Samson Tovide denies Port Vale as Colchester force draw

Port Vale extended their unbeaten run in Sky Bet League Two to five matches despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Colchester.

Defender Jesse Debrah came off the bench to put the Valiants in front early in the second half, but it was cancelled out late on by Samson Tovide.

The result sees Vale drop two places to seventh, while Colchester remain in 15th spot.

Vale forward Jayden Stockley registered the only two attempts on target in a fairly uneventful and stoppage-filled first half, but his headers were easily saved by Matt Macey.

Stockley threatened again shortly after the break, only for his left-footed shot from outside the box to sail over the crossbar.

The home side’s pressure was growing and it told in the 55th minute as half-time substitute Debrah rose highest to head Ethan Chislett’s deep corner into the net.

Colchester came close to equalising a couple of minutes later, but captain Tom Flanagan headed over from around 12 yards out.

Lorent Tolaj rolled the ball into an empty net late on after fellow Vale substitute Ronan Curtis’ effort was saved by Macey, but it was ruled out for offside.

And it proved to be costly as Colchester went down the other end and equalised through Tovide’s rebound after Connor Ripley had saved John-Kymani Gordon’s shot.