JAMIE Mackie had special praise for Oxford United’s defenders after only their second clean sheet of the season in Sky Bet League One.

The U’s deservedly picked up a point in a dour goalless draw at Southend United, where both sides only mustered one shot on target apiece.

United’s came in the fourth minute of stoppage time when John Mousinho was denied by goalkeeper Mark Oxley.

Karl Robinson’s side defended well throughout, especially in the face of a 25-minute spell in the first half which Southend dominated.

While Simon Cox was unlucky not to open the scoring for the hosts when his shot smacked the underside of the bar and bounced to safety off a post, Mackie hailed United’s defensive effort.

He said: “I thought the back four were magnificent.

“Rob Dickie, Nelse (Curtis Nelson), Tony McMahon with his experience and Ruffs (Josh Ruffels), I thought they were really good and that paid dividends with the clean sheet.

“I think we will always create chances, that part of the pitch we can fix, but not conceding goals will give us a real foothold.”

Despite the draw, which ended a run of four straight defeats in all competitions, other results saw United slip to the bottom of the table.

But Mackie stressed the importance of remaining upbeat.

He said: “What’s really pleasing is if you are in a tough situation it’s easy for the whole mood to be completely down.

“The players and management team have made sure that we’re positive.

“It definitely doesn’t feel like a changing room that’s down at the bottom, but we take responsibility for that and we recognise we have to be better.”