SOUTHEND United’s under 18 side were forced to settle for a share of the spoils at Northampton Town.

Goals from Matt Rush and Charlie Kelman put the Shrimpers into a two goal lead before the Cobblers fought back to secure a 2-2 draw.

And Blues’ youth team coach Dave Huzzey felt the contest was a game of two conflicting halves.

“I know it’s a cliche but it was a game of two halves,” said Huzzey.

“We went 2-0 up and we played some of the best football we’ve played all year.

“We dominated in and out of the possession but in the second half we were put under a little bit of pressure after conceding on the hour mark.

“The momentum was with them and we were up against it.

“But we battled on for a good 29 minutes and denied them to a few chances and had a couple ourselves but it was really disappointing to concede in the last minute.”

The last gasp equaliser denied the Shrimpers a hard-fought away win.

But Huzzey was keen to point towards the positives and feels the game will help the players moving forwards.

“It seems like a loss but to get a point away from home against a good, strong Northampton side is actually a good point,” said Huzzey.

“To feel the hurt and pain after not winning a game they should have done is also good for the boys’ development.”

The Shrimpers again looked dangerous in attack with Rush scoring for the third game in succession.

Alongside him, Kelman netted his second goal of the season.

And Huzzey has been delighted by the striker’s impressive start to the season.

“It’s been a great start for Matt and he’s scored three in three now,” said Huzzey.

“Charlie has been doing really well too and he’s got two in three so we’ve been really pleased with them.

“It’s great for both centre-forwards to score and it was obviously the same for the first team against Bradford when we watched that in the afternoon.

“Matt is on fire and so is Charlie and the challenge for them is to keep that going now.”

The Shrimpers’ under 18 side face Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly this weekend.