Southend United defender Leon Cort admitted he was gutted after his "freak" own goal handed Blues relegation rivals Cheltenham Town an undeserved share of the spoils at Whaddon Road.

The tall centre back volleyed Paul Brayson's late, left wing cross past a helpless Darryl Flahavan as the lowly Robins scraped a 1-1 draw on Friday night against the struggling Shrimpers, who had earlier taken the lead through Drewe Broughton.

"I thought we played well and deserved to win," said Cort. "We were looking solid and it was only a freak goal from me that stopped us winning."

Cort said he was bitterly disappointed to have inadvertently levelled proceedings just three minutes from time.

"The ball came in from the left but I didn't see it until late because it was being hidden by Duncan Jupp," recalled the 24-year-old.

"I tried to volley it away, but it ended up going into the net, and I was gutted to see it go in."

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Published Monday January 12, 2004

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