Colchester United 0 Shrewsbury Town 0

COLCHESTER United failed to get the win necessary to guarantee League One football for another season, during their penultimate match against visiting Shrewsbury this afternoon.

And a surprise win for relegation rivals Scunthorpe, at MK Dons, means that this season will go down to the wire.

The U’s will need to take a point, from their last game at Carlisle, to be sure of avoiding relegation, with Scunthorpe, three points behind the U’s, needing to beat Swindon at home to stand a chance of finishing above Joe Dunne’s men..

Today’s last home game was terribly disappointing. The U’s struggled to create chances, in blustery conditions, and in fact it was Shresbury who looked the more likely winners, especially during th second half.

U’s boss Dunne made two changes to the side that lost 2-0 to MK Dons in midweek. Tom Eastman returned to central defence, after an ankle injury, while George Porter was preferred to Drey Wright on the wing.

Shrewsbury, already effectively safe from relegation, made six changes following their last outing, a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth.

The first-half was instantly forgettable, with neither keeper called into serious action.

Porter miscued a shot wide inside the first minute, and Jabo Ihehre headed wide from Billy Clifford’s ninth minute corner.

The only effort on target, from either side in the first half, was recorded by Shrews winger Jon Taylor just after the half-hour mark. But Taylor’s low drive was easily saved by Sam Walker.

Walker had to make a better save early in the second period, diving to his left to keep out Aaron Wildig’s goal-bound shot.

Shrewsbury continued to dominate the early stages of the second half, and Walker had to pull off a superb save on 61 minutes to prevent David McAllister’s rasping 25-yard shot from finding the top corner of the net.

For the U’s, Clifford fired into the side-netting and Massey had goalbound shot blocked, but they did not do enough to take all three points.

Squads

COLCHESTER UNITED: Walker, Wilson, Okuonghae, Eastman, White, Bond, Clifford (sub O’Toole, 83), Massey (sub Drey Wright, 75), Ibehre, Porter, Sears (sub Smith, 78). Unused subs: Garmston, Izzet, Bean, Cousins.

SHREWSBURY TOWN: Weale, Gayle, Goldson, Mambo, Jacobson, Wildig, McAllister, McGinn, Taylor, Bradshaw, Asante. Unused subs: Summerfield, Purdie, Richards, Parry, Woods, Hurst, Anyon.

Referee: Howard Webb (South Yorkshire)

Attendance: 5,862