Colchester United showed that if they are to go down this season, it won't be without a fight as they gave it a real good go against Cardiff City on Saturday.

Once again they were dealt an early blow as Paul Parry put the Bluebirds ahead but, for the vast majority of the game after that, it was the U's all the way as they pinned the visitors back.

Tackles were won, shots rained in on the Cardiff goal and the U's battled right to the final whistle.

But, despite Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink sending off, the U's couldn't find the crucial second goal for all three points that their efforts had deserved.

The quality of the performance was acknowledged in the stands and they were given a standing ovation by the fans as they left the pitch.

U's made two changes to their starting eleven to that which lost to Sheffield Wednesday, with Matt Heath replacing Chris Coyne and Medy Elito coming in for Kem Izzet and his first senior start.

The U's were backed by a vocal home support in the early stages and had an early sight of goal when Duguid rushed onto a knock down from Lisbie and almost got in on it, injuring Enckelman in the process.

The keeper shook off the injury but the U's were thankful for some good defending by Virgo, who blocked the ball as Hasselbaink threatened to get an early shot in on target.

However, the U's defender was unable to stop Parry getting his shot away on ten minutes. The ball was played into his feet and he spun Virgo on the edge of the box and curled it into the top corner beyond Gerken's despairing dive.

The U's tried their best to bounce back, but only had a Platt shot wide of the target to contend with in the opening exchanges as they sought a path back into the game.

Platt was at the heart of a good move on eighteen minutes though, as he laid the ball to Duguid who in turn set up Lisbie, but the free scoring striker's first touch was too heavy and Enckelman collected.

The striker did better sixty seconds later as Duguid floated in an excellent cross from the right hand side, glancing a header towards goal that the visiting keeper collected.

At the other end, Parry got more on his header than Lisbie had with his earlier effort but powered it into the underside of the roof of the Clock End, well past Gerken's near post.

City were playing some nice stuff around the edge of the U's box, but it was an intricate Colchester move that saw the next sight of goal.

Lisbie picked up a ball down the line from Ifil and got past Johnson into the box before laying it back to Duguid, but unfortunately pulled his shot right across goal.

Lisbie was proving to be a thorn in the visitor's side and was left on the deck on 24 minutes as Loovens decided rugby tactics were more suited to stopping the pacey front man.

The front man was then held back by the same defender on 27 minutes as the ball was played into him in the box, yet somehow the linesman with a clear view of the incident had no interest in showing his flag.

The fans were enraged, and the linesman was the same one that had denied Mark Yeates a clear cut penalty when the U's had taken on Scunthorpe earlier in the season.

They were nearly cheering on 30 minutes as Platt and Lisbie again combined brilliantly in the box, with the striker wriggling away from his man to poke a shot past the keeper, only to see it come back off the post.

Blake became the first player to go into the book on 35 minutes after hauling down Elito, with the U's youngster coming in for plenty of attention in the first half.

From the resulting set piece, the U's again went close. With players lining up for the cross into the box, Duguid decided to go low with a shot across goal that forced Enckelman into a full length save by his far post.

With little to lose, both on and off the pitch, the players continued to give their all and the fans opted to rally behind the cause on this occasion.

Having scored at the start of the half, Parry had the ball in the back of the net three minutes before the interval, but was flagged for offside as soon as he moved.

The second half started with the U's on the front foot, with Lisbie and Jackson both coming close to testing Enckelman as the home team pressured the Cardiff area.

City's first venture towards the U's goal did not arrive until seven minutes after the restart as Ramsey cut in from the right wing and pulled his shot well across goal.

The U's were playing the nicer stuff, and Hammond's energy through the heart of the team was rubbing off on the other players.

Ten minutes after the restart, he robbed his man down the right and sent over a dangerous cross that Loovens cleared with Platt powering in.

At the other end, the game burst into life as Hasselbank saw red midway through the half.

The ball was played through over the top and the striker wrestled past Virgo and went for the bouncing ball with a high foot that caught Gerken above chest height.

The keeper was flying out to collect the ball and Hasselbaink's foot was raised, although those calling for a dismissal from the sidelines would perhaps have been surprised to see the red card raised.

The dust was still settling on the incident when City had a golden chance to further extend their lead. The ball came across from the left and Whittingham, cutting in from the opposite flank, headed only inches over the bar.

That was the former Villa man's last taste of the action as he was substituted not long afterwards, with Sinclair being introduced for the final quarter of the match.

The U's got the goal that their efforts had deserved on 71 minutes. Elito had battled his way to winning the U's a corner as they moved the ball around and they scored from the resulting set piece.

They played a short corner to the edge of the box and as it was pushed across the area, Jackson met it with a sweet right footed volley that ripped into the far side netting to make the score one apiece.

The positive vibe was back around the ground as the home support decided they wanted to will their side over the finishing line and to a crucial second goal.

The home team were in the ascendancy now and again went close as both Elito and Lisbie had shots blocked on the edge of the box and Hammond rushed onto the ball and lashed it over the bar.

Such was the U's dominance at this stage that the visitors made two changes as Ledley and Ramsey came off to be replaced by Scimeca and Thompson.

The U's were having to be careful not to get caught going the other way though and Thompson weaved his way through the defence and looked set to pull the trigger before the excellent Heath got a great last ditch tackle in.

But it was the U's with the chances and Elito and White combined well down the left to set up the latter, who sent in a fine cross that Platt met. He didn't quite get a full connection and Enckelman saved well.

The U's went all out for the win in the final seven minutes, introducing Vernon for White with an attacking thought in mind.

Elito then had yet another shot blocked on the edge of the box but was replaced in the dying stages by Wordsworth who made his league debut for the final few minutes.

The U's were aiming to stage a grandstand finish, pushing all their bodies into the box and allowing the defenders to drop balls into the area.

The U's went close with another corner as Jackson had another shot blocked on the edge of the box and it was a series of set pieces - four or five in all - that kept the Bluebirds pinned back.

The home team had two penalty shouts late on, both waved away by the referee.