Oldham Athletic 1 Colchester United 0OLDHAM Athletic midfielder Richard Butcher smashed home a winner in the third minute of injury time, as Colchester United's dismal run of results continued at Boundary Park this afternoon.

By Carl Marston

Oldham Athletic 1 Colchester United 0

OLDHAM Athletic midfielder Richard Butcher smashed home a winner in the third minute of injury time, as Colchester United's dismal run of results continued at Boundary Park this afternoon.

The U's, who were reduced to 10 men by Kem Izzet's 86th minute dismissal, looked to be hanging on for a deserved point until Butcher obliged with a fine solo goal in the 93rd minute.

Phil Parkinson's men have now failed to win in seven games, and the goals have dried up - just one in those seven fixtures, through a Ricardo Carvalho own goal at Chelsea.

United were again unlucky in front of goal, most notably when Neil Danns' first-half shot struck the bar, but they will need to regain their scoring touch sooner rather than later.

The U's had nursed high hopes of making the top two only a few weeks ago, but they are now five points adrift of second-placed Brentford. Furthermore, seventh-placed Oldham are now only three points behind them after this latest result.

So the Layer Road club have a fight on their hands to even stay in the play-off zone.