ON the face of it, it was an excellent point for Southend United at Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.

The Shrews started the game top of the League Two table, boasting the only unbeaten home record at this level.

But such was the manner of the game and the Shrimpers’ dominant performance, it actually felt like a disappointment for Phil Brown’s side to have to settle for a 1-1 draw.

That should be seen as a huge positive for Blues and it again showed the progress which has been made in recent weeks.

The Shrimpers looked solid and well organised in all areas of the pitch and outplayed one of the best teams at this level to prove their own promotion credentials.

Such a scenario was pleasing to see after Blues had failed to impress in their two previous visits to teams above them in the standings, Wycombe Wanderers and Luton Town.

On both of those occasions, Southend were outplayed and out-battled as they returned home empty handed.

But it was a completely different situation on Saturday as the Shrimpers were by far the more dominant on the two teams.

At the back, Blues were strong and Adam Thompson produced arguably his best performance yet in a Southend shirt to keep Shrewsbury’s strikers quiet for most of the match.

The former Watford centre-back has now also formed a fine partnership with Jerome Binnom-Williams and, for the second season running, Luke Prosser finds himself struggling to get back in to the team despite him playing well in the first half of the campaign.

The returning Adam Barrett is also finding it hard to get in to the team but, after their performances at the weekend, neither Thompson or Binnom-Williams can be left out at this stage.

They were only denied a well deserved clean sheet by an uncharacteristic error from goalkeeper Daniel Bentley.

The Shrimpers shot-stopper spilt the ball when under pressure from Jean Louis Akpa Akpro.

But it was still some finish from Tyrone Barnett for the ball to hit the back of the net from an incredibly acute angle.

Barnett had attracted interest from Blues before teaming up with the Shrews and he brilliantly made the most of the opportunity.

However, his goal came from what was Bentley’s first real error of the season and it was therefore rather alarming to see the criticism the goalkeeper received on social media from a small minority of Southend supporters.

Bentley has been among Blues’ most consistent performers this season and, like all other players, needs the fans right behind him during a crucial conclusion to the campaign.

Of course, more errors will be made throughout the team and there will also be below par performances such is the inconsistent nature of League Two football.

But for the best possible chance of promotion, fans need to remain right behind the team, in order to make it an anxious atmosphere for those playing against Blues not for them.

That will be tested in the next few days as the Shrimpers face Cheltenham Town and Accrington Stanley in quick succession at Roots Hall.

The expectation will be for Blues to win both games but it will certainly not be that straight-forward.

And everyone concerned with the club could well need to show some patience.

Manager Phil Brown will also be looking to find the right kind of formula at home and the impending return of winger David Worrall will add to his selection headache.

Worrall, who missed Saturday’s draw at Shrewsbury with an illness, is not ideally suited to the diamond system used in the midfield at the Greenhous Meadow.

But Jack Payne, who impressed on Saturday, does not have a natural role in the 4-4-2 formation which has served Southend well in recent weeks.

Brown will therefore be facing more difficult decisions in the forthcoming days.

However, he can do so in good spirits as Saturday’s showing confirmed his side now have what it takes to more than match the very best teams in League Two.