The U’s boss was contacted by Mike Jones at Pro Ref following the League Two fixture, with Cowley saying it was confirmed that Walsall’s first goal scored by Declan Skura should have been ruled out for offside.

Cowley was also told that Aaron Pressley had pushed Sean Raggett in the build-up to the Saddlers’ second goal.

The Colchester head coach highlighted the conversation in his programme notes ahead of the U’s FA Cup clash with Worcester City and admitted the confirmation only added to his frustration.

“To make matters worse, it compounds our frustration that we scored a very similar goal to their first via Leon Chiwome that was disallowed!” wrote Cowley.

“While the phone calls validate what we all saw on the pitch, they don't give us the points we deserved.”

Cowley, though, is determined not to allow frustration over decisions outside Colchester’s control to obscure areas where his players can improve.

Setback - Colchester United's players after conceding against Walsall (Image: Richard Blaxall)

He acknowledged that although Pressley was offside for the opening goal, there were opportunities for the U’s to prevent the sequence which ultimately led to the ball ending up in their net.

“Having said that, we need to put our energy into the areas we can influence,” said Cowley.

“Even though Aaron Pressley was clearly offside for their first goal, there were still a catalogue of mistakes that led to the initial corner and then to the ball ending up in our goal.

“We should also have stopped the cross before Pressley pushed Sean for their second goal.”

Cowley also believes Colchester must become more clinical after regularly working themselves into promising attacking positions.

“Offensively we are consistently getting to the final third and now need to be more ruthless to get the reward for our good play,” he added.

For Cowley, the subsequent phone call might have provided confirmation over the contentious moments, but his priority now is ensuring Colchester improve the aspects of their performances they can control.