STEPHEN Humphrys made sure of a point for Southend United at Charlton Athletic with a goal he initially did not realise had gone in.

The striker fired the Shrimpers in front at the Valley with a deflected effort from long range.

But Humphrys did not realise he had scored until his team-mates started to celebrate.

“I didn’t even realise it went in,” said Humphrys.

“I don’t know if I need to sort my contact lenses out or what but I thought I saw it go over the goal.

“But Kights (Michael Kightly) came running over and said come on, celebrate.

“I’m just delighted it helped us get a point in the end.”

Humphrys effort, which was his third in four games for the Shrimpers, was cancelled out by the Addicks’ Ben Reeves in the second half to ensure the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

But Humphrys was happy Blues picked up a point.

“It was massive for us to get something from the game and I was so nervous towards the end,” said Humphrys.

“Michael Turner was fouled in our area but I thought the referee had given a penalty.

“I had never shaken so much in my life but the lads dug in and we really deserved that point.”

The Shrimpers secured the draw despite playing more than an hour with 10 men after Dru Yearwood was dismissed for a poor challenge on Jonny Williams.

But Humphrys did not agree with the decision and was critical of referee Simon Hooper’s performance.

“The ref ruined the game a little bit, without being derogatory to him,” said Humphrys.

“I just can’t see that as a red card because Dru slipped.

“In the second half their lad did exactly the same challenge and got a booking.

“But you just have to get on with it.”

And Blues were also keen to bounce back from suffering two successive defeats at Roots Hall.

“Two home defeats back to back can demoralise a team but training was really good all week,” said Humphrys.

“The lads all really bought into what the manager said and credit to the manager for the way he set us up too.

“This game has really given us a boost and we’re over the moon.

“The point keeps us ticking over and we could even have nicked it at the end with some of the chances we had.

“But all the lads will take a point and now we will focus on the Doncaster Rovers game which is another difficult but important one for us.”