SOUTHEND United boss Kevin Maher felt the Shrimpers’ 1-1 draw with Dagenham & Redbridge was a game of two contrasting halves.

Dagenham dominated the first 45 minutes at Roots Hall and deservedly took the lead when Ryan Hill fired home from close range.

But Maher was pleased with how Blues fought back after the break with Danny Waldron scoring from close range to secure his side a share of the spoils.

“It was definitely a game of two halves,” said Maher.

“It was really poor from our point of view in the first half and we didn’t settle into the game.

“We did a lot of the basics wrong.

“We were too open and too easy to play against which is something we spoke about yesterday but it seemed to happen again.”

And Maher knew it was obvious the Shrimpers would need to improve in the second half.

“We knew we couldn’t perform like that again and credit to the players,” said Maher.

“They came out straight away and they knew as well.

“It was hurting them that we were behind and it could have been more in all honesty.

“Thankfully it was just one and we’ve been there before.

“We had to up the tempo and up the quality.

“We were organised behind the ball better and felt like we could go and create chances and score.”

Blues did exactly that just two minutes into the second period with Waldron finishing a fine right wing cross from Harry Cardwell.

And Maher was happy to see his two strikers combine so well.

“Cards has done ever so well and we wanted to play forward with a bit more purpose rather than playing in front of them too often,” said Maher.

“Having someone run in behind like Cards has done is brilliant and Danny is in the six yard box like he should be.”

Waldron’s goal stretched the Shrimpers unbeaten run to seven matches and also saw them move 10th in the National League table.

But Maher stressed Blues cannot afford to keep starting games so badly.

“We’ve got to perform better than we did in the first half,” said Maher.

“The league is so tight and there’s not a lot between a lot of teams.

“It’s about getting the right mix of attacking how we do attack with being better defensively so we don’t leave gaps teams are exploiting.

“We’ve got to start better and be more organised and difficult to play against.

“When it becomes a trend it’s not good enough.”