The run since Lennie Lawrence took over gets more and more impressive. Alan Cork failed to win three successive games all season, Lennie did it in his first three matches. Now he's bettered that with was City's 5th successive win. This was also City's 4th consecutive away win, superb. Ninian staff will be just as delighted with a third successive clean sheet, another season best.

It all adds up to 26 points taken from the last 30 available which, at this time of the season with the pressure hotter than ever, is a fantastic achievement.

The most important stat of all - City need just 1 win or 3 points from their final 3 games to guarantee a play-off place. With a better goal difference than most others, 2 points is probably enough. Unless Bristol City win their final two matches, we'll make the play-offs regardles sof our own results. Automatic promotion remains unrealistic yet possible, don't think about it.

Colchester in deepest Essex is one of the longest away trips of the season, a 450 mile round trip. The M4 and M25 were quiet and we did it in little more than 3 hours. Not much to look at on the way except a LandRover convention at Newbury (half the LandRovers in Britain must have been there) and burnt out cars every couple of miles on the A12 from London to Colchester ... nice!

Those wrecked cars were still more appealing to the eye Colchester's stadium. It made Chesterfield's ground last week feel like Millennium Stadium in comparison!

Layer Road a couple of miles outside the centre of Britain's oldest recorded town. Just as well it was signposted becuase nobody could spot the floodlights, a few bulbs stock on top on 50 foot high Bic pens!

This was Nationwide's equivalent of Subutteo, not that many empty spaces but the crowd was just 3,970 including the travelling 1,400 City fans. All terraces/stands were low roofed (corrugated) and no more than 10-15 deep. Apart from a stand behind one goal, the ground has probably not changed much since it was built.

The Bluebird hoardes were at both ends. Many family supporters were in a stand at one end, the bulk were on a chicken coup of a terrace. Appalling is too kind a word for it.

A shallow terrace, steps about 2 inches high meant just about everyone's view was obstructed, the goal nearest us could only be fully seen by those right at the front. The toilets were Colchester's version of the Black Hole of Calcutta - a 10 by 6 breeze block construction that stank, glad we were there before warm weather and half of Eastern England's Bluebottle population live there for the summer!

Just to our right were Colchester's hardcore. "Ten boys, you only got 10 boys", City fans sang. But it seemed more like 6 boys and a bald Arthur Daley lookalike who liked laughing to himself and pointing at City fan. Sad git!

Anyway, the game. Leggy was still injured whilst Scott Young, currently owner of the most famous groin in South Wales, was rested. The shuffle saw Gary Croft, on loan from nearby Ipswich, start at right back with Gabbidon and Prior as the central defensive pair.

Conditions weren't clever. It looked like the start of summer with a bright sun and blue skies but a stiff strong breeze from the East made it bitterly cold. The pitch was hard also, these factors contributed to what was a poor football match with very few moments to get excited about for either side.

The afternoon started on a sour note as someone in authority decided, yet again, that one 1 minute silence for some privileged woman lucky enough to live to 101, who was nothing to do with football and who had no interest in it either. This was the most inexplicable silence I have ever known, if only because both Cardiff and Colchester observed it on Easter Monday so it was a nonsense to inflict it on us again regardless of your beliefs.

Great lady she may have been but why football and sports fans are forced to do it when nobody else does, few seem able to explain. That's what the media and authorities seem to expect though. The "silence" was curtailed after 15 seconds due to a fair number of City fans booing or singing anti-royal chants. I don't condone that, I didn't do it but I doubt that anyone in the ground really felt the need for it if they're really honest.

The first half saw City play well for the first half hour, take the lead, look well in control but then slowly start to struggle and battle it out.

They looked comfortable in every department initially, dangerous going forward but chances were few and far between, often because City again struggled to create width or find that killer through ball or incisive pass in the final third.

The first Cardiff opening was Spencer Prior, having possibly his best game, meet a Kavanagh corner from close range but failing to put sufficient power on the ball to beat Brown in Col U's goal. In the opening phase, Bonner, Boland, Thorne and Leo stood out but moves seemed to break down.

Then there were anxious moments as Colchester applied a little pressure. Kem Izzet, Muzzy's brother, nearly sneaked a low 20 yard shot home but Neil Alexander tipped the ball around the post. Although there were more anxious moments and City didn't play well at all, it is to everyone's credit that this was his only real save of the afternoon.

More danger came as Colchester broke into the penalty area on the right, a desperate lunge by Bonner snuffed them.

City scored what turned out to be the winner and only goal of the game on 20 minutes. A ball over the top found Andy Campbell, he was fouled as he shot. Off balance, his effort hit the low roof of our terrace but Premier League reject ref, Paul Danson, pulled play back for a City free kick 30 yards out and wide.

Kav hit a curling ball into the area, it bounced loose and as a Colchester player was about to clear, Willie Boland came in with a tremendous challenge to win the ball and find Danny Gabbidon wide inside the area. Gabbi composed himself and showed his true quality as he deliberately curled a superb effort over and around Brown, it bounced off his near post and SPENCER PRIOR was first to react smacking the ball into the roof of the net from 8 yards sending everyone into celebration mania.

Shortly afterwards, Andy Campbell threatened to double the lead as he moved behind the Col U defence to meet a Boland pass. He shot first time on his left foot and just failed to place the ball over Brown. It was a good effort but he had the time and space to control and run on for what would have been an easier chance.

