JUST when Colchester United’s immediate future was looking a little more defined, their past annoyingly intervened at the untimeliest moment.

Interim head coach Matty Etherington was a matter of seconds away from guiding the U’s to a fourth successive league win and most probably being named the club’s permanent boss when the club’s former defender, Omar Sowunmi, turned up in the penalty area in and with practically the last kick of the game, slammed a shot into the roof of the net to earn Sutton United a 1-1 draw.

Not that the equaliser will have necessarily damaged Etherington’s chances of landing the Colchester job on a full-time basis.

READ MORE: Colchester United player ratings after Sutton United draw

The U’s were not at their best against Sutton by any means but when the impressive Arthur Read weaved his way inside the Sutton area and curled a fine shot past Dean Bouzanis in the 80th minute, it looked as though they had done enough to claim another win.

But Sutton are not the kind of team to lie down and when a free-kick was frustratingly conceded midway inside the U’s half in the final seconds of stoppage-time, it was manna from heaven for the visitors, who pride themselves on their set-piece taking.

Gazette:

Sutton’s equaliser won’t win any prizes for quality but Sowunmi and his team-mates will not care about that, especially as it gained them their first away point of the season.

For Colchester, it is now all about the all-important meeting that will take place between Etherington and the club’s hierarchy tomorrow.

The former Spurs and West Ham United winger has impressed since stepping up from his role as the club’s under-21 lead coach and taking interim charge of the first team last month, following Ben Garner’s dismissal.

As Etherington says himself, Colchester players have made some positive strides; they seem to have played with more freedom and have generally been tighter defensively, despite changes in personnel and formation at the back, over recent games.

READ MORE: Matty Etherington's verdict on Colchester's draw with Sutton

So after ending a run of four straight league defeats and helping Colchester claim ten points from a possible 12 during his time in interim charge, what specifically has Etherington altered to trigger their upturn in form?

“There’s nothing revolutionary going on,” he said.

“There’s things that we’ve changed like training schedules and just a bit of positivity around the place, lots of meetings with players just to see where they’re at, give them a lot of time.

“There’s probably been a mindset change; everyone’s enjoying coming into work and coming into the training ground and I think if you breed that within the staff, players etc then you’ve got a chance of going on and being successful.”

Gazette:

Like any major appointment, this is a big decision for Colchester.

There has been a high turnover of managers over recent years and who they choose as their new boss will clearly be pivotal in how they perform both this season and beyond.

Robbie Cowling has shown in the past that he is happy to reward the achievements of his staff during his time as owner and chairman.

And despite Sutton's late, late intervention, Etherington could hardly have done much more in his audition to have boosted his chances of landing the U's head coach position, on a permanent basis.