Sunday 15 April 2012 15:36, UK
Torquay stayed in the promotion places after a draw with Southend but Gulls manager Martin Ling is still looking over his shoulder.
Recalled forward Ryan Jarvis came closest to breaking the deadlock for the Gulls, heading onto the post in the 30th minute. Southend replied with midfielder Ryan Hall bouncing a 25-yard free-kick off the crossbar four minutes later. "It was a hard-fought point. I thought that we dug in there but never really tested their keeper," said Ling. "It was a battling draw and I suppose the pleasing thing is the clean sheet that takes us to 20 now - and produces a new club record for the team. I think if you are building success then that will be built on clean sheets. "There is a little bit of criticism from me but you cannot criticise their effort and work rate, because that was there again. "There is a dotted line and we are just above it at the moment, as everybody knows. I think Shrewsbury have gone second and we are third, and although it was a draw this result keeps us moving forward. "If you look at how we played at Southend in October and how we played this time, they are two different performances. We are now a very good team."