EXPECTATIONS of a ninth consecutive win were dashed for the U's but that should take nothing away from a spirited performance against the Coca-Cola League One leaders.

There was a measure of disappointment for Phil Parkinson's side that they hadn't won, but that is an indication of how well Colchester are playing at the moment.

Swansea sit top of the League purely on merit and this was a battle between teams with real promotion aspirations.

And one has to add into that equation that the U's had travelled more than 1,600 miles in the past week with away trips to Shrewsbury and Hartlepool, while their hosts had gone nowhere.

On balance of play, a share of the points was probably the fairest result, though, as both sides had chances to take all three.

The best of these came Colchester's way on 82 minutes when Chris Iwelumo was hauled down in the Swansea box and the referee pointed to the spot.

But Neil Danns' penalty attempt was saved by Swans' keeper Willy Gueret.

The U's had taken the lead in the 13th minute when neat play down the right between Greg Halford and Jamie Cureton set Iwelumo free and he made no mistake with burying his 12th goal of the season.

Swansea worked their way back into the game, though, and they equalised on the half-hour mark after Wayne Brown had fouled Lee Trundle on the edge of the box.

Colchester's Aidan Davison had little chance from the resulting free-kick as Andy Robinson lifted the ball over the Colchester wall and into the top left corner.

It ensured a share of the points, but how close the U's came to a record ninth win.