If ever a footballer merited the tag of "super sub" Lomano Lua Lua is the man.

Priceless, late strikes are fast becoming the trademark of the jewel in the U's crown.

And the vogue continued against Bournemouth when the teenager proved the difference between a hard-fought point and a fourth consecutive win.

Thrown on with just over half an hour left, Lua Lua transformed a turgid, scrappy match into a one-man matinee.

Two more goals reaped three more points and the frontrunner's second effort, in particular, showcased his talents for all to see.

Steve McGavin chipped a ball over the top of the Cherries' defence and Lua Lua shrugged aside three defenders before cracking an unstoppable shot past keeper Mark Ovendale.

The teenager's introduction was a breath of fresh air - expectation sweeps round Layer Road as soon as he peels off his tracksuit - and within seven minutes of joining the fray he was on the scoresheet.

Karl Duguid - worthy of a medal for his remarkable workrate - burst into space down the right and delivered a low cross into the box.

The supply eluded Jason Dozzell but Lua Lua was on hand to bury a clinical shot past Ovendale.

It was no more than the U's deserved. Their football might not have been pretty but in terms of spirit, endeavour and grit Steve Whitton's men justified the spoils.

Gavin Johnson caught the eye in midfield - his never-say-die attitude typified the U's performance - while namesake Ross enjoyed another solid game in defence.

After a somewhat tedious opening the game exploded into life in the 33rd minute when Colchester broke the deadlock.

Joe Dunne charged down the right before flighting a pinpoint cross onto the head of Jamie Moralee who planted his effort past Ovendale.

It was the striker's first League goal for the U's, following his Auto Windscreens Shield effort at Swansea.

Moralee could have opened his account minutes earlier when Ovendale's scuffed clearance landed at his feet. He took a touch with the goal at his mercy but the shotstopper redeemed himself with a brave sliding tackle.

The Cherries' were on level terms just two minutes after Moralee's success when James Hayter nodded Neil Young's cross into the path of Steve Robinson.

Robinson unleashed a volley which flashed across the goal and inside the far post for his eighth of the season.

Teenage goalkeeper Andy Walker - in for the flu-ridden Simon Brown - stood little chance and can take heart from a confident display.

True, he was never seriously tested but his kicking was accurate - despite the swirling wind - and it was just the performance to banish the ghosts of his nightmare Worthington Cup showing at Crystal Palace in August.

His only scare came 15 minutes from time when the FA Youth Cup hero raced off his line to smother a through ball. Mark Stein, the onrushing striker, claimed Walker handled outside the area but referee David Pugh looked unimpressed.

Stein's first-half appeal for a penalty also fell on deaf ears. The former Ipswich loanee claimed he was pushed by Gavin Johnson when rising to meet a cross.

Bournemouth threw on three substitutes - Richard Wilkins also came off the bench to make his first U's appearance since November - but by the time Lua Lua masterminded his second the contest was effectively over.

As the adage goes, the sign of a good team is one that wins when not playing well. That just about sums up the U's afternoon.

It may be premature to mention the play-offs but the League table never lies.

The fact is Colchester are as far from sixth spot as they are from 21st. Few would have forecast that at the turn of the year.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.