Match Reports

Mathematically the Sky Blues could still go down, and Wolves could still make the play-offs, but both sides will go into the final day of the season with something to play for following a hard-fought draw.

In-form Elliott Ward added to his succession of penalties with his first goal of the season from open-play, but a second-half spot-kick for the visitors saw the spoils shared in our final home game of the campaign, watched by the biggest league crowd ever at the Ricoh Arena.

Wolves played aggressively in the early stages, picking up a couple of bookings and conceding a free-kick, which Danny Fox curled into the penalty area, where Ward's header was accurate and decisive, breaching one of the meanest defenses in the division to give us an early lead.

We were not creating an awful lot up front, and with Michael Mifsud drifting out wide right, we seemed to lack firepower, but crucially we had a lead to defend.

Wolves also showed little in the way of attack, until the closing stages of the half when Andy Keogh's header bounced over the crossbar with Kasper Schmeichel seemingly beaten.

At half-time the end-of-season celebrations continued, for we were on our way to safety and Summer Holidays.

Unfortunately the content feelings were not to last, as we conceded an early second half penalty, just as we did in our last home game against Stoke.

Scott Dann was the culprit, bringing down Keogh fairly needlessly, and Wolves top scorer Sylvain Ebanks-Blake stepped up to convert, sending Schmeichel the wrong way and squaring the scores.

The game was now taking a worryingly similar turn to the Stoke defeat, with Wolves in the ascendancy and us on the back foot. Keogh continued to cause us problems, with Schmeichel needing to turn a shot from the Irish striker.

Michael Mifsud has not scored for us since January, and his best chance to break his duck here came when he was played through on goal by Stephen Hughes only for the Wolves keeper to collect from his feet, and a miss from Micky Doyle from a one-on-one might also have proved costly.

In the final 15 minutes, the visitors put us under a lot of pressure, with Schmeichel saving well from Ebanks-Blake and Ward clearing off the line after Isaac Osbourne's clearance hit Jarvis.

We were holding on somewhat at the end, and a point isn't what we wanted to banish our relegation worries - but it's a step closer.

And we'll go to Charlton on the final day with our destiny in our hands, and relegation only a remote possibility.

The Sky Blues battled valiantly against relegation, coming back from a half-time deficit to win convincingly, and move to 52 points - almost enough to be mathematically safe from relegation.

A point or two in the last pair of fixtures will likely ensure safety, depending on other results, and this historic game saw us scoring three goals from defenders, probably for the first time ever, on our last ever visit to the soon-to-be-closed Layer Road stadium.

We actually made a reasonable start to the game, bossing the midfield, with Michael Hughes surprisingly recalled, having been told he will leave in the Summer, and he had a shot saved early on.

There were also early chances for Michael Mifsud and Danny Fox, from a free-kick, before the Us took the lead against the run of play.

Kasper Schmeichel came out to save from Kevin Lisbie, but the ball looped up and into the path of Scott Vernon who couldn't miss from five yards out.

Conceding the goal seemed to shock us, and for the rest of the first half we looked like a team being dragged down into League One with Colchester.

The home side enjoyed possession, without doing a lot with it, it has to be said, and it wasn't until the end of the half when Scott Dann had a header cleared off the line that we began to look up for the challenge again. Then the hosts went straight down the other end and almost scored a second through Lisbie but Schmeichel saved well.

But the second half was a different story - the mood amongst the fans was bleak and desperate as this was a game we really needed to win as it was the easiest of our remaining fixtures on paper.

We needn't have worried. Just four minutes in, Fox crossed for Leon Best to take a touch, and poke in scrappily from close range to level the scores.

Fox was having a great game, and just moments later, the left-back found himself bizarrely in a right-wing position as Colchester failed to clear their lines, and he floated in a goal-of-the-season contender from the corner of the penalty area to give us the lead.

Having done the hard part, the fans behind the goal breathed slightly easier and began to taunt the home keeper Gerken.

For most of the second half we played conservatively, using Best to hold the ball up, and not attacking too much, but we had a chance to make it safe when Mifsud was fouled, and up stepped Elliott Ward to convert the penalty and make it 3-1.

Chants of 'We are staying up' now began to resonate around the away end, and a party atmosphere that seemed improbable at half-time took hold.

More hapless Colchester defending allowed Micky Doyle to make it four with a couple of minutes remaining, and sub Zavon Hines came on to win our second penalty of the game, as it all went to pieces for the home side.

Some fans and players wanted Mifsud to take the spot-kick to end his goal drought, but as the designated penalty taker, it was Ward who converted, making it 5-1 to the Sky Blues and doing our goal-difference a lot of good, which might be a factor come the end of the season.

At the final whistle, the players and fans celebrated as if they had stayed up already - they haven't; there is still work to be done - and the result will go down as one of the most memorable of the season.

Stoke moved to the top of the league, becoming the first visiting side to win at the Ricoh since Chris Coleman took charge, but at the wrong end of the table our relegation worries deepened severely as we threw away a first-half lead.

We had the edge in a poor game, and should not have lost, but things have a horrible propensity for going against us when we are down at the wrong end of the table.

