KENNY Jackett was pleased by his Millwall side’s finish to their 1-1 draw at Southampton on Saturday, admitting the Lions could well have taken all three points from their trip to St. Mary’s.

Jimmy Abdou’s 65th-minute equaliser cancelled out Matt Paterson’s goal just after half-time, while Alan Dunne saw his penalty in the 63rd minute well saved by home goalkeeper Kelvin Davis.

“I felt that we responded very well because we could have buckled and folded having gone one-nil down here and we didn’t do that,” said the Lions manager.

“We came back strong and perhaps in the last half-hour finished the stronger side.

“There were times in the first hour that I thought weren’t terrible but a bit stop-start and lacking in fluency but we found some momentum in the last half-hour on a hot day, which is encouraging for us.”

It is the second time Abdou has scored a crucial equaliser in front of the Sky cameras, as the Frenchman grabbed the crucial leveller against Leeds which saw the Lions into last season’s play-off final.

Jackett was left impressed by his goal and added: “He did very well. It wasn’t an easy chance so it’s a terrific header.”

However, the manager was left disappointed by some of referee Mick Russell’s decisions, with Paterson’s opener looking like it came from an offside position and Gary Alexander seeing his late ‘winner’ ruled out after Steve Morison was judged to have taken the ball out of play.

“Alan Dunne at right-back looked across the line and thought [Paterson’s goal] was offside,” Jackett claimed.

“There were a few hard calls – the Southampton goal, our penalty, one disallowed.

“Steve Morison has managed to get round the back and pull it back for a tap-in.

“The linesman’s saying it’s definitely over and Steve’s saying it’s not. Players will say that, though.”

Defender Jack Smith had a good debut at centre-back having signed a short-term deal at the club last weekend, but Jackett admitted he is still looking to strengthen his injury-ravaged back-line.

He said: “I’m pleased for Jack, he had a very steady debut but we’re still working really hard and in an ideal world there would’ve been players in this week.

“It hasn’t quite happened, which has really frustrated me, but I’ve got every confidence we will address that and strengthen the side.”

Jackett also had praise for the 2,242 Lions fans who made the trip to the south coast for a game which kicked-off early and was televised live on Sky, “I’m really pleased with our support who’ve come down here on a sunny day and we’ve finished well and given them something to shout about,” he said.