WOJCIECH Szczesny was stretchered off with a worrying injury as Brentford were held at Southend tonight.

The on-loan Arsenal keeper took a knock as Francis Laurent scored Southend's second equaliser barely 30 seconds after the Bees had taken the lead for the second time.

Szczensy was replaced in goal by Nikki Bull, for his first appearance since suffering a shoulder injury before Christmas.

Charlie MacDonald , playing against his former club, gave Brentford a 21st-minute lead, staying just onside to slot home clinically following a perfect through-ball from Carl Cort on the edge of the area.

Laurent struck his first equaliser on 56 minutes with a shot which deflected in off Pim Balkestein after some poor Brentford defending.

After some real Southend presure, Cort put Brentford back in front on 62 minutes, finishing brilliantly first time after Lewis Grabban won the ball in midfield and fed him in on the left side of the box.

But barely were the chants of 'you're not signing anymore' out of the Brentford fans' throats than Southend were level after poor defending once again let in Laurent.

With Danny Foster and David Hunt having already come on for Karleigh Osborne and Marcus Bean, and Bull having replaced Szczensy, Balkestein had no choice but to limp on after aggravating his hamstring injury - moving into midfield - with Foster switching to centre-back and Hunt to right-back.

All those injuries led to seven minutes of injury-time, but patched-up Brentford held on, and Grabban snatched at a one-on-one chance to win it for the Bees in the dying seconds as honours ended even.

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