Bristol Rovers 3 Colchester United 2: This was a game that Chris Lines hadn't expected to play in – but he immediately dedicated his winning goal to his grandmother Teresa, who died a few days earlier.

Rated highly doubtful in the build-up because of a gashed knee, the midfielder not only defied the odds by making it through to the final whistle but also took his scoring tally for the season into double figures in the process.

"I didn't really expect to be playing until the Stockport game but I made some sort of miraculous recovery. Somehow I managed to get through the 90 minutes, which was a bit of a surprise," said Lines.

"After suffering my previous abdominal injury and then damaging my knee, I think I've probably only trained properly about three times in the last month.

"But it was good that I could play and I said if I scored I'd dedicate the goal to my gran. She was 81 and it would have been her birthday on Sunday, so my goal was a nice present for her.

"She'd been in hospital for a while but she'd always listen to our games on the radio. She used to tell all the nurses about me being her grandson and she'd buy the Evening Post and keep all the pictures and articles about me.

"She was great – and I think the fact I was playing football for Rovers maybe kept her going that little bit longer. She loved it."

Rovers had looked home and dry when Lines seized on Jo Kuffour's pass to give them a 3-1 lead with 11 minutes left. But Colchester substitute Kayode Odejayi, guilty of a couple of howlers after replacing another former Ashton Gate striker Steven Gillespie, finally found the net a minute before stoppage-time to set up an anxious finale for the home side.

It was one they survived – not without a scare or two – but Colchester boss Aidy Boothroyd, a former Rovers player, acknowledged that his old club were worth their victory.

"They deserved what they got – we didn't take our chances or defend properly," said Boothroyd. "Two away goals should be enough to win you a game – but if you concede three, you can expect to lose it.

"Good luck to Rovers – I hope they go on to do well this season."

Colchester certainly wasted some good chances, not least the early one that saw Gillespie miss the target from four yards after a quickly-taken short corner.

Four minutes later, Rovers were in front when Paul Heffernan, who had already sent an attempt just wide from 25 yards, turned the ball back for Dominic Blizzard to net his first goal for the club.

The lead was short-lived, though. Phil Ifil let fly with a shot which may well have been going wide, but John-Joe O'Toole made enough contact with his head to divert it past the helpless Mikkel Andersen.

Chances became less frequent, although Heffernan wasn't far away with a fierce angled drive that flashed across goal shortly before the break – and Gillespie produced another wild finish in stoppage-time when he lashed wide under pressure from Danny Coles.

Rovers got more of a foothold in the second half and started to exert some spells of pressure, Stuart Campbell twice firing wide from outside the box before regaining the lead from a well-worked free-kick.

Colchester's defence were expecting Daniel Jones to deliver it long into the box, but instead the on-loan Wolves man knocked it inside to Campbell.

His delivery was helped on by Heffernan, nodded down by Coles, and Jo Kuffour did well to hold off a couple of defenders long enough to hook it home from close range.

Andersen came to the Pirates' rescue moments later with a good save from a fierce angled shot by Clive Platt after Rovers had given the ball away deep in their own territory. Then Odejayi missed his kick completely when the ball fell to him 12 yards out.

Kuffour turned provider to help set up what was to prove the decisive goal with 11 minutes remaining. He again did well to make the space to supply a low ball across the face of goal and Lines rammed it home from close range.It could have been four when a tremendous dribble from substitute Andy Williams ended with a shot which flew high and wide.

The home side had another let-off, when Odejayi, who had already kicked thin air when the ball came to him 12 yards out, contrived to hit the post from close range. When Odejayi finally found the target, there was a palpable sense of anxiety among the home fans, which grew as the Pirates made hard work of clearing their lines.

But after a frantic bout of head tennis broke out in Rovers' penalty area, O'Toole missed the final opportunity of the game in the dying seconds by hooking another decent chance wide.