SOUTHEND United boss Kevin Maher was unsure whether he should be pleased or disappointed with a 1-1 draw at Tamworth.
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Mixed emotions - for Southend United boss Kevin Maher
(Image: FOCUS IMAGES)
By Chris Phillips. Chief sports reporter.
SOUTHEND United boss Kevin Maher was unsure whether he should be pleased or disappointed with a 1-1 draw at Tamworth.
Maher was happy to avoid defeat at the Lamb Stadium after Gus Scott-Morriss netted a second half equaliser for the Shrimpers.
But Maher was also frustrated Blues did not go on to score a winner.
"I'm maybe disappointed we didn’t get all three points considering the second half and how much pressure we were putting on towards the end,” said Maher.
"But this is such a tough place to come and so many teams find it tough to come here and win.”
The Shrimpers were forced to come from behind to secure a share of the spoils after Kennedy Digie put Tamworth ahead after just nine minutes.
And Maher was angered by the manner of the Lambs’ goal.
"It was a sloppy goal from our point of view,” said Maher.
“It was a cheap foul and the second phase of a set piece which has ricocheted off the wall and we haven’t reacted quickly enough.”
But it was not just conceding the goal which disappointed Maher during the opening 45 minutes.
“In the first half I think we got caught up into their game a little bit,” said the Blues boss.
"There were too many turnovers from our point of view and we needed to shorten our game up a little bit.
"We needed to get it on the floor and play it quickly.
"We needed to play through the pitch a bit quicker and get into the right areas.
"We got in the final third but made the wrong decision too often.”
However, Maher was far more satisfied with the second half.
“I’m pleased with our reaction in the second half,” said Maher.
"We could have gone on and won it with the chances that we had or if one of the balls in the box had dropped to us."
But Blues ultimately had to settle for a point, thanks to Scott-Morriss’ 14th goal of the season.
And Maher was pleased with to see the wing-back finish off a fine counter-attack, which was started by a long clearance from Nick Hayes.
“We said to Nick if he got the ball in his hands to look for a forward quickly,” said Maher.
"Macca get on the end of it and it's a great weight of pass which allows Gus to shoot first time.
"Inevitably with Gus it ends up in the back of the net and he nearly had a second one as well from a similar error.
"We're really pleased with the goal in terms of how quickly we got to the other end."
Scott-Morriss now has three goals in his last four games for the Shrimpers and again earned praise from Maher.
"He's scoring all types of goals,” said Maher.
"He's a threat from set pieces and today he's gone from defending the near post of a throw to get up to the other end of the pitch so quickly which is brilliant, so too is the quality of the finish.
"To be able to keep it down and the find the bottom corner is the biggest thing.
"It's an incredible finish and I'm delighted.