Early on, a Jay Tabb cross found the head of Kevin Thornton and he was unlucky to hit the crossbar, before Micky Doyle had a couple of chances go wide.

When Stoke were forced to reorganise following an early injury to striker Ameobi, we seemed to have a chance, and they were not offering much in attack, apart from a header from Carl Cort from a corner that sailed over Kasper Schmiechel's goal.

We deservedly took the lead after the half-hour, with Elliott Ward maintaining his 100% record of penalty conversion, after a foul on Thornton - a surprisingly soft decision from the usually unfavourable Uriah Rennie.

There was another injury, forcing Stoke to change things, and we could have made it 2-0 when Thornton's effort was saved by Carlo Nash. Thornton really was having an excellent game, creating plenty in midfield, and we were pretty much untested at the back.

At half-time we looked like the team at the top of the league rather than Stoke, and probably should have been able to hold on to our lead.

But it wasn't to be. Ricardo Fuller was brought down needlessly by Stephen Hughes early in the second half, and the second penalty of the game was awarded. Schmeichel couldn't stop it, and it was, undeservedly, 1-1.

Still we looked the better side, and although Stoke created a few chances from set-pieces, we looked more likely to score, with Thornton a constant threat.

But luck wasn't with us, and the final word went to Stoke sub Liam Lawrence who was in the right place at the right time after Schmeichel saved from Fuller, and scored from the rebound from 20 yards.

It was tough on us, and late subs Robbie Simpson and Zavon Hines couldn't rescue anything, as we slumped to an unwanted defeat that will do us no favours in the fight against the drop.

Out-of-form Watford snatched all three points with an undeserved late goal, as we dominated possession and played the better football at Vicarage Road.

At this stage in the season it's points that count, and the fact that we more than matched a top six side away from home doesn't mean much in the battle against relegation.

It started badly, as early as the 7th minute, as Nathan Ellington, suffering a considerable goal-drought, took advantage of the fact that he was playing against us, and slotted a shot past Kasper Schmeichel that the keeper probably should have got to.

Neither side was creating too much else of importance in the first half, with Schmeichel making one more save, on-loan defender Richard Duffy clearing an effort from the goalmouth and Robbie Simpson heading over the bar,

Leon Best was leading the line and had a couple of half-chances, but we went in a goal down at the break.

The second half, however, was a different story. After a half-time team talk from Chris Coleman and the introduction of Michael Mifsud from the bench - perhsps the latest technique to try and end his goal famine - we went on to dominate for 45 minutes.

Scott Dann had already had a header saved, before Julian Gray's cross found Leon Best in space, and he headed in the level before the hour mark.

We looked lihe the side more likely to win it thereafter, as Mifsud shot just wide of the post, and was then seemingly brought down, but no penalty was forthcoming.

We had a second penalty appeal after a foul on Best, and Watford were very fortunate not to be behind. Sub Zavon Hines then had a decent effort saved as we pushed for a winner.

But entirely against the run of play, Tommy Smith scored a goal on the break, with a hint of offside in the build-up, and despite playing some good football, we were 2-1 down against poor opposition.

We through a lot forward in the closing stages, with Mifsud and Best going close again, but the home side held on to record a rather fortuitous win.

A late equaliser from defender Richard Wood salvaged a stoppage-time point for Wednesday - just when it looked as though we were moving way clear of the relegation zone.

This was the ultimate six-pointer, and come the end of the season, the result at Hillsborough could prove crucial to either or both sides. Wednesday had enjoyed more chances, and will feel they deserved a point at least, but the agonising way in which we conceded late on feels disappointing to us as well.

Wednesday made a reasonable start, and Wood headed wide from an early corner, before Julian Gray forced the first save of the game after a one-two with Michael Mifsud.

Kavanagh shot wide with Kasper Schmeichel beaten, and then Robbie Simpson, back in the side with Leon Best suspended, had an effort saved.

But with neither side able to score an early goal, the game then settled into more of a stalemate, as was the case when the teams recently met at the Ricoh, and the game was goalless at half-time.

After the break, on-loan defender Richard Duffy, now in his fourth loan spell with us, made a run forward and was brought down, but no penalty was forthcoming, while Wednesday had several speculative efforts on goal in the second half, ranging from embarassing to optimistic.

Sub Zavon Hines was brought on for his second appearance since joining us on loan, and as luck would have it, proved to be the man to break the deadlock in a game that was heading for 0-0.

Wednesday failed to clear their lines when Simpson crossed into the box, and Hines was there to score his first goal for us - a potentially crucial strike in the relegation battle.

Having scored with seven minutes to go, we looked to be on the verge of stealing three priceless points, and we held on until deep into stoppage time.

But right at the death, the Owls pushed everyone forward for a throw-in, and Wood got his head to the long throw to equalise with virtually the last touch of the game. Given Wednesday recent specialism in drawing games, we should almost have expected it, but it was a bitter blow.

Maybe a point will turn out to be a good result in the grand scheme of things, but all three would have been so much better and we came so very, very close.