WAYNE Brown and Joe Dunne never gave their opponents so much as an inch, during their playing days.

So perhaps it was hardly surprising that under the ethos of their interim stewardship, Colchester United should show the amount of spirit they did in somehow rescuing a point against all the odds against Swindon Town.

Trailing 1-0 against a promotion-chasing team, down to nine men after your goalkeeper and captain are sent off, a teenage on for his senior debut between the sticks, going into stoppage-time with the visitors threatening to score again - it looked a near impossible situation to rectify.

Not so; somehow the U's pulled it back from the brink to claim an unlikely draw.

No wonder Brown ended up leaping onto the pitch in jubilation in the wake of Emyr Huws' late, late equaliser, as the South Stand erupted.

"You've got to show that character, you've got to show that guts - it's what we demand," said Dunne afterwards, who also clearly lapped up Colchester's never-say-die attitude as they faced down the barrel of defeat.

"Whether you're top or bottom, stay in the game, be resilient, dig in and when you get results like this, it can be just as good as a win.

"They dug in and sometimes, you get your reward."

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Dunne and Brown cannot have been involved in too many matches during their successful playing careers that had ended in such dramatic circumstances.

It is unusual for a side to be reduced to nine men; it is even more unusual for that depleted side to then come from a losing position to rescue something from the game, in such adverse circumstances.

Huws' stoppage-time equaliser sparked jubilant scenes at the JobServe Community Stadium from a fanbase that has in truth had little to cheer about so far, this season.

The manner in which Colchester battled until the end to salvage an unlikely point against high-flying Swindon bodes well for the future.

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The U's are still in a precarious position, perched a place above the League Two relegation zone.

But for a team struggling towards the foot of the table, this was a draw that very much felt like a win given the circumstances.

Colchester have now taken four points from a possible six against two of the division's better teams, since Brown's interim appointment.

After five successive league defeats and seven games without a win, that represents encouraging progress for the U's.

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The addition of some new signings this month has also helped, with Tom Dallison (pictured above) and Myles Kenlock particularly impressive in the last couple of games.

And while experienced forward John Akinde only appeared as a substitute against Swindon, he nevertheless made a key contribution with the vital assist for Huws' late, late equaliser.

Similar character and spirit will be required tomorrow night, when Colchester host 18th-placed Rochdale at the Community Stadium.

That game will represent a different kind of challenge for the U's, against a Dale side who lie just three points above them in the table.

But if Colchester can show the kind of battling qualities that were in evidence against Swindon, they will feel they can turn their uplift under Brown into a resurgence.