Struggling Hull were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Colchester on a tense afternoon at the KC Stadium.

Nicky Forster's strike put the home side in control at half-time but Jamie Cureton equalised with a no-nonsense finish shortly after the hour.

Colchester were impressive after conceding and deserved to stretch their unbeaten run to five games.

But Hull were their own worst enemies and were too careless in possession and too fragile in defence to warrant three points in their efforts to avoid relegation from the Coca-Cola Championship.

Phil Brown's men also appeared to struggle with the levels of expectancy from a big crowd as the visitors enjoyed a more composed start.

But accusations of stage-fright were partially dispelled once Hull took the lead with their first attempt on goal.

Captain Ian Ashbee was given too much time to roam from central midfield to the left flank and sent over a perfect cross with his right foot.

Forster's wise movement off the ball found a found a pocket of space just outside the six-yard box which enabled him to steer the ball home unmarked.

Geraint Williams' team responded well to that setback and Cureton wasted a golden chance to equalise shortly afterwards.

The former Reading forward showed good technique to control a long ball from the back but screwed his effort wide of Bo Myhill's right-hand post.

Colchester maintained smooth progress after the restart and were denied again when Myhill produced a strong two-handed parry off John Jackson's raking left-footed drive.

Myhill was helpless two minutes after the hour, however, when Cureton atoned for his earlier miss with a thumping equaliser.

The former Reading striker readily dispossessed Andy Dawson on the edge of the 18-yard box and battered a low attempt into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

Colchester came within inches of securing their fifth win on the bounce when substitute Kevin McLeod let fly from 30 yards.

But Myhill reacted quickly to the danger and executed a superb fingertip save to ensure parity at full-time.

Teams

Hull Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Delaney, Dawson, Parlour,Ashbee, Livermore (Peltier 68), Forster, Windass (McPhee 85),Elliott (Parkin 79).

Subs Not Used: Duke, Coles.

Booked: Parlour.

Goals: Forster 24.

Colchester Gerken, Duguid, Brown, Baldwin, Barker, Garcia,Izzet, Ephraim (McLeod 66), Jackson, Cureton (Guy 90), Iwelumo.

Subs Not Used: Davison, White, Elokobi.

Booked: Jackson, Ephraim.

Goals: Cureton 63.

Att: 20,887

Ref: N Miller (Co Durham).