Colchester United vs Crawley Town. Sky Bet League Two.
JobServe Community StadiumAttendance3,729.
Wednesday 1 January 2020 19:06, UK
Promotion-chasing Colchester were held to a 1-1 draw by Crawley after a battling encounter in Essex.
Crawley had the better of the first half, with Dean Gerken by far the busier of the two goalkeepers.
Gerken punched Josh Doherty's attempted cross away from under his own crossbar and also tipped away Joe McNerney's header, before making a good block at his near post to deny Ollie Palmer at point-blank range soon after.
Gerken was also called into action at the end of the first half when he parried Palmer's shot into the path of Ashley Nadesan, who wastefully fired wide.
But Colchester broke the deadlock in the 64th minute through Frank Nouble, who decisively fired a low shot past keeper Glenn Morris from the edge of the area after being picked out well by Callum Harriott.
However, Crawley equalised in the 72nd minute as Palmer heaped pressure on Luke Prosser, who had failed to properly clear Nadesan's low cross, and the defender turned into his own net.
