SOUTHEND United winger Michael Kightly took little satisfaction from his first goal of the season.

Kightly put the Shrimpers in front against Crawley Town in Saturday’s FA Cup first round clash at Roots Hall.

But the 32-year-old’s joy was shortlived as the visitors fought back to secure a 1-1 draw.

“It was nice to see it hit the back of the net but it doesn’t mean anything now,” said Kightly.

“We’ve drawn the game and it’s disappointing not to win.

“We should have seen that out so we’re really disappointed.

“We’ve also got a replay now which is another game that we don’t really need with the injuries we’ve had as the squad is looking really small.”

Blues dominated the opening exchanges with Simon Cox wasting two excellent chances early on.

But the second half performance was far less satisfactory for the Shrimpers as Crawley began to get back into the game and eventually netted an equaliser when John White diverted the ball into his own net.

And Kightly also felt it had been a game of two contrasting halves.

“We were as good as we’ve been in a long time in the first half and as poor as we’ve been in a long time in the second and it’s not good enough,” said Kightly.

“In the first half we were playing really good football.

“There was some nice short, sharp passing but in the second half we were a completely different team.

“We stopped doing what we had done in the first half and we stopped playing.

“They had a big man up top who was causing a bit of trouble and I think we got sucked into playing how they were playing and that’s not us.

“We don’t have the players to do that.

“We have the players to get the ball down and play like we did in the first half.”

And that resulted in Blues created chances they were unable to convert other than Kightly’s clinical effort from close range.

“In the first half we could have been two or three up,” said the winger.

“ But when you don’t take your chances you get punished and that’s what happened.”

However, Kightly remains determined to win the replay.

“It will be a tough place to go but we know we can go there and win,” said Kightly.

“We’re desperate to progress because we know we haven’t progressed a lot in the last few years. We want a cup run as much as everyone else.