Colchester United are determined to make us sweat all the way as they struggle to get past the winning post that brings Division Two football back to Layer Road again next season.

Is a hard-earned point from this draw with East Anglian rivals Peterborough already enough to secure that goal for a fourth successive season?

Or is our nerve going to be severely tested again at Northampton Town on Saturday?

A tally of 52 points - the U's current total with five games still to play - proved more than enough to keep manager Steve Whitton's boys in the Second Division in the past two seasons.

But Whitton says he won't be resting until it's mathematically impossible for his team to go down and that could yet mean a couple of uncomfortable Saturdays for us all to endure before we can breathe easy again.

If there's a hard way to do a job, rest assured the U's will find it.

They dominated the first half of last night's (Tuesday's) encounter with Peterborough, yet twice had to come from behind with goals from veteran Mick Stockwell and youngster Kemal Izzet - his first for the club - to cancel out great strikes from Posh stars Jason Lee and David Oldfield.

Whitton made two changes from the U's side that lost so disappointingly at relegation strugglers Bristol Rovers on Saturday, Joe Dunne and Gavin Johnson coming in for Joe Keith and Scott McGleish who were both relegated to the bench.

The changes appeared to have worked as the home side started strongly, peppering at least four efforts on the Posh goal before they were rocked back on their heels by a goal against the run of play from the visitors' first real attempt to score.

A quick break along the left after 11 minutes by the lively Dave Farrell resulted in U's keeper Andy Woodman palming his cross into the path of Lee who side-footed his shot into the empty net.

Clearly shaken, the U's hit back and their pressure paid off only seven minutes later as Stockwell snatched his tenth goal of the season to match his best-ever haul.

Posh keeper Mark Tyler made a hash of a simple clearance under pressure from Keith Scott and in the ensuing play, Joe Dunne's cross was nodded on to Gavin Johnson, who lofted the ball back into the edge of the six yard area from where Stockwell sweetly volleyed home the equaliser.

But the U's almost gifted Posh the lead again as central defender Scott Fitzgerald put Woodman in deep trouble with a poor back pass which was eventually scrambled away.

Colchester were rocked to the foundations again only seven minutes after the break as Peterborough grabbed the lead again with a real cracker.

U's defender Alan White half cleared an Andy Edwards long ball only as far as Oldfield just outside the area and in one swift, clinical movement the former Luton favourite lashed an unstoppable 20-yard volley into the net past startled home keeper Woodman.

It was the visitors who were now calling the tune and another mistake by Fitzgerald almost let in Farrell to score.

The quicksilver Leon McKenzie saw a shot brilliantly turned round the post by Woodman and the U's keeper excelled himself moments later as he threw himself across his goal to turn away Lee's goalbound thunderbolt.

Whitton then swapped target man Scott for Barry Conlon and the industrious Irishman had only been on the pitch nine minutes when he linked up with Stockwell to send Izzet in on goal with a great reverse pass.

The youngster made no mistake with an angled left foot shot which went inside the far post.

But for another full-length save from Woodman to deny Posh substitute Andy Clarke in the dying minutes another welcome point was in the bag.

Making a point - Kemal Izzet scores the U's second goal on Tuesday night

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