Bristol Rovers 0 Colchester United 0: One of the biggest cheers of the afternoon came for the booking of a player who never even got on the pitch.

But that potential pub quiz gem was one of the few talking points to emerge from a tight game disappointingly low on incident and goalmouth chances.

Rovers fans certainly felt it was poetic justice when Colchester substitute Anthony Wordsworth received his yellow card while doing warm-up exercises five minutes before the break.

He swung his foot close to Stuart Campbell as the Pirates skipper took a corner kick and the referee's assistant felt it had impeded the midfielder.

"I don't think the linesman even saw it – it was the crowd's reaction that got him the booking," complained Colchester boss Paul Lambert, who also felt the visitors may have been denied a valid goal in first-half stoppage-time.

That came when Scott Vernon was ruled offside as he tucked Alan Maybury's cross into the net.

"I thought it was a good goal at the time and I've since been told it was onside by somebody who has seen the video," said Lambert. "Sometimes those decisions go for you and sometimes they don't. I'm still pleased with the result because it keeps our good run going."

That run has now been stretched to seven games without defeat and, to Colchester's credit, they rarely looked like being pierced by a Rovers side who had plenty of second-half pressure but little end product.

The Pirates failed to muster a single on-target effort over the 90 minutes and their best chance of the afternoon was probably the one that fell to Jo Kuffour after just 22 seconds, only for the striker to fire into the side netting from an angle.

Generally, Rovers' source of supply was not up to scratch. A lack of width meant much of the play came in a condensed midfield, where the sides cancelled each other out.

"There wasn't much space in midfield because Colchester are one of the best teams in our league at closing you down. It was just a very tight game," reflected Rovers' Chris Lines.

"If one side was going to win it then it would have been us – but we just didn't create the chance we needed in the box. They kept it tight at the back and we couldn't break them down.

"There are games where you just have to grind it out and if we'd have nicked a goal, everyone would have gone home happy – it just wasn't to be.

"We could have got a lot more crosses in – that's one of things we are disappointed about. But overall I think this is a good point."

A shortage of decent deliveries from open play meant set-pieces looked like offering Rovers their best hope, and they caused a couple of anxious moments from Campbell's first-half corners, Rickie Lambert seeing one attempt blocked and heading another effort wide.

The home side had most of the impetus in the second half but couldn't take advantage of the openings they did create. Lambert curled a 77th-minute delivery just wide of the far post – and the onrushing Craig Hinton – while Kuffour got away in the closing stages but pulled the ball back across goal to nobody, which just about summed the Pirates' afternoon up.

They were indebted to keeper Steve Phillips for keeping them in the game with 10 minutes left when he made an important low smothering stop to prevent the dangerous Mark Yeates pinching the points for Colchester.

Phillips had to endure ironic cheers from some in the home crowd whenever he caught the ball after spilling a cross early on, but could take as much credit as anyone for the Pirates' second clean sheet in three games.

The fact he offered an ironic bow to the Blackthorn End during the second half suggests he has a rather sharper sense of humour than many of those doing the taunting.

Having said that, the U's rarely created too much of note as an attacking force either – which probably contributed to the general feeling of disappointment that was tangible at the end of a game that offered little in terms of spectacle.

"This has happened before and if you win on the Tuesday, everybody forgets about the Saturday," said Lines, turning his attention to tomorrow night's home clash against Cheltenham.

"Colchester are one of the best teams in the league going forwards so if we beat Cheltenham, four points from the two games won't be a bad return."