Southend manager Paul Sturrock was relieved his injury-hit side were able to claim a 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury.
Anthony Grant`s strike rescued a point for the Shrimpers three minutes from time - and made amends for his glaring first-half miss when he somehow steered the ball wide from three yards.
Grant`s angled volley cancelled out Mark Wright`s 47th minute effort, who scored his fifth goal in seven games.
Sturrock said: "After the disappointment of the last two or three games, it was important to get a result of sorts. It's been like Emergency Ward 10 over the last week with players getting all sorts of knocks so I'm pleased to get a point.
"Playing Shrewsbury, who are a top of the table, side here is difficult enough without injuries to five of our defenders.
"The game was pretty even - they had a good chance in the first half and so did we. So given the changes we had to make I thought we didn't look out of sorts although it did effect the balance of the side."
Source: PA