COLCHESTER UNITED 1, OLDHAM ATHLETIC 1
Oldham Athletic collected another crucial point in their quest for EFL survival from their League Two basement battle at Colchester United.
New head coach John Sheridan – he’s hardly new as this is his sixth stint in the job – made it six games unbeaten since his latest return.
Though Sheridan has picked up a remarkable 12 points from a possible 18 which is promotion form, Latics remain in the bottom two, but within grasp of safety, an altogether different picture to when he took charge when they looked doomed.
Latics had the dubious distinction of scoring both goals as Davis Keillor-Dunn gave Latics first-half lead with his seventh goal of the season only for Jordan Clarke to find his own net early in the second period.
But it was a measure of the progress made in recent weeks that Latics were disappointed not to leave East Anglia with maximum points.
Having named an unchanged line-up from the win against Bradford, Sheridan’s side picked up from where they had left off the previous weekend with a strong start.
They were rewarded for their early pressure after 19 minutes when the in-form Keillor-Dunn scored his fifth goal in four matches. As Nicky Adams played a free-kick into the Colchester area, Carl Piergianni won the flick on for Keillor-Dunn to fire home.
Having also created the two goals against Bradford, Nicky Adams caused havoc during the first period from dead balls and crosses from wide areas.
Keillor-Dunn should have given Latics an earlier lead, but he was unable to get enough on his header from a superb cross by Adams.
Latics continued to force the issue and Adams almost linked again with Keillor-Dunn, providing a cross which he latched on to only for the ball to be deflected wide.
Adams then sent in a free kick which just escaped Harrison McGahey at the far post, while a cross from Jack Stobbs was cut out by Luke Chambers after good play from Hallam Hope.
Latics had a great chance to score a second just before half-time with another rapid counterattack. A through-ball from Christopher Missilou saw Hallam Hope break the defensive line, but he shot agonisingly wide.
Colchester made a change at the break, Freddie Sears replacing John Akinde and it was a move that shifted the course of the game.
The hosts equalised eight minutes after the restart, a shot from Noah Chilvers taking a deflection off Clarke and diverting past goalkeeper Danny Rogers.
Colchester were now the team in the ascendancy, Rogers saving from Sears who went close again before a chance fell to Tom Dallison.
As full-time approached, both teams could have forced a winner, McGahey being denied by Shamal George who also thwarted Adams after an initial effort from Keillor-Dunn.
At the other end, McGahey cleared a shot from Sears off the line and a draw was probably a fair result.
Oldham Athletic: Rogers, Clarke, Hart, McGahey, Piergianni, Adams, Whelan (Hunt 73), Hope (Vaughan 83), Keilor-Dunn, Stobbs (Odabeyi 67), Missilou. Subs (unused): Leutwiler, Diarra, Hopcutt, Couto.
Goals: Clarke (52og) for Colchester. Keillor-Dunn (19) for Oldham Athletic.
Attendance: 2,983 (462 visitors).
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