Then City started to lose their way, Colchester pushed on. They looked and played relaxed football, the fact they were mid-table and their season is effectively over, helped them. But, as worrying as things seemed at the time, the truth is they never really threatened. They didn't have that much about them, especially in attack although no team outside the top 9 have scored more goals than them.

There was a blow of sorts just before half-time as Andy Campbell limped off but how disappointed can you be when he is replaced by Earnie? Campbell ayatollahed from the bench, Earnie ayatollahed as he came on then serenaded with "Happy Birthday To You" as he was 21 today. What is it about City fans singing Happy Birthday at Colchester? Last time we visited, we did it to Steve Borley!

Earnie announced his arrival with a dangerous run but his curling shot cleared the bar.

Half-time: Col U 0 CITY 1

The first half was poor and forgettable, the second half was worse. It was tense, there was a lot of worry but we got away with it. City fans sang, "The Blues Are Going Up" - they won't if they continue to play like this and they won't stay up if they do either. But it's results, not performances, that we need to care about for now.

Cardiff didn't seem comfortable with the wind behind them. Most balls hit forward ran away in those strong winds.

The biggest heart flutter came 10 minutes into the 2nd half as Coote met a right side cross by outjumping Weston at the far post but, fortunately, he put his effort.

Cardiff looked half-paced and were playing on their nerves at times. Colchester had most of the play most of the territory but no cutting edge, they seemed relatively happy to absorb things. Some aspects didn't leave fans happy. Leo dropped back into midfield where we were particularly starting to struggle, Earnie was a lone front runner.

The defence were solid, Croft was tidy and efficient, Prior seemed to win everything that came near him.

In midfield, Graham Kavanagh put in another poor personal performance. He hasn't played well since he returned from his last suspension, and at 5 games, he is now on his longest non-scoring league run since joining City. Many suspect he's taken his foot off the pedal slightly not to get those 2 bookings that would now mean he would miss the play-offs but it doesn't help City in the meantime.

City had only 2 second half chances. Kav curled a 25 yards free kick but without real power giving Brown a relatively easy save. He had no chance a little later though as Peter Thorne was excellent in closing down a back pass, Brown's kick hit him and ran across field to Earnie.

His technique was almost perfect as he looked up and aimed for the top right corner from 30 yards, Brown was nowhere near it as he was well away from goal but the ball bounced away off his crossbar. It would have been a memorable goal had it gone in.

Leo seemed to have a good oppotunity for himself or to set Eranie up as he charged in at the far post to meet a Bonner cross but he gave us his routine comedy moment as he headed 10 yards wider of goal towards City fans nearer to the corner flag which had all chanting Leo For England. His newly found cult hero status earned him a chant of "Leo Fortune-West la la, la la la" to the Boney M 'Brown Girl in the Ring' song.

Colchester made three subs during the second period but never found a way through City despite our stumbling performance. City hung on with the players already on the pitch although I felt a burst of Layton Maxwell for the final stages could have made things easier.

The City fans were in good voice all afternoon with plenty of chants but pride of place must go to a Scottish City fan who sang chants on his own most of the afternoon in a Joe Pasquale type voice. He didn't like the English and he didn't like Colchester being an army town. He kept everyone laughing, even though it was unintentional. A couple of times, others joined in.

A game to forget but a result that meant everything. Bristol won so we didn't secure our play-off place today but now look odds on. We even climbed to 5th as we're above Huddersfield ahead of our clash there on Tuesday and level on points with 4th place Stoke with a game in hand. We're so close, the sooner we're finally there and can relax ahead of those play-offs, the better!

Essex lad Spencer Prior did the damage when he smashed a shot into the roof of the net after Daniel Gabbidon's strike came back off the bar on 19 minutes.

The win makes it ten games unbeaten under elated manager Lennie Lawrence: "We did enough in the first half. They had some pressure, but made few clear-cut chances. They had one header over the bar, but that was about all."

Cardiff might well have doubled their lead shortly before the end, when lively subsitute Robert Earnshaw also hit the bar after collecting a poor clearance.

In contrast, Simon Brown in the Colchester goal twice produced heroics to deny Graham Kavanagh when he put in powerful shots from free-kicks in each half.

The closest Colchester came to goal was a shot by Kemal Izzet well saved by Neil Alexander in the first half, and a powerful Adrian Coote header over the bar in the second.

The game was never a classic, but perhaps the start set the tone when referee Paul Danson attempted to hold a minute's silence in memory of the Queen Mother he had to give up because of foul and abusive chanting by a section of the visiting Welsh fans.

Goal scorer Spencer Prior commented after: "Sometimes people expect us to score five every week, but sometimes you have to grind out a result.

"It was nice to come back to Essex and score. Tonight I will be going out for a meal with my father and it will taste extra sweet."

Colchester Manager Steve Whitton was rueful: "We are a bit disappointed as we were a bit in awe of them in the first-half.

"They haven't out-played us or bossed us, and with a little bit more self-belief we could have won. We were a bit nervous and tentative but they are not better than us.

"They are at the top of the league and we are at the bottom, and we have got to realise we can match teams like this. We can more than compete with all the teams in this division".

Whitton was also disappointed with the slack marking which led to the goal: "We should have picked the ball out, somebody should have been on him. Conditions didn't help today it was very diffiicult to get the ball down. We tried to get the ball down and play and they were hitting long balls down the middle"