Jacob Murphy's early goal was cancelled out by Ben Gladwin's second-half header this evening as Colchester United recorded a 1-1 draw with Swindon Town that sends their fight for League One survival into the final week of the season.
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The hosts couldn't have wished for a better start, as Murphy tapped home Gavin Massey's right-wing cross from close range after just a minute.
Alex Gilbey and George Moncur then both sent efforts narrowly over the top of Wesley Foderingham's goal, but Swindon could have been level had Bongani Khumalo not made a crucial interception as the visitors broke.
The lively Nathan Thompson then called Sam Walker into action with a powerful shot that was kept out at full stretch by the Colchester goalkeeper.
Walker was involved again when he ensured that his side went in ahead at the break with another diving save, this time from Andrew Williams just seconds before the half-time whistle.
However, Walker was powerless to keep out Gladwin's powerful header from a corner eight minutes after the restart.
Swindon substitute Jermaine Hylton then spurned a golden opportunity to put his side ahead when he stabbed the ball wide from close range after Colchester had missed several chances to clear the ball.
With time running out, Tony Humes threw on Dion Sembie-Ferris, and the forward made an instant impact as Moncur fired home his pass, only to see the effort ruled out for offside.
Colchester again thought that they had won it when David Fox's cross found Chris Porter, but his header struck the inside of the post and somehow stayed out.
The result lifts Colchester up to 22nd on 49 points, one point behind Notts County who are currently outside the relegation zone in 20th place.
Joe Sharratt
