Town and Colchester are level at 2-2 at half-time at the Jobserve Community Stadium.
Tomas Holy was in goal with Janoi Donacien skippering from right-back and Matt Penney at left-back and Corrie Ndaba and Luke Woolfenden the centre-halves.
In midfield, 17-year-old Cameron Humphreys was again alongside Rekeem Harper with Lee Evans and Jon Nolan still absent.
Scott Fraser and Armando Dobra were in the wide roles with Joe Pigott and former U’s striker Macauley Bonne up front.
Vaclav Hladky, Kane Vincent-Young, Toto Nsiala, Wes Burns and James Norwood, who all started on Saturday, were on the bench, as is Kayden Jackson, the only outfield player in the squad for the Crystal Palace game not to make it on to the field.
As expected, neither George Edmundson not Conor Chaplin were involved but both were at the game and applauded the Blues support ahead of kick-off.
For Colchester, ex-Blues Dean Gerken, Luke Chambers, Tommy Smith, Frank Nouble, Alan Judge, Freddie Sears and Tom Eastman started with Cole Skuse on the bench.
Sears struck the first shot of the game in the second minute following a U’s break but sent the ball well over from the right of the area.
The early stages continued at a frenetic pace and two minutes later Dobra, who had made a confident start to the game, saw a shot deflect over.
Dobra’s positive start continued and in the sixth minute led to the Blues’ first goal. The 20-year-old brought the ball forward before feeding Bonne to his right. The loan signing from QPR crossed low to Pigott and Gerken was unable to prevent the former AFC Wimbledon man from opening his Town account despite getting a firm hand on the ball.
The Blues, wearing their new white away kit, continued to dominate with Pigott, who was often dropping deep, and Dobra interchanging well and the Albanian U21 international’s direct running causing the U’s constant problems.
However, on 13 Coxe blazed over from the edge of the box after the U’s had sent Nouble away towards the left.
In the 25th minute Judge hit a 25-yard effort which his former team-mate Holy claimed comfortably.
The U’s went even closer two minutes later when Brendan Wiredu, having been found by Judge, beat the advancing Holy but the ball was cleared from inside the six-yard box by Woolfenden.
And from the resultant flag-kick the U’s levelled via former Blue Smith, who rose to head down and into the corner of the net.
In the 29th minute Dobra was clattered by an overzealous Judge challenge a third of the way into the U’s half to the right. The Town youngster made it clear to the Irishman he was less than impressed with the tackle and received a shove from his old skipper Chambers for doing so.
From the resultant free-kick, the Blues regained the lead. Fraser looped the ball to the far post and Bonne glanced a header to Gerken’s right and into the corner of the net for his first goal in a Town shirt against his old side.
But the lead lasted only 12 minutes with the North Essex team equalising for a second time three minutes before the scheduled break.
Judge lofted a free-kick towards the back post from the left and Nouble rose in front of Holy to flick a header over the keeper and into the corner of the net.
The scoreline remained 2-2 at the end of an entertaining first half with the Blues having passed the ball neatly at times and looking a threat going forward and creating and taking two well-crafted chances.
However, at the other end, manager Paul Cook will be less than impressed at conceding from two set pieces, while the U’s had one or two other chances in open play.
Colchester: Gerken, Clampin, Chambers, Smith (c), Wiredu, Nouble, Judge, Sears, Chilvers, Eastman, Coxe. Subs: Skuse, Hasanally, Thomas, Tovide, Terry, Cornish, Beadle, Trialist C, Trialist E, Trialist F.
Town: Holy, Donacien (c), Woolfenden, Ndaba, Penney, Harper, Humphreys, Dobra, Fraser, Pigott, Bonne. Subs: Hladky, Vincent-Young, Nsiala, Alexander, Healy, Burns, Norwood, Jackson, Clements. Referee: David Rock (Hertfordshire).