Harry Kewell was delighted to see his Oldham side strike late to secure a 3-3 draw at Colchester.

Conor McAleny slammed in an 89th-minute equaliser from close range to earn the Latics their first League Two point of the season after they had trailed 2-0 and 3-2.

Ben Stevenson and Callum Harriott, with a penalty, had put the hosts in control at the break and Miles Welch-Hayes restored the lead after McAleny’s penalty and a Carl Piergianni strike had levelled the game.

Latics boss Kewell said: “It’s definitely a game of emotions.

“In the first half, we had an idea of what we wanted to do and in moments we did it.

“But I thought their movement in the first half was excellent and they caused us a lot of problems, especially when they went forward.

“But we changed the formation in the second half and a few things around.”

Debutant Dylan Bahamboula came off the bench at half-time and helped the Latics fight their way back into the game.

“I thought Dylan was excellent,” Kewell said. “He brought something different in funny terms that no-one’s seen.

“It opened up the game and we got back into it very early on in the second half, which was excellent.

“Conor (McAleny) kept his nerve (from the spot) and I felt we were on the front foot then.

“Their right-back got another fantastic goal, but we got the third goal and I’d love to say that maybe if we’d had a little bit longer, we could have maybe nicked it.”