Southend United striker Wayne Gray was unsure whether his cooly converted penalty should have been awarded to the Shrimpers during last night's 1-1 draw at Lincoln City.

On the spot - Andy Marriott is beaten by Wayne Gray's penalty at Sincil Bank last night Picture: MAXINE CLARKE

The former Wimbledon forward was controversially adjudged to have been upended by Imps keeper Alan Marriott in the 34th minute as the Blues bounced back to secure a well deserved share of the spoils at Sincil Bank.

"I'm not sure if it should have been given," admitted Gray, whose spot kick cancelled out Gary Taylor-Fletcher's early header.

"I've gone for the ball -- the keeper's caught my leg, we've both kind of collided in a way and it was one of those that could've gone either way. It was 50/50. Thankfully the ref gave it though. It's not up to me to choose and I was delighted to put it away."

But Gray was forced to endure a nervy few minutes before registering his first Shrimpers goal as the hard-working home side hotly disputed Gary Lewis' decision.

"There was a massive, massive delay before I actually got to take it but I was confident about where I wanted to put it," said the 23-year-old.

"The keeper helped me make my mind up too but hopefully I can get a few more of them this season now and take them with the same conviction I showed last night."

Published Wednesday August 11, 2004

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