SOUTHEND United boss Kevin Maher praised his side’s perseverance following tonight’s 1-1 draw with Wealdstone at Roots Hall.

A last gasp equaliser from Shrimpers substitute Henry Sandat saw the hosts secure a share of the spoils.

And Maher felt Blues were rewarded for their persistence.

“Fair play to the players because they kept going,” said Maher.

“While it’s 1-0 and you’re not scoring you can lose heart and confidence.

“But we kept at it, Bridgey’s got a good ball in and Henry’s put it away.”

Blues were again forced to come from behind after Sean Adarkwa had fired the Stones into an early lead.

And Maher was frustrated to see the Shrimpers go behind for the fourth game in succession.

“It's too often now we’ve conceded goals early on,” said Maher.

“It’s almost in our honesty we’re going to try and win the ball straight away.

“We want to get after teams but sometimes you have to stay calm.

“It was a poor start from us and it’s something we can’t keep doing.”

Blues did eventually fight back for a point and Maher felt the equaliser was a reward for Sandat getting into a good area.

“The forwards were in between the posts,” said Maher.

“Sometimes they do too much coming wide but they were in there and that’s the reward.

“The lads stayed calm and Bridgey’s put it into a nice area.”

And Maher was somewhat happy with a point.

“You want three obviously but when you get to that late stage and it’s not going in you do feel like it might be one of those nights you’re not going to score,” said Maher.

“We’re thankful for the point and we move on.”