CHRIS LAKEY Peter Grant was thankful for a Dickson Etuhu special last night as City avoided a Halloween horror show in front of their own fans.

CHRIS LAKEY

Peter Grant was thankful for a Dickson Etuhu special last night as City avoided a Halloween horror show in front of their own fans.

With less than 20 minutes to go it looked like former City striker Jamie Cureton had come back to haunt his old team, with a controversial goal just after half-time, which City players were convinced was offside.

But Etuhu struck a magnificent equaliser - his second in consecutive home matches - 20 minutes later to ensure it wasn't another nightmare night for the Canaries.

It's the first time City have drawn at home in the Championship since October last year - a gap of 21 games.

But Grant clearly saw it as two points dropped, saying: "We're obviously very, very disappointed, because it's a home game. No disrespect to Colchester but when you lose points at home you are very disappointed and we have to be much, much better than that.

"We didn't start the game well enough, and the amount of times we gave the ball away was unbelievable. If you keep giving the ball away you are not going to create chances, not going to be a threat, and you are also going to give your opposition a chance. Thankfully, Paul Gallacher was in form in the first half and he kept us in the game."

Grant was able to play Darren Huckerby and Robert Earnshaw, whose injuries had improved considerably - although defender Gary Doherty didn't reappear for the second half because of a back injury and replacement Craig Fleming finished with a hamstring problem. But the night will be remembered for another special by Etuhu, who is fast becoming Grant's star performer.

"His full game since I came has been excellent," said Grant. "His game play has been massive, he gets box to box because he has the energy to do that. He's a good passer and is a threat in the opposition's box. He is playing with the freedom I am trying to give the players.

"Now when he gets to the edge of the box he expects to score. He has been excellent in training - that's important for him because he is one of these guys who needs to be switched on every day. He can't just turn up on a Saturday hoping it is going to go well for him.