You sense it is going to be one of those nights

Last updated : 18 October 2006 By Tony Scholes
Southend boss Steve Tilson had warned that his side faced a tough game against a Burnley side he rated as the best team he's seen all season. “I was really pleased with the performance of the team tonight,” Tilson said. “I thought the work rate out there was second to none and we kept them at bay, especially in the first half when they were probably the better side, but I felt we outplayed them in the second half.

“In the end I'm relieved to come to Burnley and get a point, but in a way I am disappointed because I felt our performance deserved all three. We have shown great belief to come here, to a team second in the table, and there is no difference between the sides.

“One the back of two defeats I think we put in a good performance. In possession we played some good stuff and opened them up a few times and we competed all over the park which is great to see.”

The two managers saw the game the same way with Burnley the better side in the first half and Southend in the second. “I think a draw was a fair result,” Steve Cotterill said. “We were the better team in the first half and they were better after the break.

“We were a bit stop, start and down on the left hand side of the defence we were chopping and changing. Jon Harley probably shouldn't have played, he was sick both before the game and again at half time.

“We kept asking him, but to be fair to the kid he wants to play all the time and when you don't have a squad full of left backs you end up keeping him on, and that was probably to his detriment. He was a bit off colour and we missed the boundless energy we normally got off him.”

Apart from Harley, there was the injury to left sided central defender John McGreal just before half time. “He's twisted his knee,” Cotterill explained. “We don't know the extent of the injury yet but there hasn't been any immediate swelling so we'll just have to wait and see.

“He spun round and probably got his studs caught. He might have tweaked his medial ligament but he's a tough boy so we will see how he is ahead of the game at Plymouth.”

Onto the game and Steve said: “In the first half the temp was there and we got balls into their six yard box, but if you do that as many times as we did, and you don't score a goal, then you probably sense it is going to be one of those nights and that's just how it turned out for us.

“It was a night when we got a little bit frustrated, we were a little hurried and there was another pass to be had. They battened down the hatches early on and got men behind the ball.”

“The boys know that but we have taken four points from six since the break. It is proving to be very hard to get back to back home wins in this league and that proved it. We are going to have those games and we just have to go out and deal with them.”