Colchester United's winless run in League Two was extended to five matches after they played out a 0-0 draw at Morecambe tonight.

The U's claimed a second successive away draw in a scrappy encounter played out in front of a crowd of just just 893 at the Globe Arena, the fourth lowest Colchester have ever played in front of for a Football League match.

John McGreal's side defended well throughout but probably did not test goalkeeper Barry Roache as much as they would have liked and have now scored just once in their last five matches.

Colchester were forced into a late change to their starting line-up, after defender Frankie Kent picked up an injury in the warm-up.

He was replaced in the starting line-up at short notice by Tom Eastman, who had been earlier dropped to the bench with U’s head coach John McGreal making three changes to his starting line-up.

Brennan Dickenson and Ryan Jackson both returned after missing the Yeovil Town defeat with quad and ankle injuries respectively, while Mikael Mandron was also recalled.

Eastman, Liam Mandeville and Kurtis Guthrie all dropped out but Kent’s injury meant a place on the bench for young defender Paul Rooney.

McGreal reverted to a 4-4-1-1 formation against the Shrimps, with Mandron leading the line.

The first half was a competitive but even affair, with neither side able to exert their dominance on the contest enough to deserve a breakthrough.

Both teams struggled to get their foot on the ball and keep possession for a prolonged period, albeit on an unpredictable pitch.

Alex Kenyon’s fine 25-yard strike whistled inches past the near post for Morecambe early on, while Ryan Jackson’s hopeful shot from similar distance flew well wide, soon after.

The closest either team came to scoring in the first half was in the 16th minute when Kenyon’s back header in his own box under pressure from Mandron bounced off the top of his own crossbar, before going off for a corner.

McGurk fired over the bar at the second attempt after he ran at the Morecambe defence and his first effort was blocked by Colchester skipper, Luke Prosser and Wylde’s left-foot strike from the edge of the area flew wide minutes later, as the hosts pressed for a breakthrough.

They came close to getting one in first-half stoppage-time when U’s keeper Sam Walker was unable to hold onto Luke Conlan’s long-range effort and veteran Garry Thompson’s follow-up effort flashed wide from a tight angle, as the sides went in goal-less at the break.

The second half continued in similar fashion, though Morecambe began to enjoy the bulk of the possession and looked the more threatening although Tom Lapslie did see a deflected effort fly over just after the hour.

Morecambe tried their luck at breaking the deadlock with 17 minutes remaining when Gregg Wylde’s long-range shot from 30 yards flew wide of the post, after a swift Shrimps break.

But Colchester came close to making a breakthrough themselves soon after through Dickenson, whose curling free-kick was pushed away by the diving Roache with Prosser trying his best to block the keeper’s path.

McGreal sent on Ben Stevenson for Brandon Comley with 11 minutes remaining in a bid to force an equaliser, before Sean Murray and Courtney Senior entered the fray soon after.

Murray curled a free-kick over the bar but Colchester were left still searching for their first away win of 2018, after a second successive draw on their travels.