Stu strikes for Grecians

Stuart Fleetwood was on target as Exeter City earned a 2-2 draw at high-flying Colchester United on Saturday.

Stuart Fleetwood was on target as Exeter earned a 2-2 draw at high-flying Colchester

Fleetwood, on loan with the Grecians for the season from Charlton, missed a fine chance to put the visitors in front as early as the first minute when he inexplicably hit the post from four yards.

The striker then saw a close-range effort cleared off the line, but the former Cardiff City trainee made no mistake in the sixth minute, latching onto Marcus Stewart's pass to slot home.

On a rain-sodden pitch, Clive Platt got Colchester back on level terms four minutes before the break, but Ryan Harley curled a 25-yard free-kick into the top corner to restore Exeter's lead in first-half stoppage time.

After Fleetwood had made way in the 70th minute, the hosts enjoyed more of the possession and finally levelled when Platt ran on to substitute Steven Gillespie's pass and finished in style.

Exeter travel to struggling Stockport County on Saturday (3pm).

Also in League One, Chris Dickson played for just over an hour as Bristol Rovers ended a run of six straight defeats with a last-gasp 3-2 win over Carlisle United.

The visitors were given a 20th-minute lead when Ian Harte volleyed in Graham Kavanagh's corner but Jo Kuffour fired home a 34th-minute equaliser from close range.

Rovers looked to be heading for a seventh successive defeat when Richard Keogh headed in on 71 minutes - but Jeff Hughes and Chris Lines ensured it was the hosts who emerged smiling.

Afterwards, Rovers boss Paul Trollope said: "It wasn't pretty, but the players showed great spirit. Our poor run is over and we can now look ahead with more confidence."

The Pirates host Gillingham, a side Dickson spent time on loan with two seasons ago, on Saturday (3pm).

In the Isthmian League Premier Division, Jack Clark's hopes of helping Bognor Regis Town's fortunes were dashed when their clash with Cray Wanderers was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Young left-back Clark, on loan with Bognor for an initial month, had made his first appearance for the Rocks in a 4-0 Championship Manager Cup victory against Sussex coastal rivals Worthing last Tuesday.

Clark will be bidding to make his first home start against Harrow Borough on Tuesday night (7.45pm).

Meanwhile, Sam Sodje will be playing for a World Cup place between now and the end of the season after Nigeria sealed their spot in the tournament with a dramatic 3-2 win over Kenya.

The victory, coupled with Mozambique's late 1-0 win over Tunisia in Maputo, was enough to take Nigeria through to South Africa 2010.

Nigeria got off to a nervous start against Kenya, who opened the scoring through Dennis Oliech after 16 minutes.

However, Obafemi Martins equalised on 62 minutes and Yakubu Aiyegbeni netted again just three minutes later.

Kenyan fans began throwing plastic bottles onto the pitch, bringing the game to a halt briefly while the pitch was cleared of debris, but the hosts levelled through Allan Wetende with just 11 minutes remaining.

But Martins saved the day for the Super Eagles by netting his second goal of the game on 83 minutes as Nigeria booked their fourth appearance at a World Cup.

Yassin Moutaouakil, on loan with Motherwell, wasn't in action due to the break for international fixtures.