutes of injury time gave Coventry their last chance to draw level and with just seconds to go Callum Wilson again found himself through on goal but his shot whispered just wide of the post.
Colchester held on to collect a well-earned three points to lift them to 15th in the league in front of a great crowd at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.