Colchester United have drawn 0-0 in the rearranged fixture at Morecambe.

The original tie was postponed earlier in March, and neither side could find an opening second time round.

Morecambe defender Dean Winnard hit his own crossbar in the first half, the closest the U's came to scoring before the break.

And chances were few and far between in the second period, and the U's had to be happy with a solitary point.

John McGreal made three changes to his starting-line up, bringing in Brennan Dickenson, Mikael Mandron and Ryan Jackson, but that changed again before the game started.

Frankie Kent couldn't start the game after feeling a troublesome knee in the warm-up, with Tom Eastman stepping in and Paul Rooney taking his place on the U's bench.

In the early minutes, neither side was taking any chances on what looked like a difficult surface and there weren’t too many efforts on goal at either end.

Kenyon for the hosts and Ryan Jackson for the U’s put long range efforts wide of the target, before the U’s hit the woodwork on fifteen minutes.

A ball was looped into the box by Kane Vincent-Young, and it was actually a home centre half who got to the ball first and saw it come off the crossbar and out for a corner.

Tom Eastman and Luke Prosser both made important blocks, before Brennan Dickenson header was uncomfortably saved by Roche.

Wylde, who was always looking to join in from the Morecambe left, then volleyed wide from just outside the area as the game headed towards half time.

And in injury time at the end of the first period, Walker saved low to his left, before diverting a Thompson shot wide from the rebound.

Whilst the U’s had defended well, they would have been looking for more inventiveness in the second half, but it started in similar fashion to the first.

Early efforts only came from outside the box, and were well over from Michael Rose and Wylde for the hosts.

Kane Vincent-Young did break through on the left on fifty three minutes, but when his run was stopped, Sammie Szmodics’ ball into the near post was cleared.

At the other end, the U’s had to stand strong against a number of set-pieces but got to the ball first to prevent any clear cut chances at Walker.

Just after the hour, the U’s thought they had a sight of goal, but Lapslie’s volley was blocked on the edge of the box.

Wylde continued to try his luck from any distance, having one effort blocked and then shooting wide after a Morecambe break.

Roache in the home goal almost got deceived by a wide Dickenson free-kick, but managed to dive full length to his right to palm the ball clear.

McGreal made his first chance on seventy eight minutes, bringing Ben Stevenson on for Brandon Comley.

Eastman then helped preserve the U’s clean sheet, putting Thompson under enough pressure for him to volley over from close range on eighty three minutes.

A double substitution then saw Sean Murray and Courtney Senior introduced, with Dickenson and Szmodics making way for the final seven minutes.

Murray was first into the action, hitting a free-kick narrowly over the bar with four minutes remaining.

Thompson hit a shot wide in injury time, before Mandron repeated the feat at the other end seconds before the final whistle went.

It was a hard fought away point, but that might not be enough to get the U’s to their target on a top seven finish.