SOUTHEND skipper Adam Barrett believes it was the right decision to disallow Adam Stansfield's late 'goal' and says a draw was the right result.

The Shrimpers survived a scare when Stansfield bundled home the rebound after James Dunne's volley was tipped on to the crossbar by Steve Mildenhall.

But the goal was ruled out after the linesman flagged for off-side.

And Barrett said: "We had a few chances and if we had been a bit more confident we might have taken three points.

"We are disappointed not to win today because we felt this was a game which we could go and win.

"The boys put in a tremendous amount of effort but on reflection a draw was about right.

"From where I was I thought it was off-side. Had the referee not blown I would have been screaming at him.

"It was a great save from Steve (Mildenhall). We haven't had an awful lot of luck this year but that little bit has earned us a point.

"Exeter do pass the ball around well and they made it difficult for us. They got men behind the ball and we have struggled to break teams down when they do that. They are a good side and they are down there with us. They are fighting for their lives and these games are always going to be difficult."

Meanwhile, manager Steve Tilson has warned his players they face a tough battle to avoid the drop after their winless streak stretched to 11-games.

The Shrimpers fans vented their fury over the off-field problem plaguing the club at the final whistle by staging a protest outside Roots Hall.

The Essex club are threatened with administration unless they pay an unpaid tax bill and their cash problems have resulted in a transfer embargo.

And Tilson said: "When you only have two or three strikers and your top scorer is on three goals you cannot expect to score a lot of goals. It's the same for Exeter, that's why we are where we are.

"The positive was that we kept a clean sheet and it is the first one for a while. You cannot fault the lads, who have run themselves into the ground.

"It's going to be tough to avoid the drop. We have 11 games left, six at home and five away, and we need five wins and a couple of draws from that. It's a big ask."