FRANKIE Kent scored a late equaliser to help Colchester United seal a point in a 1-1 draw against fellow League Two play-off hopefuls Carlisle United this afternoon.

Kent nodded the U's first headed league goal of the season in from close range with six minutes remaining at the JobServe Community Stadium, after Mikael Mandron had helped on fellow substitute Brennan Dickenson's cross in the area.

It was a hard-fought point for Colchester, who had trailed to Hallum Hope's goal scored just before the hour.

Colchester head coach John McGreal made one change to his side from the 1-1 draw at Macclesfield Town, last weekend.

Diaz Wright was handed his first-ever home league start for the U’s in place of Tom Lapslie, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Louis Dunne was named on the substitutes bench, while Tom Eastman had to settle for a place on the bench.

Carlisle were the better side early on and Regan Slater’s header from Danny Grainger’s fine cross was saved at point-blank range by U’s keeper Rene Gilmartin, with Callum O’Hare’s follow-up sailing inches wide.

Abo Eisa’s low shot from the edge of the area was easily dealt with by keeper Adam Collin, soon after.

But Carlisle went close again in the 13th minute when Hope picked up the ball midway inside the U’s half before unleashing a powerful shot that Gilmartin parried away.

Eisa and Courtney Senior looked the most likely to break down a well-organised Carlisle defence with their pace and trickery.

And Senior had a penalty appeal turned down midway through the first half when he tumbled under Gary Liddle’s challenge in the area, with referee Trevor Kettle waving away the claims.

But Carlisle almost went ahead ten minutes before the break when Frankie Kent nearly diverted Mark Cullen’s fierce cross-shot into his own net after a sharp attack from the visitors.

However, the sides went in goal-less at the break and Colchester almost took the lead four minutes after the break through Eisa, who came inches away from converting Nouble’s low cross in the six-yard box after Frankie Kent had strode out of defence and set the attack up.

But the U’s fell behind in the 57th minute when Hope turned the ball home from close range despite Ryan Jackson’s best attempts to keep it out on the line after Mark Cullen had helped on O’Hare’s cross to pick him out.

Colchester sent on Mikael Mandron and Brennan Dickenson soon after in a bid to get back into the game, with Wright and Eisa going off.

And striker Luke Norris then replaced defender Ryan Jackson, as the U's went in search of an equaliser with 15 minutes to go.

U's skipper Luke Prosser could only turn his shot straight at Collin after Szmodics had helped the ball onto him in the area.

But Kent nodded in to secure a share of the spoils for Colchester and Szmodics saw a low shot go agonisingly wide of the far post in stoppage-time, as the U's extended their unbeaten run to four matches in League Two.