Colchester substitute Ben Goodliffe scored a late equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw and deny Accrington their first win of the season.
After a lively start by both sides, Stanley opened the scoring after 25 minutes when Tyler Walton sent Shaun Whalley surging into the area and he pulled the ball back for Kesley Mooney to run onto and fire into the far corner of the net.
Colchester came close to equalising in the 41st minute when Mandela Egbo burst into the area and curled the ball goalwards with Michael Kelly pushing the effort away. Kelly also denied Teddy Bishop on the stroke of half-time.
Immediately after the restart, Stanley came close to a second with Matt Macey keeping out a Jimmy Knowles strike from 30 yards.
U’s boss Danny Cowley made five changes during the second half, and five minutes from time two of them combined when Arthur Read’s strike was saved by Kelly but Goodliffe was there to rifle home from close range.
Whalley then had two chances to win it for Accrington in stoppage time but could not find the target with a strike and a header.
