SOUTHEND United's clash at Bramall Lane provided a perfect reminder of the progress being made by the Shrimpers both on the pitch and off it.

This time last season, Blues sat seventh in the League Two standings and had just ground out a 1-0 win against struggling Hartlepool United.

But, fast forward 12 months and Phil Brown's side are 11th in the League One - an improvement of 20 positions - and were disappointed to have secured just a draw in front of 19,000 fans at Sheffield United.

The Shrimpers raced out of the blocks at the brilliant Bramall Lane and, after playing some of their best football of the season, were able to quickly establish themselves a 2-0 lead.

Ryan Leonard broke the deadlock in impressive fashion, lashing home his third goal in four games from long range before Jack Payne also worked his way onto the score-sheet.

The attacking midfielder burst into the box before arrowing home a fine finish and, in doing so, again underlined his undoubted potential.

The 21-year-old has established himself as a fans favourite after coming through the youth ranks at Roots Hall and displaying an eagerness to attack.

But finding him a regular role in the side has so far proved problematic for boss Brown.

Payne's talents would be wasted playing out wide and he would not be suited to playing in a two man midfield.

His best position would therefore seem to be playing just behind the front-man and that showed on Saturday.

The worry in such a system is the striker becoming rather isolated on his own in attack.

However, Payne's energy levels, particularly in the first half against the Blades, meant that was not a problem at the weekend as the youngster provided another reminder of his talents.

Reproducing that form at Roots Hall will now be Payne's next target as eight of his nine goals for the Shrimpers have come away from home.

But there are also plenty of other improvements which need to be made if Blues are to become more of a force at this level.

For the third league game in succession, the Shrimpers were unable to hold onto a lead as the Blades hit back to secure a share of the spoils.

However, unlike against Gillingham and Rochdale when Blues seemed to sit deep in a bid to protect their lead, Saturday was largely down to the reaction of the home-side.

That said, Sheffield United were certainly given a helping hand by Blues who gifted them two very soft goals.

The first of those again came from a corner as Jose Baxter netted after Shrimpers goalkeeper Daniel Bentley had failed to cleanly gather the ball.

Baxter's effort was the fifth goal Southend had conceded from a set piece in their last four games.

And the visitors were punished for more sloppy defending before the break when Paul Coutts' left wing cross was not properly dealt with, allowing Neill Collins far too much time and space to score.

The equalising effort handed the home-side the momentum for the second half and they soon began to pile on the pressure.

As a result, they were denied by the woodwork three times while Bentley also made a fine save to stop Billy Sharp scoring.

But, with the Blades failing to find a winner, the two teams -who were meeting for the 18th time - played out their first ever draw.

Both teams will still be thinking they could have picked up more than a point from an entertaining encounter.

The eventful 90 minutes again included plenty of positives for the Shrimpers and also showed there remains plenty be worked on.

But, despite the continuation of points being dropped from winning positions, there can be no denying things are still moving in the right direction for Southend.