Colchester United manager, Tony Humes, admitted that he was surprised when Chris Porter stepped up to take Saturday’s key penalty at Fleetwood.

Porter duly converted the 87th minute spot kick to secure a precious 3-2 win for the U’s, and so give themselves a fighting chance of beating the drop into League Two.

When the U’s were awarded the late penalty, for a foul on substitute Dion Sembie-Ferris, manager Humes summed up his feelings.

“Going through my mind first and foremost was – ‘why is David Fox not taking it?’” explained Humes.

“David (Fox) is the designated penalty-taker, and he scored the last one we had against Yeovil.

“But you just think – ‘experienced pros, they have sorted it out between them. Fantastic.’

“And Chris converted well, so it’s happy days.

“It took a lot of guts for Chris to stick away that penalty,” added Humes.

The U’s are now just two points adrift of safety, with a crucial game in hand.

They entertain Swindon Town, their game in hand, tomorrow evening. A win would see them exit the bottom four, with just one round of matches remaining.

See today’s ‘East Anglian Daily Times’ newspaper for a full match report, pictures and reaction from Saturday’s terrific win at Fleetwood.